Back in the 1990's

[Guy Miner]

Back in the mid 1990's I did some hunting with this little 50 cal Thompson-Center White Mountain Carbine, pretty much a lighter, handier version of TC's more famous Renegade. I shot two mule deer with it, a doe and a buck. Two shots two deer. Convinced me that maybe the old-timers were better armed than I'd thought. Haven't shot it in years. Decided to haul it out of the safe today for a couple of photos. Oklahoma has a 6 deer limit and a muzzle loading season... Who knows?




The doe one year, the buck the next, each at under 50 yards. Did some careful stalking.

Was hunting with a group of good guys - but after two years of hunting with them, we started losing guys to new jobs, new locations, the old group broke up and that was the end of me choosing a muzzle loader for the one deer limit in Washington state. Within a few years the 25-06 had started racking up a good score, but I look forward to hunting the the TC again someday, perhaps this fall. It's been lightly used and seems to have aged well.

Regards, Guy

 

[Dr. Vette]

That looks quite nice for the age. If you have a spot where there's a chance at closer range, it would be fun to use again.

 

[Guy Miner]

That looks quite nice for the age. If you have a spot where there's a chance at closer range, it would be fun to use again.

It's only been out of the safe a few times since the 1990's. Long time since I've shot it, so minimal wear and tear.

Six deer limit here and a lot of the hunting is less than 100 yards. Also hogs...

Guy

 

[truck driver]

My first Muzzle loader was a TC Hawkin kit that I put together and learned how to rust Brown the metal like they did before Royal Bluing came along, funny it was a rust process also.
Nice looking rifle Guy bet it shoots good.

 

[RememberBaker]

I bought one of those White Mountain Carbines when they were first introduced but I didn’t care for the coarse sights or the trigger, which had a mile of creep. I did kill some deer with it but I was happy to move on.

 

[3 Meter Para Bellum]

One day I really want to shoot a muzzle loader. Hunting? Well if I ever get the chance I'll have to try.

 

[Teknys]

Brings back memories ! I too have a Thompson-Center White Mountain Carbine I purchased in 1992 / 1993 . I hunted Mt Adams area in WA those years. Mine was a .54 cal and I used the Hornady Great Plains Bullet at 425gns (?). I took many Blacktail and a few elk with this gun. It was my first gun with the straight grip and I shot it surprisingly well. I hunted with mine for about 5-6 years until I got an in-line.
You are going to enjoy shooting that gun again. It was a pleasure to carry and it comes up to the shoulder so well.
Good luck on your season.

 

[JD338]

I had the same rifle. Unfortunately I sold mine and bought an online muzzleloader. Yours looks fantastic! Best of luck this fall.

JD338

 

[RL338]

A blast from the past , and still show room condition.

 

[salmonchaser]

That is as close to shooting a deer mine has been. I need to change that.

 

[IdahoCTD]

Mine is a Renegade .54. I shot some hogs, a deer and a few elk with it. Still have it too.

 

[JMRhino]

I do a lot of hunting with my TC Encore in .50 Cal and it is very effective, but I know it's not the same animal as shooting an older percussion cap model. Did you use lead conicals for the hunts?

 

[IdahoCTD]

I used TC Maxi Hunters, I think they were called, and Buffalo bullets. The TC's are a pre-lubed solid lead bullet.

 

[Bruce Mc]

I built a TC Hawken 50 cal from a kit. I liked the double set trigger. I put a Lyman receiver sight on mine and used Lyman REAL bullets with 90grs of FF powder. This was back in the late 70s and early 80s. The local gun club had black powder shoots using the metallic silhouette range for handguns. Lots of fun.

 

[Guy Miner]

I do a lot of hunting with my TC Encore in .50 Cal and it is very effective, but I know it's not the same animal as shooting an older percussion cap model. Did you use lead conicals for the hunts?

Yes, the 385 grain Hornady "great plains" hollow point soft lead bullets. Expanded well and killed quickly. Also pretty doggone accurate. One year I used black powder, after that I used Pyrodex.

Guy

 

[PJGunner]

I have a few muzzle loaders but they haven't seen daylight in years. One is a Lyman plains rifle .50 caliber that looks like the original Hawkins back in the 1800s. Another is a TC something or another that I forget the name and is a .54 caliber.

The last one is probably the only one I would never sell. My problem is I have no clue as to whether it's an original or a damn fine clone. Regardless it too is a .50 caliber and is as light as a feather compared to my other two guns. If it's a clone then it's a copy of a British sporting rifle from the 100s. Stock is a nice walnut and all metal finish looks like rust bluing. The bore as near as I can tell is still shiny and the rifle probably shoots better than I can.
I only shot my home cast balls with a proper patch in those riles.

Guess it's time to tell a tale on myself. This was back when I lived in Nevada. I was out one night hunting rabbit as usual with my buddy when we ran into a couple kids also harassing the bunnies. I'd just bought one of the .50 caliber Hawkins that T/C brought out and had it loaded up just waiting to put a cap on the nipple should shot come up. We were al talking when the dumb jackrabbit showed up at the edge of the lights so I put the cap on the nipple, took aim and let fly. To this day I have no idea if I hit that rabbit or not. What I do know is one does not shoot a muzzle loaded over dry grass. Enter one instant grass fire that spread rapidly even though there was little wind. It was put and take as to whether we could put the fire out. It took some work but we did succeed in stopping the fire.
My muzzle loaders have been range guns and teaching devices in Hunter Ed ever since.
PJ

 

[JN270]

I enjoy muzzleloader hunting. My first was a Thompson Center New Englander in 54 cal. Only killed one doe with it but used to chase elk up the mountain with it.

Yours looks like a cool muzzleloader in great condition.

 

[RememberBaker]

I’m a muzzleloader junkie and I have no idea how many I have but probably 30ish. My favorite sidelocks are the T/C Senecas. I’ve killed way more deer with muzzleloaders than centerfire rifles but I only hunt deer with scoped inline guns now. I do hunt squirrels with sidelocks in .32 since missing a squirrel isn’t a big deal.

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

Do it Guy!

I also am going on a muzzleloader hunt with my old pal Zach in December. Its a “one whitetail deer” tag!

 

[IdahoCTD]

I put in for muzzleloader hunts for deer, elk and antelope this year and didnt draw any of them. My kids will get muzzleloader tags for antelope thanks to their mom and grandmother. Parents or grandparents can transfer tags to their children or grandchildren up to 17 years of age here in ID.