smoothbore weight

From what I have read most original smoothbores were fairly light weight, 7 pounds or under. Yet the kits offered today are much heavier. The most notable difference that I have noticed from the ones I have seen at Dixon's is the thickness of the barrels. I would think that with the modern steels that we have today, modern barrels could be made much thinner. Is this the result of our litigious society? :hmm:

Yes in addition to
1. for ease of manufacture some bore sizes use thr same OD
2. turning thinner barrels create deflection problems
3. The majority of modern smooth shooters use patched balls like a rifle more than shot

I have an old trade gun made by Curly and it comes in at about 5lbs maybe a little more or less, it is light. It’s a 72 smoothie and the barrel is thin, not going to lie I was a little worried at first but then I shot it and it’s a joy. Some people don’t like the 12 gauge smoothies for recoil but I don’t seem to mind it. Can kill deer out to 60yrds, kills turkey and love to put squirrels on the ground. I don’t shoot more then 90 grains of 2f with patch round ball and have plenty of stopping power. I would say the beefier barrels are for ensured safety to protect the companies bc no one wants a lawsuit and also helps on recoil. Low recoil smooth shooting guns sell, that’s why you don’t see to many guys shooting 5lb 72 smoothies hahah, but even if you don’t like to shoot em they are nice to tote around in the woods that’s for sure

Pedersoli went silly on barrel thickness.
The seventies Pedersoli double and an Artax single are thin walled and hence a joy to use.
The fear of law suits has ruined things.... mostly.

B.

My Jim Chambers Pennsylvania fowler in 20ga. weighs in just under 7 lbs. It's is well balanced and joy to carry. I was told and rightly so that the same gun with the optional rifled barrel in 50 or 54 caliber would weight an extra pound or so because of the extra thickness.

The tapered, thin barrels are great for wing shooting and other upland hunting; they normally shoot prb pretty well. I ordered the .62 with a 38" non-tapered barrel; a fairly thick walled barrel. The idea was primarily a gun for shooting ball but also good with shot; a rear sight was installed. The gun weighs maybe 7 to 7-1/2 pounds as far as I have been able to tell. It would work out okay for wing shooting but I don't do that. I really like the gun and have gravitated toward it for most all my hunting.

My relatively recent Mike Brooks fowling gun is 16 bore with swamped 42" barrel & walnut stock that comes in right at seven pounds even.

I had a 1 st mode
l brown bess from Narragansett arms that was a joy to shoot. the muzzle thickness was so thin you could almost cut yourself ,the breech was heavy duty as it should have been,I think they used a Colerain barrel but not sure,great piece.

I have a Caywood Wilson fusil, 20 ga with a 41½" barrel. It weighs 6 lbs. give or take an ounce or two. I really like shooting it.

This little (about .50) German bird gun, done in Spanish style, ca. 1720's-1730's is light. Though I have never attempted to weigh it, there is no way it is even 6 pounds.


This gun, ca. 1750's-1760's (possibly German, but I'm thinking Belgian/Flemish) is of more normal proportions, .60-some odd caliber, and in it's original condition, probably weighed only around 7 pounds, maybe.


Original smoothbore barrels were very often T-H-I-N starting some distance from the breech. I mean just about cut your hand on the muzzle thin.

at least some of the modern phenomenon of heavy smoothbore barrels is from using the same outside dimensions for multiple calibers/gauges. A 20 gauge version of a barrel designed for 12 gauge will weigh a ton. If you pick your barrels, you can still get a fairly light one. I have a standard Colerain 16 ga. barrel that is very nice and light.... Of course, I've only had that barrel for 10 years...eventually maybe I'll get around to finishing that gun... :hmm:

Cruzatte said:

I have a Caywood Wilson fusil, 20 ga with a 41½" barrel. It weighs 6 lbs. give or take an ounce or two. I really like shooting it.

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Thats what Im shooting now ,so easy to carry ad point

Any suggestions where to go for a light weight smooth bore barrel? This would be greatly appreciated. Woodbutcher

Bobby Hoyt.

Woodbutcher said:

Any suggestions where to go for a light weight smooth bore barrel? This would be greatly appreciated. Woodbutcher

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I haven't done business with this guy...yet. But if I ever decide to build a Northwest Gun, for example, I might very well do business with him.
Custom Smooth Bore Barrels

My centermark weighs about seven, and my northwest gun with a 36 inch barrel weighs about the same.

My relatively recent Mike Brooks fowling gun is 16 bore with swamped 42" barrel & walnut stock that comes in right at seven pounds even.

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Similar here Mike Brooks fowler 16 gauge w. 42” barrel at Six pounds four ounces. After Switlick #9.
Points like a wand.
Pete

Woodbutcher said:

Any suggestions where to go for a light weight smooth bore barrel? This would be greatly appreciated. Woodbutcher

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Ed Rayl has many dimensions of original barrels and he can get close to them with his choice of barrel steel.
Rice offers one in 4140 patterned from a 1730s English gun. It is 41” long. The breech is 1 1/16”. Octagon is 6 5/8” long. The round section has about 4 different tapers starting out quicker then changing to a slower rate of taper as it moves towards the muzzle. It's 2 3/4 pounds.
Another off the shelf is the "Griffin" Spanish Pattern octagon to round in 42" 16 gauge by Colerain. This barrel is quite nice if the runout is not too bad and the muzzle thinned by internal coning.

bud in pa said:

From what I have read most original smoothbores were fairly light weight, 7 pounds or under. Yet the kits offered today are much heavier. The most notable difference that I have noticed from the ones I have seen at Dixon's is the thickness of the barrels. I would think that with the modern steels that we have today, modern barrels could be made much thinner. Is this the result of our litigious society? :hmm:

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You will find that the weight of original sxs muzzle loaders with 30 inch Damascus barrels is governed by the standard bore load for each bore size. Another factor is for what type of game the gun was designed for be it game, fowling of live pigeon shooting weight plays a big part.
Feltwad

Pete D. said:

My relatively recent Mike Brooks fowling gun is 16 bore with swamped 42" barrel & walnut stock that comes in right at seven pounds even.

Click to expand...

Similar here Mike Brooks fowler 16 gauge w. 42” barrel at Six pounds four ounces. After Switlick #9.
Points like a wand.
Pete

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Ah....mistake in my post....should read "after Grinslade #9". Switlik wrote about cannons not fowlers.

Pete D. said:

Pete D. said:

My relatively recent Mike Brooks fowling gun is 16 bore with swamped 42" barrel & walnut stock that comes in right at seven pounds even.

Click to expand...

Similar here Mike Brooks fowler 16 gauge w. 42” barrel at Six pounds four ounces. After Switlick #9.
Points like a wand.
Pete

Click to expand...

Ah....mistake in my post....should read "after Grinslade #9". Switlik wrote about cannons not fowlers.

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I would guess that both of the guns have the Colerain "Griffin" barrel in 16 that I mentioned above.