Tc

[vince-m]

Why all the TC hate...?
I've had the same renegade for 25 years and taken plenty of game and I proud to own one.

 

[mushka]

I have two tc's. A .54 Hawkin kt I built in the late 80's and a .36 cal Seneca I bought for my wife about the same time. Love them both and shoot them both. No hate here.

 

[Stony Broke]

I've had a number of TC's over the years, and they worked just fine for me. The only problem I ever had was buying one with a rough barrel, but I replaced the barrel with a Green River and all was just as good as new.....maybe even better.

 

[Stykbow]

Some folks are “absolutists”. They buy something and whether it’s good or bad that’s what all of them are. Then there are some that look down on any production gun. I mean, they can’t possibly be any good if a common man can afford it.

 

[Grimord]

Had several T/C guns over the years. I still own a .56 Renegade smooth bore which I use for squirrel hunting, and a .58 Caliber Renegade flint lock for deer hunting. Good sturdy guns and hard to beat the quality for the money. Too bad the traditional side lock guns are no longer being made.

 

[deermanok]

I thought it was Traditions that nobody likes?

 

[Elkhorse]

T/C Hawken flinter. Traded a .38 Chiefs special for it in "83. Good trade.

 

[Dibbuk]

IMO, the big problem was that TC took a patent on the word "Hawken". The firearms they made did not have more than a passing similarity to the J&S Hawken rifles.

Personally, I like that the TC rifles and pistols are so different. It means no one will be able to hump one and claim is was an antique.

The use of coil springs is another reason.

 

[bubba.50]

Bought my first muzzleloader, a 54cal Renegade kit in 1978 & have consistently had TC's of some sort in the gunrack ever since. Seriously I've probably owned a ton of them. About the only 'traditional' models I haven't had are a Cherokee and a High Plaines Sporter. My current stable lists an early Hawken 50cal, my Renegade/White Mountain hybrid, a 54cal New Englander, and a 54cal of the unmentionable persuasion.

And I use bore-butter to lube my maxi-balls that I load over pyrodex RS because they work and clean-up is a breeze. And I don't like flinchlocks.

It's usually not too pronounced here but, there's a certain segment who thinks if ya ain't shootin' a patched roundball over real black from a hand-built flinchlock you either made yourself or had commissioned while dressed in buckskins or linsey-woolsey while wearing a tri-corn or coonskin cap that you ain't a real muzzler.

 

[longcruise]

Yes, some folks can't get over their indignation that it's nowhere near a Hawken copy. They also hold the GPR in low esteem even though Lyman has never used the name.

 

[CTShooter]

The thing that cracks me up is “but they aren’t an exact copy of a real Hawken”

I‘m actually happy someone decided to make their own version, why would I want to drive around in an exact copy of a Model T?

Manufacturers have always been looking for the next best thing, barrels went from Damascus to forged steel, do you think they felt there gun wasn’t “authentic“ anymore because they didn’t copy the Damascus barrel?

I own a period correct T/C Hawken, in a 100 years that will actually be cool

Life is too short to worry about the little stuff

 

[White Oak]

I have seen it here many times yet I believe Thompson Center probably brought more people into this style of shooting than any other company. First side locks for some later moving on to customs or self builds. Others are happy with what they have. Not every ones budget allows for a custom or original. Not every one has the skills to build a gun including myself. Don't believe that should exclude us from the sport.
My first sidelock was a TC 54 cal. percussion Hawken. That led to 5 more. A percussion Renegade, a New Englander 12ga, a Big Boar, a flint Renegade, and a flint Hawken.
I still have them and enjoy them all.
This will open another can of worms but I believe TC had the best warranty around and they backed it. Others will disagree since S & W no longer honors it. This is not all one sided either. The warranty was for the original purchaser. How many guns were in the hands of second and third owners and sent in for repairs and I never heard of TC questioning it.
I was once told by a member here to disregard the anti TC crowd as most guys, whether they wanted to admit it or not, still had one hidden in the closet.
I am happy with my TCs and they aren't hidden. If I stumble across the right one 6 now could become 7.

Take care,
Ed

 

[necchi]

I like the Renegade configurations,, they fit me.
I don't like the Hawken styles, they don't fit me, them are cheek slappers for my build!
But I never hated'm, darn good functioning rifles, all of'm. Most troubles are due to neglect or abuse and are easy to fix.

 

[necchi]

I like the Renegade configurations,, they fit me.
I don't like the Hawken styles, they don't fit me, them are cheek slappers for my build!
But I never hated'm, darn good functioning rifles, all of'm. Most troubles are due to neglect or abuse and are easy to fix.

 

[ghostdncr]

I lean toward guns that have a bit of character and look like they've spent a decade out on the frontier. Been shooting almost exclusively flintlocks for around thirty years now! Still, I've got an early four-digit .45 Hawken percussion gun I'll probably keep from here on out. It's a good gun, but has that "decade outdoors" look to it. I'm happy to see anyone shooting any kind of traditional muzzleloader, so I don't really understand the hate.

 

[Codger Craig Wilcox]

For me, I love to shoot any muzzle loader. Doesn't matter too much what the brand name is, if it shoots well, ya gotta love it.

I can't say that my first ML rifle was a TC. In actuality, it was an 1863 Springfield, .58 caliber. I was just into my teens, and into anything around that could be used for amusement. So Dad had a pal who was a History Professor at U. Maryland. He had a really nice house in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC. His attic was built out, and he had a rack that held 20 rifles on each side. And uniforms hanging along one wall, and all the gear that went with it.
I paid good green money for my Springfield, a nice $20 bill. Heck, that rifle WAS 98 years old at the time! Prof tossed in uniform (Union Navy), and all the cap box, cartridge box, belt, hat, etc. A group of us, clad alike, would go to Camp A. P. Hill, or other regional Army bases, and have some delightful target shooting. And after a LOT of coaching from my team members, I became a pretty good shot.
Then Dad retired to south Florida - not a single NSSA event around!
I still greatly prefer my ML guns, and I enjoy making them. Little bit slow now, but that's how life is. And Yes, I have taken a deer with a .58 cal TC. Nice shooting rifle.

 

[marlin39a]

Nothing but love for Thompson Center Renegades here. I’ve currently got 5. It was a sad day for me when the facility burned, taking all the records with it.

 

[LME]

Bought my first muzzleloader, a 54cal Renegade kit in 1978 & have consistently had TC's of some sort in the gunrack ever since. Seriously I've probably owned a ton of them. About the only 'traditional' models I haven't had are a Cherokee and a High Plaines Sporter. My current stable lists an early Hawken 50cal, my Renegade/White Mountain hybrid, a 54cal New Englander, and a 54cal of the unmentionable persuasion.

And I use bore-butter to lube my maxi-balls that I load over pyrodex RS because they work and clean-up is a breeze. And I don't like flinchlocks.

It's usually not too pronounced here but, there's a certain segment who thinks if ya ain't shootin' a patched roundball over real black from a hand-built flinchlock you either made yourself or had commissioned while dressed in buckskins or linsey-woolsey while wearing a tri-corn or coonskin cap that you ain't a real muzzler.

You are a comic as well as a B,P. nut like the rest of us! ? I thought you had spelled the word," flintlock" wrong but after reading your post and see the word ,"Flinchlock" again I got it. LOL!

 

[LME]

I have seen it here many times yet I believe Thompson Center probably brought more people into this style of shooting than any other company. First side locks for some later moving on to customs or self builds. Others are happy with what they have. Not every ones budget allows for a custom or original. Not every one has the skills to build a gun including myself. Don't believe that should exclude us from the sport.
My first sidelock was a TC 54 cal. percussion Hawken. That led to 5 more. A percussion Renegade, a New Englander 12ga, a Big Boar, a flint Renegade, and a flint Hawken.
I still have them and enjoy them all.
This will open another can of worms but I believe TC had the best warranty around and they backed it. Others will disagree since S & W no longer honors it. This is not all one sided either. The warranty was for the original purchaser. How many guns were in the hands of second and third owners and sent in for repairs and I never heard of TC questioning it.
I was once told by a member here to disregard the anti TC crowd as most guys, whether they wanted to admit it or not, still had one hidden in the closet.
I am happy with my TCs and they aren't hidden. If I stumble across the right one 6 now could become 7.

Take care,
Ed

To be honest I have never owned a T.C. rifle. I have worked up loads for others and found the rifles to be well made. They are not custom but they weren't supposed to be. They were made to use and at that time were priced so a regualar hard working man on a budget could afford one. I am out of the loop now and no longer take on a long drawn out job , thanks to father time and health issues, so I don;t see many B.P. rifles now. There are some B.P. rifles that were not very well planned out didn't function well but T.C. rifles were not one of them. I personally don't care for them as I prefer B.P. rifles that looked like they did in the day. All I can say about T.C. rifles is. so far, everyone I have run into were built like a tank and performed flawlessly! I wish people would quit bashing them!

 

[user 49399]

Why all the TC hate...?
I've had the same renegade for 25 years and taken plenty of game and I proud to own one.

I’ve had this one many years. It ain’t going nowhere. It shoots better than I can.