white mountain pistol grip repair/upgrade

B

bamaranger

New member
Quite a few years ago I acquired a T/C White Mtn carbine, killed 1 deer with it, and basically retired the little rifle. Recently I've gotten the itch to hunt BP some more, and have been shooting, and reading up on the carbine. Learned a bit,.....my carbine must be an early one, it's twisted 1-20". It never performed with roundballs, now I know why. PA conicals, and the old Ball-ettes were no better. I shoot a modest charge of FFFg and a T/C 370 gr maxiball, and that groups much better.

One other thing I have picked up on is that the early carbines apparently were prone to stock cracking at the wrist,linked to a tang screw issue with the hooked breech. This issue was apparently resolved as production of the carbine progressed. I strongly suspect my carbine has the weak wrist, seeing as it is early production with its fast twist. My stock is intact, but I would like to head this problem off at the pass. Can anyone further elaborate on the tang issue, and describe a DIY fix that would solve the problem before it surfaces.
 
Interesting !!!

One other thing I have picked up on is that the early carbines apparently were prone to stock cracking at the wrist
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You have my attention as I was not aware of the 1:20 twist or weakness in the wrist/tang. I have a number of early catalogs as well as an early model TC and will check this out. I have hunted with 90grns. and PRB, for a number of years, without a problem. If and when yours or mine, shows a crack, it can be fixed or I can get a stock on E-bay. I too enjoy shooting these carbines and have taken it share of deer. They are also light enough for smaller shooters. Other than that, you can do as Gary has suggested. ...... :)

Oh, one other thought. Many of these split-snail design, can interchange barrels and stock. There might be a possibility of replacing the existing wood with a synthetic from a New Englander and yes, I am aware of the half-round to octagon barrel. Will keep in touch. .... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
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where?

Drill a hole, and glass in a dowel where, exactly? Vertically under each tang screw holes?

Pahoo, if you are getting any type of useable accuracy with roundballs, your carbine likely isn't 1-20". I forgot to mention mine is a .50 cal. Apparently another twist rate for the later .50 White Mtns is 1-38". To help with the short sight radius, I put a T/C peep on my carbine, back in the day when T/C peeps were easily obtained and reasonably priced. These days, any T/C part is priced through the roof, especially on ebay.


After thinking this over a bit, I've decided the old maxim,..... "if it ain't broke, dont fix it".....is likely a good approach. I don't shoot the carbine near enough that I likely will see trouble. When I do shoot it, my load of 70 grs of 3F and the 370 Maxiball is pretty mild, relatively speaking.
 
Thanks for your post.

Pahoo, if you are getting any type of useable accuracy with roundballs, your carbine likely isn't 1-20".
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Yes Sir. Most of the deer taken with my .50, were under 75yds. and have to admit that I have not shot much paper with it or at greater distances. This carbine has performed well. This TC has never presented any mechanical problems. .... :)

Twist;
Oldest TC catalog I have, indicates that the 1:20 is in the .50 cal. 1:48 for the .45 and .54. Had not taken note on this and I thank you for brining it to my attention. My newer catalogs do not show a revised twist. .... :):):)

Be Safe !!!
 
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Years ago a fella that shot in some of the same club matches I did...out on the left coast...shot one of those. He used round balls as was required in the matches, and shot some of the worst scores I have ever seen! I tried to explain to him one time about the twist, but it never sunk in.
 
sorry no pic

Hey 4v50 Gary, sorry no pic. My tech skills, hardware, and patience level are not up to the requirements. But the T/C White Mtn Carbine is a traditional side hammer BP rifle with a simple loop trigger guard. A goggle search should give lots of pics. My rifle is not cracked, and after further consideration, I am not going to dork with it till it does.
 
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