T/C Renegade SB 56 cal

[silly goose]

Gun is in good shape w/a clean bore.  Would this make a good bunny gun over a beagle.  I don't really care how many rabbits I take, I'm happy to hear the dog run, but would this setup be capable?  And is $300 a fair price? Appreciate any advice.  This would be my first ML, and yeah, it would be a plus if I could use it for deer, but think ML shotgunning would be a hoot. Thanks guys.

[pastorp]

goose,

Is it a smoothbore barrel? If it is I believe thats 28ga. You can shoot shot or patched round ball out of it. It would make a dandy fouler and they are highly sought after. Don't know what your state requires for deer but it should be legal in most states with a patched round ball.

I'd buy it in a heartbeat if it's in good condition for $300.

[silly goose]

It is a smoothbore.  I'm trying not to let excitement cloud my judgement, which is proving difficult.  I have been blessed with extra sidework this year, and managed to reach a goal of paying off a couple good bills, and now find it difficult to let go of any of that hard earned cash after saving and scrimping like I have been.  But this is one of those things that is just calling to me. 

[quickdtoo]

Just FYI...  

Tim

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,217228.msg1099177653.html#msg1099177653

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,209905.msg1099114764.html#msg1099114764

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,214743.msg1099155928.html#msg1099155928

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,211296.msg1099126673.html#msg1099126673

[silly goose]

Well, alrighty then, that certainly cooled my jets.  Kinda hurts a lil bit though.  I'll figure something out eventually.  The whole "act in haste, repent at leisure thing".  Thanks.

[necchi]

Ya 300 is a little high 225-250 maybe if it's in really good shape, the bore for that money should shine with out blemish. And is does depend on the region, east of the Mississippi seems to have a lower price than in some western states, it's matter of common availablity or not.

 I had one with intent to use on clays and the 28 proved just a little lame, it broke birds but didn't bust'm. But bunny's don't take much to knock'm over.
And un-rifled bore is accurate to 50 maybe 75 yrds with a round ball, good thing with the Renegade is you can find rifled barrels in 50 and 54 that will drop right on (frequently on ebay)

 Then you'll need over powder wad, shot cushin and over shot card another $20-30 by the time you done with shipping. Then of course all the goodies that are needed for the ML gun, powder, caps, cleaning jags, capper (shot is $40 for 25#'s)
The Renegade IS a good starter gun, T/C offers a lifetime warrenty and honors that for folks that are not the original owner. There are several models, a double trigger, a single trigger, with a rubber butt plate, with a steel but plate,,

 There is a learning curve, esp with the shotgun as powder charge and shot weight variables are what's used to change the shot pattern

[coyotejoe]

I have a Renegade with four barrels. I got it in .50 caliber rifle, picked up a .56 smoothbore barrel, fitted a new Sharon .54 caliber roundball barrel and a 36" 20 gauge smoothbore. It's really easy to fit extra barrels to a half-stock rifle and since one can only use one gun at a time having four barrels for one gun is as good as having four guns and a heck of a lot cheaper.
If that Renegade showed up in the classifieds of the Muzzloading Forum it would be gone in a day.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/pp-classifieds/showcat.php/cat/9/page/1
I haven't hunted with the .56 smoothbore but do have a 30" 28 gauge barrel fitted to a T/C Pennslyvania Hunter with improved cylinder jug choke and with one ounce shot loads it is a sweet little shotgun. The .56 Renegade barrel is a few inches shorter and being straight octagon is a bit heavier but I doubt that would detract all that much.

[silly goose]

Ok, then.  I was able to work out a trade with another great member of this site, and soon should have a renegade with the .56 smooth bore, as well as a .50 cal rifled barrel.   I was looking into the over powder/shot cards and wads.  I haven't been able to find .56, only 28 ga(.560, meant for .550), which is close.  So far I'm looking into the 28 ga over powder card, and 28 ga wad, but think I'll go with the 24 ga (.579) overshot card to hold things snug in there for field use.  That was recommended by another.  Am I on the right track?  What do you fellas find yourself using for bunnies as far as powder and shot.  Can you tell me how much is too much?  Again, I'm not looking for anything crazy, just want to use it as intended.  Thanks for all your help.  I'm sure I'll have to figure some of this out from trial and error, just looking for a starting point.

[necchi]

Here's a good place to start, It's T/C's manual for your gun. It's full of loading and saftey info/protochol. A good read for the novice as it describes tools and the process,
Free Download; you get up into the 70ish pages and theres the load info. I would recomend actually reading the thing cover to cover and saving the file to desktop for easy referance.
http://www.tcarms.com/assets/manuals/noncurrent/Shooting_TC_Side_Lock_Black_Powder_Guns.pdf

[coyotejoe]

I'm using 28 gauge wads in my .56, I wish they were a bit tighter but they're the best I've found. I think you're on the right track with the 24 gauge over shot card. The standard load for the 28 gauge is 3/4 ounce of shot but they seem to handle one ounce just fine. Load that over 70 grains of 2f or 55-60 grains of 3f and kill some bunnies. Some people load them a lot heavier but there is little to be gained by going over one ounce.

[silly goose]

necchi, thank you for the link, couldn't find a better source.  Coyotejoe, I smiled all the way through your post.  I'm going to give the .50 cal a try first, and see if I can have a go at whitetail, and then its smooth bore all the way til the end of February.  All I can think about is smoke and smiles.  And maybe an occasional bunny, I'm only good at the slow ones.   

[Huntsman1]

I had one..and traded it to my Big Bro. For my shot load I used an empty 45/70 shell and one equal scoop of shot and one FFG black powder. I used .56cal wads and over shot cards. My brother made some paper rolled shot loads and he said they worked good and with a .535 rb and 2x lubed patch he could hit a bulls eye at 70yds.
Its a good gun IMO, I paid $350CAD for mine and traded it for my Big Bro's pre 64 '94 30-30.

[surveyor47]

I had a 56SB when I lived in Massachusetts, before rifles and round balls were allowed.  I found the 56 accurate enough out to about 75 yards, but very diffiult to load with patched round ball.  Looking at the Lyman tables, I soon found  out that a 50 cal maxi ball had much greater energy at 100 yards than a 56 round ball.  One of the surprises Ive had is that the 56 that I owned was nearly as accurate as some 50 & 54 rifle loadings with REAL type bullets.  The rifles were easier to load, but thats about it. Still, those 56 round balls seem to kill deer very dead within 50 yards.     

Many N-SSA skirmishers use a round ball roughed up with a rasp to get good accuracy.  Some even use aluminum foil as a patch, believe it or not.  Those guys might have some good ideas applicable to hunters.  www.n-ssa.org