Colerain or Rice........?

Hi
Another question from me........If I want round bottom rifling I need to decide on the brand of barrel.......either Colerain or Rice.......It will be in a cal.45 and in a B weight. Are there advantages to either brand?
As usual.....Thank you.......Macon

Ive had both an they both are very fine shooters but when im building I have lots less draw file time with the rice. If I had to choose though I would lean to the rice. Good luck to you :thumbsup:

Thank you wattlebuster,TVM will be building it so I'm really just looking for I guess accuracy and cleaning ease between the two...? So based on these two factors.......?
Macon

Rice...

Rice. I put together a TOW Issac Hains parts set last year and went with the Rice. The bore is as smooth as a baby's butt and cleans up very easy. Spend the extra money and get the Rice.

In my opinion the Rice barrel will not only be the better choice for quality it will also increase the value of the gun by way more than the difference you would pay between it and the Colerain.
I will use Colerain smooth barrels but want a Rice or Rayl for rifling.

Another vote for Rice, although I haven't had a rifled Colerain...just a smoothbore. The Rice saves time both in building and cleaning.

I have tried both makers and the Rice are better finished barrels...

Your milage may vary!

I have a Rice and my friend has a Colerain mine cleans up faster and easier than his

Rice! Or Rayl. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

U guys have answered my next question, which brand? Thanks.

I have four rifles, all with different barrels. My .54 Late Lancaster has a Getz, and is by far my favorite. I've not had to smooth the bore. The outside was a snap to polish. Next in line would be Green Mountain. The only thing I have against them is that you have to fit the breech plug. The .50 Rice was okay to clean up the outside, but...And finally is the Colerain. Wow, is it a chore to smooth and polish. Haven't shot the Rice, the Getz shoots great, and so does the GM. The Colerain is going on the Edward Marshall, is in .58, and time will tell. I vote Getz. Oh, that wasn't one of the choices. :redface:

Nothing at all wrong with Getz, except waiting on them. I prefer Rice because they are stress relieved, but mainly because the bore is sized with a carbide sizer plug which insures a uniform and very smooth bore. I have encountered three Colrains with a noticable tight spot in the bore. Two rifled, one smooth, but I am using the term smooth in a liberal context. I also have returned a couple because of coarse reaming. There is good reason you will pay more for a Rice, or most any other barrel. Colrain seems to concentrate more on quantity, than quality, but many are satisfied with them. In do not doubt the claims of those who like Colrains, but I consider them to be the fortunate ones. I would not hesitate to wager that one could pick up any Rice barrel in their inventory, and not be totally satisfied with it's accuracy. I would also include Rayle in that wager.

Thank you all Gentlemen!
I have updated my order to TVM to request they use a .45cal. Rice swamped barrel B-weight 42" in length with lightly aged metal finish.This will be on an Early Lancaster with wood patchbox in S.P. maple and using Jaeger type triggers in an Early Virginia type trigger guard. Left handed so I'm kinda stuck with a Lg. siler flintlock. Brass furniture of course.Copper blade front sight in a steel base but still undecided on the rear sight.
Macon

I agree fully on the Rice choice, but boy try ordering one now- I've had one on backorder for 3 plus months.

Lisle George

I agree Rice barrels are better. I tend to think that round bottom grooves don't matter but it wont hurt anything. Look at the twist rate comparison. Colraine... 1:56 which is a good choice (in a perfect world) for a .45 caliber hunting rifle. vs. Rice... 1:66 which is ideal for a .54 caliber hunting rifle (in a perfect world). It has been said many times that every barrel is different tho, no matter what brand. Life is like a box of chocolates. You may want to opt for the custom twist rate option. Rice charges more for square bottom rifling too by the way. It's just my humble opinion. :haha: I have read alot about rate of twist. Doe's any of this make sense?

I have used probably all the brands on the market. They all shoot well. The worst barrels I have ever had were made by Longhammock, but their quality has improved in the past couple years.

In rifle or smooth?? The only Long Hammock barrel I ever had a problem with was a .32 rifled barrel. It had deeper chatter marks on the sides of the lands than I was comfortable with. I know that Chambers buys his smoothies, after persuading him to upgrade the quality, but his .32's are the only rifled barrels I have heard any complaint on, other than you. I have heard of a couple of other complaints regarding customer service. You posted maybe a couple of years ago about a rough barrel, and I believe you, entirely, but stuff happens. It is how the problem is handled that is my issue with them. Long Hammocks main problem seems to be the lack of customer service, and the general attitude presented when there is a problem. I once thought that Riley and I were friends, not tight, but I have known his dad for many years. A fine honest man to have as a friend, but the .32 cal barrel problem showed me that the son of a friend, is not necessarily also a friend. I sincerely hope that things are back on the right track now.

George91946 said:

I agree fully on the Rice choice, but boy try ordering one now- I've had one on backorder for 3 plus months.

Lisle George

Click to expand...

From what I gather they keep no barrels in stock and only make them twice a year in April and again in Sept. I've had one of their southern classics ordered for a while and I saw a couple of days ago where they charged my visa, so i expect it any time. You might want to call them and see when they plan on turning yours out and to double check that it didn't get overlooked and not produced.

Have two rifles with Rice barrels. Both are fifty caliber Hawken style rifles. The round bottom rifling cleans as if it were a smooth bore. Excellent accuraty and, as pointed out, a very smooth. The difference is really noticeable loading a tight fitting patched ball. Spend the extra money. :thumbsup: