Range report with the t/c New Englander

[lonewolf5347]

Well had some time to kill this morning took the 54 cal. new englander out to see how is the new stock,that t/c did replace on it .First I have to remove that 1 1/4 recoil pad they have on it.I did purchase a new recoil  pad .040 ,takes off an inch off that length of pull,next the front sight has to be replaced with a taller sight,had the rear cranked home and still shooting 6 inches high at 50 yards.
I found that the New Englander favor goex 3f over pyrodex select,80 grains of goex a wonder wad and a 380 grain REAL stayed in a 2 1/2 inch group at 50 yards ,can't really complain about that,the eyes are not what thay use to be.
All in All I do like the new englander light ,single pull trigger is excellent,and it shoots well,a good deer gun out to 100 yards
T/C did replace the stock with a black mountain walnut stock,seem they do not make the new englander stock no longer.

[Will Bison]

Well dial that baby in. It should shoot a bit better with some work. Think about getting a bedding job. Bedding did wonders on my front stuffers.

Sights are another problem, at 60 years the eyes are failing so I went to good peep sights.

Above all have fun.

[lonewolf5347]

Yep: My thunderhawk is glass-beded and I have to say the gun does shoot well:Last year in the  early m/l season in PA> I did take a doe with the thunderhawk using precssion silver lighting 300 grain,bullet performed excellent.I did also harvest a huge 8 pointer opening day in PA. (20 inch inside spread) using a precission qt 's 45 cal 350 grain sabot poly tip bullet.The bullet did release all the power of the bullet inside the chest area: blood trail was poor and I did almost lost the big buck,tracking skill did pay off to locate the deer.
I also have some SST 300 grain sabot that I would like to try in the thunderhawk,but will have to change the sabot for a 54 cal.

[Snowshoe]

Lonewolf, have you tried shooting balls out of it? I have found the 1 in 48" twist often shoots balls better than bullets, and a .54 cal ball is big medicine. I use a 180g .50 cal ball for whitetail hunting, and have had great results.

[lonewolf5347]

I have not tried RB out of the new englander yet I do favor the REAL conical over a RB.