Thompson Center Arms .45 rifle

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BigPapa4147

New member
I received a muzzle- loading black powder rifle from my grandfather a few years back and was wondering if anybody could tell me anything about it. The barrel says Thompson Center Arms Cal 45. My grandfather told me he bought it as a kit back in the 80s and put it together himself. It has never been fired and I would love to shoot it if possible. Any info would be great. Thanks
 
Does it look sorta like this?

tcrenorev1jan2006.jpg


If so, it works well with a patched round ball and rather light loads due to its rather fast 1 in 48 rifleing twist that was a compromise between round ball and bullet twist.
TC lists a maximum load of 90 gr FFg if I remember correctly.
My personal best accuracy seemed to come with around 50 gr FFFg and .445 roundball patched with .010 patching but each rifle is an individual and experimentation is required to find the sweet load.
TC Maxi Ball bullets also work but these aren't accurate until you reach almost maximum loads.

Lot's of folks still shoot these at muzzleloading matches but usually replace the barrel with a custom Green Mountain drop in replacement barrel with a no-compromise slow twist for round ball shooting.

It's a good gun, have fun with it.
 
A few possibilities here and B.L.E. is showing you a Hawken Model. This is probably what it is. After that, it coud be a Seneca, Renegade and a few choices after that. Go to gun broker and you will see pictures that would match your rifle. Is there a name stamped on the barrel? If not, it's an "Pre-Stamp" model. Yes, it's safe to shoot after a little more prep work, I see no reason why not. Folks in this forum will give you additional input if you can provide more info and even pictures. I have a few kits together myself and own quite a few of the older side-locks. TC will even provide you with a loading manual. Going to warn you that you can catch the bug and be hooked for life. Sure wish I could find the old guy that got me hooked years ago. .... :eek:

Be Safe !!!
 
I guessed the Hawkin model because it was most likely to be sold as a kit and the '80s was generally before the in-line, sabot bullet, pellet powder charge heresy.

In the '80s, muzzloaders wanted to shoot like Davy Crockett, not take advantage of special ML hunting seasons. Most states did not yet have special ML only seasons yet.
 
Yes it does pretty much look like the picture. And no, it doesn't have any name stampes on it. And I can't figure out how to upload pictures from my phone, I'll try when I get home in the morning. Thanks
 
It's most likely a Seneca. Both the Seneca and the Cherokee were available in .45 cal in the 80's as kit guns; I'm not aware of a .45 Hawken or Renegade as a kit in that time frame.

The Hawken has a 28" barrel; the Seneca barrel is 27", the Renegade is 26" and the Cherokee is 24". All had octagonal barrels and double set triggers. The Hawken has a patchbox; the Renegade does not. I don't recall if the Cherokee had a patchbox or not, but I believe the Seneca did.

Measure the barrel length by putting a cleaning jag on the ramrod, dropping it in the bore to the bottom and measuring the length of the rod inside the barrel. The cleaning jag is to keep the rod tip out of the patent breech.
 
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Just another thought, when testing load accuracy, don't shoot on a windy day or a day that is partly cloudy. Changing light will change the point of aim when shooting with open sights and even a mild 5 mph crosswind will drift a roundball several inches at 100 yards.

I didn't know this when I first started shooting muzzleloaders and I kept blaming the barrel.
 
Okay, Foller me on this !! ... :)
From the toe of the buttstock up the belly, is there a flat , brass plate, say about 1/8" thick by 1/2" wide? If so, it's a Seneca. If not, it's probably a Hawken model, if it has a brass nose cap. The Seneca also has a trapazoidal cheek rest where the Hawkens is oval in shape. Both the Seneca and the Hawken has a patch box although the Seneca's is smaller. At any rate, reference tha manual link that arcticap has provided. Again, pictures of both, are currently showing on GunBroker.



Be Safe !!!
 
the early 70's kit was a 45 hawken . after you break it in ,try and find some sabots for it and youll have some fun!! i use 357 158gr slugs in mine,and they fly!!:D
 
I havn't had a chance to measure the barrel yet because I can't find my tape measure (it's funny how stuff dissapears when you need it). I could also be off on its age. judging by the descriptions and pics I'm almost 100% positive its a Hawken
 
Managed to dig out some pictures of a Seneca I restored last winter:
PB190205.jpg

PB190208.jpg

For comparison, here's one of my Hawkens, a .54:
0016.jpg

P6250026_01.jpg

And here's my .50 kit Hawken:
0014.jpg

P6250020.jpg

The differences in the cheek pieces are obvious and should clear up any questions remaining.
One other measurement that tells the tale is the width of the barrel across the flats. The Seneca measures 13/16", the .45 and .50 Hawkens measure 15/16" and the .54 Hawken measures 1".
 
You have got your hands on a great rifle! American made, I really like the Thompson Center guns, especially the Hawken.

I have had mine for 28 years and have killed ten deer and wild hogs with it.
I shoot patched round ball.

Mine is a .50 but yours will make a good deer rifle.
 
Yep, definatly a Hawken. Tomorrow I'm gonna go pick up some bp, caps and balls, along with all the other equipment. Any ideas as to whaty I should get (brand and type of powder and caps). I have very little experince. I've only fired my friends modern muzzle loader a few times. Thanks
 
Goex makes a very good black powder. Schutzen is good also. Bench rest shooters consider Swiss black powder some of the best available but it costs quite a bit extra.
Not every place sells real black powder due to the regulations regarding black powder. It has to be stored in a special powder magazine so the places that do sell it usually don't have it on display on the store shelves, they have to get a can of it from the back of the store.
If you can't find real black powder, Pyrodex RS works quite well, makes just as much smoke, and doesn't smell all that different. It's harder to ignite so you may want to buy magnum caps.
CCI makes the best percussion caps IMHO. Size 11 is what you need.
.440 diameter round balls and .015 inch thick pillow ticking patches should work ok.
Using an empty .30-30 shell for a powder measure is a good starting load if you don't wish to buy an adjustable powder measure.

To clean the barrel after shooting, pull the wedge pin out of the forestock and lift the barrel up and out of the stock. Unscrew the nipple and put the back of the barrel into a bucket of water and use the ramrod with a cleaning patch to pump water into and out of the barrel and then oil the bore. The breech plugs in traditional style muzzleloaders are not meant to be removed by the user.

Have fun.
 
I went up to Dunham's yesterday and picked up a few odds and ends, would have gotten more, but as usual no one was behind the counter so I couldn't get a good look at the powder, primers or balls and after 10 mins of waiting, after I asked for help up front, I paid for what I had and left. Figured id go to gander mountain today, or if I have the time cabelas later this week. Hopefully I'll be able to get to the range next week.
 
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