TC Patriot Pistol

Some options for continued experimentation with those bullets could be to try some using a .005 linen patch, or paper patched and with a Wonder Wad or card loaded underneath it.

These methods have helped with shooting conicals from rifles, perhaps it would be worth trying with the pistol.

This thread reports about several people shooting 200 - 250 grain conicals from the TC Seneca & Cherokee .45's using these methods with good to great results, although with larger
powder charges from 50 - 70 grains.--->>> http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?262810-LEE-REAL-bullet-for-45cal-Seneca

Along with the bullets needing to be pushed faster, they may need to be properly sealed in the bore and loaded snug enough to not strip the rifling.

I'm not sure that you would want to risk cracking a fragile and difficult to replace Patriot stock by loading too much powder.
You'd be better off cast rounding balls using an inexpensive Lee round ball mold.
A used one can be found on Ebay or gun forums.
Even if the round balls were cast with hard lead, a lubed patch would help to protect the rifling and hard lead is known to work.

Maybe ultra light bullets, or a proven revolver or skirted conical would work better
But to buy a mold to cast those may waste even more money, especially if they don't shoot well.

What distances are you shooting your cast bullets at?
Perhaps you can try shooting them at closer distances while you experiment further.

The only other option that I can think of would be to try a plastic .45 sabot that's designed to fit either a 400 bullet or a .355 - .357 bullet if you have any of those bullets on hand.
Sabots could help address a lot of problems associated with shooting those heavier bore size conicals.
These .45 sabots are available from MMP:--->>> https://www.mmpsabots.com/store/mmp-standard-sabots/

Home Page:--->>> https://www.mmpsabots.com

E-Bay has molds for 25$ or so. Buffalo Arms has 440 Hornady swaged RBs for 13$/100. You could do a lot of shooting for 30$. I had one of them back in the 70s - nice gun and well made. I was always sorry I sold it.

whughett said:

What stock did yours have. This one has no fore end brass furniture as those I’ve seen on the net. Where they produced with different options for stocks.

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Mine has the brass furniture as did every one I ever saw. The stocks are notorious for fracturing when loaded without a proper-fitting stand. Yours could be a homemade stock or an after-market one.

Original stock or not that is sharp looking. Thanks for posting photos.

The first year of production did not have the Brass nose cap on the stock, so that is a plus for possible collector value, and random trivia.

By the way, the .36 Caliber Patriots sell for a pretty penny.

whughett said:

So do the 45’s if we can believe Gunbroker. I paid 200,

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Mine looks to be in excellent condition compared to your photos and I paid $315 four years ago. I've seen 3 or 4 advertised for $350-$400. $200 is cheap.

It's worth the 200. Mine looks just like yours. Just do the barrel yourself. Brownells sells a spray on blueing - it's only good for about a week after the first use because it's a epoxy. If I remember it cost around $40 and will do a couple of rifle barrels. Friends have used it and really like it. Or, if blueing, some of their cold blueing works good for around 10 to 15$s.

200 bucks is a real good price. Good looking gun.
They are good shooting pistols and known for their accuracy in these parts.

Your pistol has a richly blued bolster, and some abrasions on the edges of flats including where there is some factory stamping.
I'm not sure how well it would come out without some kind of special attention, or if that's even possible for a standard hot blue job.

I don't know where you're located. But even the best hot bluers can't always get rid of imperfections that are ingrained in the metal without taking risks.
It's a risk to even mail it to anyone just to have a bluing job done since the barrel is worth much more than any standard shipping insurance would cover if it were ever lost or damaged in transit.

I would suggest to find the best local or regional hot bluer in your area.
That would allow you to inspect the piece before paying for the job, and to hold the bluer personally accountable, to protect your level of satisfaction and to help prevent any loss or disappointment caused by shipping it.

A small shop owner who actually does his own work and has a good reputation is most likely to give you the best service.
And knowing that his customer is local will allow you to hold him the most accountable.

Call local gunsmiths and gun shops and try to get some recommendations.
At least try to keep the job in state.
That barrel may be worth more than you realize, and it's worth protecting at any cost.
Even if you need to forgo the bluing until you can locate the right outfit.
It's not like the barrel is going to melt if a blue job isn't done right away.

If push comes to shove, it can simply be touched up until you can find the right outfit for the job.

whughett said:

Anyone recommend or use an individual or company that will polish out and hot blue the barrel. I’m not anal on looks but this piece is so nice I just hate to look at blemishes.
Been haunting gunbroker looking for a companion rifle, a Renegade in 45 caliber perhaps.

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First, it is not that difficult to do a hot blue job yourself. It is smelly (Bromine gas), and time consuming but relatively easy especially with a short pistol barrel.
Second, I don't think the Renegade was made in .45 cal. It is 1" across the flats if I remember correctly and was offered in .50 and .54 cal. along with a .56 smoothbore barrel. A .45 would mean a very front-heavy rifle with the small diameter bore.

My patriot pistol is in 36 cal but I can tell you that it likes a thin oiled patch and light loads.

IronHand

For reference purposes, here is a later model Patriot with the brass nosecap and steel thimble.



-----krinko

The first ones had the same 1 in 48 twist as the rifles and didn't shoot conicals worth a hoot and most had a narrow range of loads for accuracy with round balls. We lobbied for a 1 in 22 twist and finally got it. Most of us using custom guns for target shooting used 1 in 20 or 22 twist.
I picked one up a little while back that had the repaired broken stock for a song. Unfortunately, it is missing the rear sight and has a LER scope mounted in its place. Slow twist also. Probably part it out or list it someday.

I need some parts for my Patriot. This was after the fire. Promise, T/C sent parts with soot on them. Their help was greatly appreciated. After that fire seems like any work on the Seneca and the like ended.

By some coincidence, I found another one of those "early style" .45 Patriot pistols for sale.
Here's a couple of photos of it.

whughett, if you want a T/C in .45 caliber, find a T/C Hawken rifle minus the barrel, or one that has a rusted-out barrel. Just lock, stock, triggers, wedge and furniture. Then, order from Tip Curtis (Tip Curtis Frontier Shop) a brand new Green Mountain "Drop-In" barrel in .45 caliber. A friend of mine showed up at our match last Saturday with his .45 caliber barrel from Tip, and said it cost him $287.00, including shipping. .45 caliber barrel - 1:66" twist.

The alternative is to find a T/C Hawken in .45 caliber, which is hard to find. The .50 caliber was the most popular with the .54 Hawken taking second place in sales.