Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders T/C Seneca .45

My first muzzleloader was a T/C Seneca in .45, I've had a bunch of them since then but always regretted getting rid of the Seneca.
I found a new one still in a box and fixed that today.
I only shot T/C maxi hunters out of my first one but I'd like to give PRB's a go this time. I've never shot a PRB and would appreciate any advice as to charge/patch/lube/ball.
RB

Another question. Can you put a Cherokee barrel on a Seneca?

For patched ball, you need to look at both the diameter of the ball, and the depth of the rifling to make a first guess at patch thickness.
I shoot 54 caliber mostly, and the balls could be 530 or 535. Naturally I would use a thicker patch for the 530 given a nominal barrel diameter.
Since TC has shallow rifling, the patch does not have to be very thick to "thread" into the rifling groves. So I would guess a 440 diameter with a .15 patch. I feel the ball should be tight, but not so tight that it is deformed pushing it down the bore. I think snug is better than tight, especially after a couple of shots hunting. I buy precut dry patches. I lube them at home with bore butter and put them in a bag. Bore butter is cheap at walmart, I typically buy it when it is 1/2 price after hunting season. It is consistent, and convenient. You can use any lube, even crisco.
Light loads are probably a safer guess with a 1/48 twist. So I would start at 50 grains by volume and work up in 10 grain increments, then hone it in by 5 grain increments. I only use real black powder, 3F 50 caliber and under. I use 4F in the flash pan in my flints, unless it is wet, then I go to 3F with fletch dry coating.
At the range I run a damp patch after every shot. It keeps the fouling soft. If I have time hunting, I reload, them run a spit patch to keep the bore loose in case I need to reload quickly. I know guys that smash the ball down a dirty barrel by jamming the loading rod against a tree. That deforms the ball, and for the most part is too much silliness for me. I just try to keep the fouling at a minimum. Easy, snug/tightish fit is a pretty good goal.
So, 440 ball, 0.15 patch, bore butter lube, 50 grains 3F.

Lucky you. Those Senacas were the nicest of the old TCs, especially that dolphin hammer.

The TC manual tops out at 90gr of FFg with a .440rb. From my reading, 70gr seems to be a popular choice.

When TC side locks were all the rage back in the 70's, there was someone who would deepen the rifling in your TC barrel from it's .004 to .010 to make the rifle into a "real" round ball gun.

They advertised in Muzzleblasts, the NMRA magazine. Does anyone still do that? It all probably went away with the inline craze.

you can, if the under-rib on the cherokee barrel is shortened a bit; the forend is longer on Senecas so a few inches of the under rib will have to be removed....wedge pin hanger is the same on both, so after shortening the under-rib a few inches, the cherokee barrel is ready to drop in.

i have a seneca stock with a .32 cherokee barrel.

Thank you. I'm hoping to add a .32 or .36 barrel and being able to use a Cherokee barrel improves the chances of finding one. I thought it might be workable.

Thank you for the great replys!
I ordered some .440 RB's this morning and a couple different thicknesses of patches. I also found some of the .45 Maxi-Hunters that I used to use and ordered some.
What are your opinions about shooting deer with a .45 PRB? I had no trouble killing deer with the .45 Maxi Hunters.

I have read of, not experienced, .45rbs failing to break the spine on neck hits. Don't recall the details. If your Senca shoots conicals well, that'd be my choice, or confine shots to the chest/heart. Scads of deer were taken in the East with various longrifles, most of which were probably .50 or under, because lead was expensive and heavy.

Gunwriter Layne Simpson has written of using a Seneca with conicals for deer hunting. A nice walking-around rifle for certain.

I clobbered my buck this year with a .45 Seneca and a 245 grain maxi .. TC design, Lyman mold. "One of the deadest bucks I ever killed."

I'm very curious about PRB as well.

Think about that PRB this way ... it's a 127 grain chunk of lead at 1700-1900 fps, something like that. Makes it very akin to shootin' 'em with a 125 grain JHP out of a .357 magnum carbine. Choose your shot placement accordingly!

I'm gonna do it, but ... carefully.

Tom

I have a 45 caliber Seneca that shoots very good with a Hornady Great Plains conical and 60 grains of black powder. That load has killed many deer for me with that rifle....congrats on your purchase!

I also have a spare barrel for sale if anyone's interested. It's like new with zero rust and strong rifling. Shoot me a PM if interested.