T/C Pennsylvania Hunter 50 cal percussion

[parallaxbill]

I found this one last week in a nearby town but left it at the shop due to my self-inflicted "cooling off" period instilled in me decades ago by my miserly late father.
But, having done that, then researching the rifle, I made up my mind to go back and get it.
Condition is pretty much flawless, and it appears to be unfired. I made a cash out the door offer and here it is.

[parallaxbill]

I'm fond of the 32" 1/66" twist, half octagonal, half round barrel.

[brant]

I think you will love it. My Pop and I have each a New Englander that is very similar and it is a fine muzzle loader! Years after in-line rifles became the rage we hang on to ours.

[richard]

That one would have been hard to leave in the shop!
I think you made the right choice giving it a new home.

[jeffh]

Maybe not "authentic," but TC made VERY fine MLs. They are well-made and ROBUST.

I myself especially like the New Englander and PA Hunter models.

I'd hope it had the slow 1:60" or 1:66" twist for patched round balls. I have no use for the expensive sabots/pistol bullets, when the RB's are very accurate and will punch a half-inch hole clean through a deer. 1:48" twist will work with RBs or Maxis, referred to as a "compromise twist," but the longer barrel suggests the slower twist, as TCs tended to go.

I think you got yourself a very nice ML there.

[jeffh]

Aug 1, 2024 12:58:35 GMT -5 brant said:

.... Years after in-line rifles became the rage we hang on to ours.

Good move!  TC was able to "modernize" muzzle-loaders to a very practical degree, offer these models at a discount over their more traditional ones, but STILL maintain a pleasing firearms aesthetic.

The New Englanders and the PA Hunter also handled and carried very well.  They designed them from both ends rather than just chopping some off each end.  I personally think that these two models were probably the biggest leap forward into a more modern era than anything else anyone else did.

[parallaxbill]

It does have the 1/66" twist, which I prefer.

[simpleman]

T/C made some beautiful traditional muzzleloaders. Nice score! That would have been hard to leave behind. I have a T/C Renegade in .54 cal and it has been a fine deer rifle. Enjoy!

[bisleyfan41]

That's a beautiful rifle and a great find! You're a better man than me to have walked away the 1st time. I'm so weak....

Can't wait to hear how it shoots.

[kgb]

Very nice! I have the same gun but octagon the whole way, had started with a flintlock version of it then went to a percussion model.

For some reason they gave mine the QLA treatment which is a false muzzle, or section at the muzzle that is smooth and groove diameter or maybe a little bigger. It's a feature they put on them so that you can start a maxiball or other type of projectile straight down the bore without having to fight the rifling at the muzzle to try to start it straight. With a 1:66 twist those projectiles aren't usable, so I don't know why they put it in roundball barrels. Fortunately mine's plenty accurate with the right ratio of oil/water and patch thickness, I just can't be one of the cool kids and cut the patch after starting the ball.

Best of luck with yours, my chronograph told me how weak Elephant brand powder was and set me on a course to buying Swiss which wound up more accurate too.

[parallaxbill]

My research on these rifles lead me to believe that the later full octagon barrels with QLA were rifled 1/48, if I recall correctly.

[wgg]

Very nice, I have one with the shorter barrel. I shoot 80 grains ffg black powder with a patched round ball, most accurate load at 50 yards I have found so far. I like the load, deer not so much.

[cas]

^ The White Mountain Hunter.



I had a PA flintlock, it had the QLA muzzle which I wasn't a fan of. Otherwise I liked it, I only sold it when I bough a rifle I wanted more. That's a great looking copy.