My $100.00 Renegade

[Idaholewis]

I bought an Old .50 Cal Renegade here in the Classifieds recently for a Hundred bucks, The rifle showed up the other day I immediately started messing with it. I really wanted it for the Stock and Hardware for a New GM .54 Cal LRH barrel i have tucked away :yeah:

First off I’d like to state that the Seller did NOT tell me it was in Mint Condition, he stated that the Bore looked White the first few inches or something to that effect? He told me the Stock was about 85%, I would say he was very close to correct :yeah: The first thing i started on was the Barrel, When i got in to it all i could think was :shock: The Bore was ROUGH, REALLY ROUGH, But again i expected it to be. I have cleaned and polished up a few pretty bad ones, But this 1 was no doubt the Worst I’ve ever encountered, i tried cleaning my way in a Bucket of Water, i got a Wet Patched Jag Stuck at the Breech end and had to get it with my Grease gun, Not only 1 time but Twice! The Worst part of the bore is from the Breech and up about 8-10” (Typical of a Rifle that was fired and NOT cleaned, or cleaned properly and Forgotten about) after the Rough 8-10” It gets pretty darn good, Good strong rifling very visible to the Crown. I wrapped an old Bore brush tight with Copper Chore Boy and went to Town on it, I scrubbed the Bore the Absolute best i could, Dried it up good, Then went after it with Valve lapping Compound, Cleaned it, Then a Good going over with Montana Extreme Bore Polishing Compound (JB bore paste equivalent) Nothing besides a Rebore will fix this thing, But i have it pretty darn good for what i had to work with.

Then i moved on to the Stock, When i went to remove the Lock the Cross Screw that runs through the Stock was TIGHT, REALLY tight, and it stayed that Way all the way out? When i got it out I noticed the Threads at the End of the Screw were Gone/Stripped off, That obviously meant they were left in the Lock :shock: I blew the Lock out good with Compressed Air, and cleaned it up really good, Then i ran a 8-32 Tap through from the Opposite side of the Hole where the Stripped Cross screw came from so it would start Correctly and Stay true, She came out Perfect :yeah: Then to try and figure out why it did that? After a little tinkering with it i could clearly see that the Holes through the Stock were off, and Off fairly bad! This was causing a Bad Bind in the Cross Lock Screw and not allowing it to enter the Lock Square (Hence why the Screw was Stripped out) How this Rifle got out of TC’s Door back in the day like this is Beyond me? This is NOT a Kit Gun, This was a Factory fit and finished rifle. I had to Re Drill the Left side hole of the Stock and open it up about a 1/4” from their Original hole. After some tinkering i got it PERFECT :yeah: With all the TC Parts i have around i was hoping i would have an extra Side Lock screw, Sure enough i did. I pulled the Trigger Group, The Tang, And obviously the Lock, Everything was cleaned to like new again, and oiled up good. I adjusted the Set trigger pull to 13-14 Oz on my Lyman Trigger Scale, and called it Done :yeah:

This morning i figured what the heck, I grabbed the Ole Gal and headed for the Hills, 80 weight Grains of Swiss 2F powder, .54 Cal Wool Felt OP Wads, and my Lyman Plains bullets. This Rifle has the BLOCKY Square Front Sight, I am NOT a Good Regular Open sight shooter, Regular Open sights are Blurry to me (Hence why ALL of my rifles are setup with Peep sights) I set the Target up at 40 yards, or close there abouts (No idea where this thing would hit?) My First shot (Cold bore) was just off the Target to the Right. I swabbed the bore good, Reloaded, and Shot the last 4, Not bad for a Rifle that was in the Shape this thing was, No doubt in my mind This target would have been MUCH better with a Peep sight on this Gun.

This is an Older Renegade, Short Rear sight, Tall hammer Spur

RiFle to Target

Bullets, Lyman Plains 395 Grains, .54 Cal 1/8” Wool Felt OP Wads

And my Target, The 3 shot Group Above the Bull was my .308, Getting all the mileage i can from Targets

 

[HC]

They sure put some nice wood on those old TCs

Sent from my ME301T using Tapatalk

 

[edmehlig]

Lew, that looked like the Identical twin to my 54 Renegade, sights, bbl, ramrod etc. That is until I purchased that GM 45 LRH bbl.

So tell me how's your shoulder and cheek bone?? :lol:

 

[Idaholewis]

So tell me how's your shoulder and cheek bone?? :lol:

These 1 inch “Fitty’s” Are Pussy Cats to Shoot When you stoke up a .54 in a 1” Barrel with a 500 to 550 Grain bullet they Sorta “Get with ya” :lol:

 

[Idaholewis]

They sure put some nice wood on those old TCs

Sent from my ME301T using Tapatalk

They really did! These Old TC’s are my Favorite Rifles, This Stock is in REALLY good Shape, No Deep gouges or Scars. I might Refinish this one this Winter and Make it look Brand New again. As good of shape as this Stock is in, I could probably have it done tonight :lol:

 

[idahoron]

Awesome score on the 100 dollar rifle!!!

 

[Idaholewis]

Awesome score on the 100 dollar rifle!!!

It was a “Sore Peter” Deal :yeah: can’t beat it :lol:

 

[Harleysboss]

You did well Pilgram! That stock will finish out to be a real looker.

P.S. I sent you pics of my 54 cal White shooting today..I'm guessing your a little scared. oke:

 

[Idaholewis]

You did well Pilgram! That stock will finish out to be a real looker.

P.S. I sent you pics of my 54 cal White shooting today..I'm guessing your a little scared. oke:

Me Sceered? :lol: Bring that Bad Boy On, Your Old Stainless MK-85 that YOU deserted will “Spank” it’s little Blued Butt Good

All joking aside, I do believe you have a Shooter there :yeah:

As for cleaning these things, Mike (Sabotloader) Helped me a Bunch, But i stil say my Sidelocks are WAY WAY easier to Clean, I could easily clean 2 Sidelock Rifles to 1 Knight MK-85. There is Simply more stuff going on with these inline Rifles, The Bolt breaks down to 5 Pieces that i feel need individually Cleaned (my Little handheld Steam cleaner works Wonders here) The Breech Plug (Steam Cleaner again ) I steam clean, then Wash the Parts with a little dish soap and Water, And then you have the Barrel to do, The Breech plug threads are the Worst PITA to get as Thorough Clean as i feel they should be. It made a BIG difference doing away with the Grease/Anti Seize and Going to The Teflon tape. But Fact is This MK-85 is TOUGHER, And Way More time Consuming to Clean to “My Standards” than my Sidelocks. No one will ever convince me differently! I was warned about this quite Sometime ago, So i knew what i was getting in to When i Bought the MK-85, I am going off of Real Blackpowder, Maybe if you use BH209 you don’t need to Get as thorough as i feel you need to with Real Black? I have no experience with BH209, I have a Full pound of it Though! I Wonder if this BH209 stuff would burn a line any better in my Driveway than the Pyrodex P Did?

 

[shguns]

If it were mine I'd consider sending that barrel to Bobby Hoyt to be bored bigger and cleaned up.
Maybe a .54 quick twist or just a .54 round ball barrel. I know you dont shoot round ball but you could embrace your inner mountain man and try it :wink: :lol:

 

[Idaholewis]

I know you dont shoot round ball but you could embrace your inner mountain man and try it :wink: :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol: I’ve actually thought about a .50 Cal Roundball barrel for my Lyman Great Plains Hunter, the Thought of it just doesn’t excite me? This Old Renegade barrel will soon be in Mr Hoyt’s hands, it will end up being a 1:32 Twist .54 Cal Bullet Barel, And a Gift to my Dad :yeah:

 

[Harleysboss]

Now that's a great IDEA! Dad will Love That!

 

[idahoron]

But i stil say my Sidelocks are WAY WAY easier to Clean, I could easily clean 2 Sidelock Rifles to 1 Knight MK-85. There is Simply more stuff going on with these inline Rifles, The Bolt breaks down to 5 Pieces that i feel need individually Cleaned (my Little handheld Steam cleaner works Wonders here) The Breech Plug (Steam Cleaner again ) I steam clean, then Wash the Parts with a little dish soap and Water, And then you have the Barrel to do, The Breech plug threads are the Worst PITA to get as Thorough Clean as i feel they should be. It made a BIG difference doing away with the Grease/Anti Seize and Going to The Teflon tape. But Fact is This MK-85 is TOUGHER, And Way More time Consuming to Clean to “My Standards” than my Sidelocks. No one will ever convince me differently! I was warned about this quite Sometime ago, So i knew what i was getting in to When i Bought the MK-85,

I agree 100%. The MK85 is a lot harder to clean than my Hot Rods.

 

[Idaholewis]

But i stil say my Sidelocks are WAY WAY easier to Clean, I could easily clean 2 Sidelock Rifles to 1 Knight MK-85. There is Simply more stuff going on with these inline Rifles, The Bolt breaks down to 5 Pieces that i feel need individually Cleaned (my Little handheld Steam cleaner works Wonders here) The Breech Plug (Steam Cleaner again ) I steam clean, then Wash the Parts with a little dish soap and Water, And then you have the Barrel to do, The Breech plug threads are the Worst PITA to get as Thorough Clean as i feel they should be. It made a BIG difference doing away with the Grease/Anti Seize and Going to The Teflon tape. But Fact is This MK-85 is TOUGHER, And Way More time Consuming to Clean to “My Standards” than my Sidelocks. No one will ever convince me differently! I was warned about this quite Sometime ago, So i knew what i was getting in to When i Bought the MK-85,

I agree 100%. The MK85 is a lot harder to clean than my Hot Rods.

I sat and studied this MK-85 in every possible way trying to come up with the best, and easiest way to go about cleaning it? There simply isn’t one! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy cleaning my Rifles, it’s part of the Sport. But I see these inlines as a Booger to clean as thorough as i feel they should be Cleaned. With real Blackpowder, And the Substitutes that is. Mike (Sabotloader) helped me quite a bit with Pics of his method. But i feel the Bolt needs to be Stripped Completely apart and each piece thoroughly cleaned. The Blowback Residue in the Reciever is a ROYAL PITA to get at, i feel you have no choice but to get the entire barrel Wet to get them really good n clean. This means my Peep Bridge needs to be Removed or Dunked in Water (i remove it) The Timney trigger needs to be removed and Blowback cleaned from it. I could EASILY clean 2 Sidelock Muzzleloaders, probably 3 of them in the time it takes to Strip this MK-85 Down and THOROUGHLY clean it to my Standards

With a Sidelock you pull the Wedge key, Take the Nipple out, Dunk the Barrel in a Bucket of Water and in a Few passes you have the Bore Clean, Run a few Dry patches, Pull the Hammer and clean it, Clean the nipple, Blow any excess moisture off with my Air Compressor, Put it back together and DONE :yeah: Not even a close comparison to this MK-85, And I would put ANY of My GM LRH Barreled Sidelocks up Against this MK-85 in a Shootout ANY OLE DAY!

I Really like this Old MK-85, VERY NICE Rifle, I am Glad to Own it as a piece of Cool History! But it’s doubtful that I’ll shoot it that much.

 

[user20839]

if this barrel is destined to be rebored................ why not bore and reline it back to a 50? the barrel is stamped 50. I have a 54 barrel I want to bore and reline, but i cringe when i see a barrel stamped 54 and it is relined to 50 and vice-versa. I am still trying to find a nice clean 50 to add to my collection.