Advice needed, new to inline rifles

[Keone]

Aloha! I am a senior on a fixed income living in Honolulu. I shoot traditional black powder rifles. A few months back I had purchased a Thompson Center Encore magnum XT 50 cal. I wish to try shooting Hornady .490 round ball or conicals mainly because I can not afford to shoot sabots. I normally shoot 15-20 rounds every week. I enjoy shooting round ball and it is something I can afford to shoot. i Have no experience with on line rifles. I assume like in traditional blackpowder I use a wet/lubed patch for round ball and a lubed felt wad for conical?
My target load for Hornady .50 and .54 round ball is 60 gr FFg. The encore is rated for 150 gr.
what is a good starting load or target load? Thank you in advance for any assistance or advice you have to offer. i would appreciate any advice on loads, bullets or tips. It’s like stepping into another dimension like computers, for me. I am old and slow and trying to figure it out. i have not fired the rifle yet. Thanks.

 

[snapbang]

Welcome, I have some thoughts but there are other more experiences with shooting PRB out of an inline. They will chime in. Its 6am here in EST. May take them a little time to get the coffee going. But they will be here. Enjoy

 

[deermanok]

Welcome from Oklahoma. I'm up early as we have some serious thunderstorms rolling through now. Looks like the 4th of July out there with all the lightning 🌩.
60 grains of powder with the patched ball should be good. You could go up or down a bit until you find an accurate load.
I have a CVA Optima V2 pistol that shoots a .490 ball surprisingly well with 60 grains [V] of 3f black powder.

 

[rugerbh103]

Keep the charge light and you should find something that works.

 

[Boone]

Welcome. That's a nice rifle. How many do you have?

 

[Keone]

Welcome. That's a nice rifle. How many do you have?

i have a Thompson traditionals. Grey Hawk (stainless) in 54, a Renegade in .50 and a Renegade with a Green Mountain barrel 1:66 in .50. I enjoy shooting round ball and I can still have fun and can afford it. I bought the in-line and put a scope on it for fun and something to try out. All my traditionals have open sights. Thank you and everyone for your help and advice. I had purchase some sabots wil will try them maybe next year. I am slow and old, but still like having fun. I love round ball.

 

[UndeadPoet]

Welcome!

 

[deermanok]

i have a Thompson traditionals. Grey Hawk (stainless) in 54, a Renegade in .50 and a Renegade with a Green Mountain barrel 1:66 in .50. I enjoy shooting round ball and I can still have fun and can afford it. I bought the in-line and put a scope on it for fun and something to try out. All my traditionals have open sights. Thank you and everyone for your help and advice. I had purchase some sabots wil will try them maybe next year. I am slow and old, but still like having fun. I love round ball.

I love target shooting with the round ball too. If my guns shoot well enough with them, I figure a sabot bullet or conical can't be worse.

 

[Keone]

Headed out to the range now with my Green Mountain 1:66 and a .22 hornet Thompson Contender to shoot steels. I love my .22 hornet in the Contender and Ruger no.3. Bullets are cheap and don’t use a lot of powder. Just need to be careful reloading because brass is then. using the Lyman “M” die helps a lot.

 

[Keone]

Welcome from Oklahoma. I'm up early as we have some serious thunderstorms rolling through now. Looks like the 4th of July out there with all the lightning 🌩.
60 grains of powder with the patched ball should be good. You could go up or down a bit until you find an accurate load.
I have a CVA Optima V2 pistol that shoots a .490 ball surprisingly well with 60 grains [V] of 3f black powder.

The CVA Optima V2 is the next pistol I shall buy. Sounds great! I got a Thompson Patriot in .45 and it’s accurate. Aloha from Hawaii!

 

[Woodman704]

Welcome. That's a nice rifle. How many do you have?

Is that a T/C Renegade ?

 

[Keone]

Yes, TC Renegade

 

[gman57]

Welcome from NC gotta be rough on fixed income in Honolulu was expensive as hell in the sixties when I was stationed at Barbers Point. Enjoy your new toy in one of the most beautiful places I ever was..

 

[Keone]

We have stayed home more since the pandemic. Drive less, eat less beef, more pork. Even chicken prices took a big jump. My wife loves gardening so she does a great job growing most our vegetables in the backyard. People here still have the Aloha spirit and are more laid back, relaxed and considerate of others. It’s hard to beat sunshine, warm weather and mostly friendly neighbors.

 

[deermanok]

You get to do any hunting there?

 

[Keone]

You get to do any hunting there?

I wish I could but I can no longer walk far or carry heavy loads. Inter-island airfare has gone up by a lot. No longer $50 or $75 one way fares, it’s often $150 to $200. Each way. Hawaiian Airlines is not Hawaiian based, but own by a company in Conn. who don’t care about locals. It’s strictly profits.

 

[deermanok]

I wish I could but I can no longer walk far or carry heavy loads. Inter-island airfare has gone up by a lot. No longer $50 or $75 one way fares, it’s often $150 to $200. Each way. Hawaiian Airlines is not Hawaiian based, but own by a company in Conn. who don’t care about locals. It’s strictly profits.

No kidding, I'm originally from Connecticut.

 

[Boone]

No kidding, I'm originally from Connecticut.

Good that you moved, to Oklahoma?

 

[deermanok]

Good that you moved, to Oklahoma?

I love it here. Quiet rural area. Really good deer hunting.
We moved here to be closer to the kids, they're only a couple hours away in Fort Worth, Texas.

 

[Boone]

I love it here. Quiet rural area. Really good deer hunting.
We moved here to be closer to the kids, they're only a couple hours away in Fort Worth, Texas.

Quiet and rural always sound great, not to mention the kids within reach. Grandkids?