A friend of mine is moving to Alabama and had this older muzzleloader he never fired, so he gave it to me. Seeing how I love free stuff, I accepted. Its a Thompson/Center Seneca in .45 cal. It appears to have some surface rust but looks ok over all. I'm pretty sure she'll clean up well.


I'm a noob at this. I've never actually owned a BP firearm of any time. I was wondering if the hive mind could hook me up with what gear and loads would work best with this particular arm


Now, some pictures

It appears to be a .45 cal. All you need to do now is drop the $100 plus for the stuff to get it to work, or did you get anything with it besides the ML.

Nope, just the gun. I don't mind spending a little money. BP looks fun and something I've always wanted to try. Let me know what I need and I'll get it done.

Go here and do some reading, very informative.
www.muzzleloadingforum.com

Balls (.440)
patches (.015)
Powder (goex FF)
Precussion caps (#11 cci)
Now go have fun!
Clean up should be easy, its a hooked breach. Just pull the retaining wedge and the barrel should come right off.  Some hot soapy water and maybe a little bore butter and you're good!  
Don't forget to clean that nipple real good.

Now, if you want to get fancy you can spend as much (and more) on accutramounts as you want to. But for basic shooting that should do it.
Oh, and have fun!  There is nothing like it.

ETA load info.  About sixty grains of powder should do ya' to start. Vary the load by five grain increments up and down until you find the sweet spot.   You can also use FFF powder if you want, just use less of it.  Maybe 50 grains.

Quoted: Balls (.440) patches (.015) Powder (goex FF) Precussion caps (#11 cci) Now go have fun! Clean up should be easy, its a hooked breach. Just pull the retaining wedge and the barrel should come right off.  Some hot soapy water and maybe a little bore butter and you're good!   Don't forget to clean that nipple real good. Now, if you want to get fancy you can spend as much (and more) on accutramounts as you want to. But for basic shooting that should do it. Oh, and have fun!  There is nothing like it. ETA load info.  About sixty grains of powder should do ya' to start. Vary the load by five grain increments up and down until you find the sweet spot.   You can also use FFF powder if you want, just use less of it.  Maybe 50 grains.

Good advice but I'd use 3Fg and start at 40 grains for a nice target load good out to 50 yards or so. 3Fg is cleaner burning and the lighter powder charge will make your powder last longer and be plenty good for punching holes in paper.  Work up in 5 grain increments to find the most accurate load.  Bore Butter or Crisco are good patch lubes.  A 50/50 mixture of beeswax and mutton tallow is a traditional lube, and is available premade from Dixie Gun Works as "Old Zip."  Avoid petroleum based lubes because they make BP fouling a lot worse.

You also MUST get a BP powder measure.  It is unsafe to load directly from the powder can.  BP measures will be made of plastic or brass and graduated in 5 or 10 grain increments.  A pour spout for your powder can will make it a lot easier to fill the measure without spilling.

If you decide you like BP shooting get a copy of Lyman's Black Powder Handbook.