My $250 Renegade

[Confederate rifleman]

.54 percussion needs some love.
I have a T/C aperture on the way, and am eager to turn her into something FUN.
There's some nice grain hiding under the factory finish, so... A nice oil finish is called for.
She has some nice bluing wear on the barrel and triggerguard. Love that!
I polished up the bore with Iosso bore paste because, while her bore is very nice, it does damage patches rather severely. I do prefer conicals/ minies to ball, and sabots to all. Not 45/54s though. My .50s have that sewn up. Rather, a 50/54 is intriguing...
But right now, I'm thinking paper cartridges with a proper minie would be a HOOT!
My growing positive experiences with sidelocks makes me want to see what this will all lead to. Something in me would love to see a .577 rebore of a G.M. barrel. 1-38 (1-48 max) for putting some 575213OS down range...

 

[Splitear]

Good luck. I just refinished my TC Hawken, and it totally changed the way I felt about the gun. It is mine now, not just another Hawken.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Handsome rifle gun ya got there!

 

[drpatton]

Something in me would love to see a .577 rebore of a G.M. barrel. 1-38 (1-48 max) for putting some 575213OS down range...

I'm curious. Why a .577 rebore? I understand the 575213OS is chosen for that, but why .577? I had a .58 Mississippi rifle many decades ago it it shot minnies very well, so I am acquainted with the larger bore.

I like your 1:38 twist rate. I came to the conclusion about twenty-five years ago, the 1:30something was the best twist range for a .54.

I wasn't aware of sleaving a barrel so I wasn't aware of Bob Hoyt back then.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

My mold drops a .575 and that's about perfect in a .577 bore.
(Besides, .577 sound WAY cooler than .58... omo.)
If it's to operate like a minie should.
I just got a Lyman 542622 minie mold to try her as a .54. Its designed for " maximum charges in .540 bore 1-48 twist rifles". 425 grains of OUCH.

 

[smokepolehall]

Well i am going to watch you n your Renegade along. I have same, its a .54 2nd one i have had. Someone loved my 1st one so much they broke out my right door window n got it. I was inside a cafe getting lunch after hunting all morning

 

[BP Addict]

I've read several older books about the hobby. Sleeving a bore was very common back then. Mr. Hoyt is the only person I know that still does that. Most others just want to cut it to the next size up.

Walt

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I've read several older books about the hobby. Sleeving a bore was very common back then. Mr. Hoyt is the only person I know that still does that. Most others just want to cut it to the next size up.

Walt

A local gun smith has shown me a couple CF guns that he has sleeved recently. He said he wasn't interested in doing MLs tho.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Just scored a brand new T/C aperture sight, still in its blister package.
Now she'll be proper sighted!

 

[Frank in Fairfield]

I would love to be able to shoot the Barnes .50 caliber bullets I have in a .54 caliber sabot, in my Renegade. They don’t load very easy though. I was thinking of trying a very thin patch something like .005” in lieu of the sabot. What do you think?

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Paper patching a copper bullet. Succuess seems doubtful. The other issue is the 1-48 twist may be too slow to stabilize it. Coppers are notoriously long for weight. If it's longer than a 250 grain .45 XTP, assuming your shooting a .45 bullet in a sabot, it most likely won't give good accuracy. Some rifles never read Greenhill.

 

[smokepolehall]

Paper patching a copper bullet. Succuess seems doubtful. The other issue is the 1-48 twist may be too slow to stabilize it. Coppers are notoriously long for weight. If it's longer than a 250 grain .45 XTP, assuming your shooting a .45 bullet in a sabot, it most likely won't give good accuracy. Some rifles never read Greenhill.

I agree, i used 31.5 gr of 4759 powder n wool wad then a 225 gr .451 Barnes colt pistol bullet couple days ago. I used LRMP in a DI module n both of my shots yawed at 25 yards. Did not get them going fast enough to obturate. Copper is tough to get up to speed to stabilize. My next try will be same bullet but 34.5 gr of 4759

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Not necessarily fast enough, speed doesn't cause obturation, pressure does. Sound like they need a bigger boot up the bum...

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Obturation works in 2 directions. Length and width. The base of the bullet is moving before the nose, thus shortening. The displaced needs to go somewhere, so it goes to the sides.
I once fired a Lyman 575213OS into a powder snow bank at 200 yards. Went and dug it out and it was pristine, other than the rifling. Not another mark on it.
BUT! It looked different. I compared it to an unfired and low and behold... it was shorter! .125 shorter to be exact.
No deformity from the rammer. Barely needed it to get it to the powder. Wish I still had it, but I recast it and killed a yankee doe a week later.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Mounted the aperture and before removing the open rear sight, co-witnessed it. Ought to be close.
Gonna try it with Lee 300 grain REALs, lubed with SPG, a .58 lubed Ox Yoke wad and 70 grains of 3f Swiss. Nice load. Polite on my end.
I've got a few other conicals to try. And ball too.
Ball...

 

[bronko220002]

G96 blueing creme is a great product. I did a Rice barrel with it. One application 90 second set, rinse and oil and it came out gorgeous.
Gave the barrel a deep rich blued look.