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Coning

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Joe Woods tool is what I used on 2 of my .54s I have shot one but not the other.

Here is the 50-yard group with the rifle I coned and shot. I was shooting low as I adjusted the sights so I held high for the first shot for a group, I added 5 more gr of powder and used my normal 6 o'clock hold for the next two.

coned haines.JPG
 
Think about it would the Colonial and Early American gunsmiths gone to the trouble to make an accurate barrel then screw it up by relieving it or coning it.
My understanding FWIW is that a great many originals that have been examined over the years were coned... I'm sure some of the more knowledgeable folks on here could give a yea or nay on that... Just that I've never heard of a barrel ruined by the tiny amount of taper involved, of course humans being what we are doesn't mean it hasn't happened...
 
I don't suppose that anyone wants to sell or rent me their 54 cal coning tool? I only have one rifle to cone and thought I'd ask? Thanks.
 
My understanding FWIW is that a great many originals that have been examined over the years were coned... I'm sure some of the more knowledgeable folks on here could give a yea or nay on that... Just that I've never heard of a barrel ruined by the tiny amount of taper involved, of course humans being what we are doesn't mean it hasn't happened...
They were not coned. People think filing the grooves to the muzzle is coning, but it's not. The coning tools used today allow shooters to use oversize ball / patch combinations without a short starter that were not used in the old days. Friendship shooters began using such combinations in the early years of the NMLRA. In the old days accurate target rifles were choked to improve accuracy just like the slug rifles used today.
 
Coned my .45 cal. Dixie Pennsylvania rifle (made by Pedersoli) several years back using Joe Woods' tool and instructions. It was a simple job to do which made loading easier. I did not detect any change in accuracy.
 
Can't coning hurt the accuracy of a barrel?
The thing I worry about and perhaps needlessly is long term accuracy if not using a rod guide fit precisely to the cone taper as the whole idea is to facilitate loading without a short starter or loading rod guide. With muzzle loading rifles, crown square and land end/taper angle uniformity, equals accuracy.
 
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