Straight wall barrel vedors?

Hi everyone looking at getting started into fowler/rifle building I'm wondering is there anyone who sells straight walled (octagon or round) barrels for builders?

Have you checked with the retailers to see if they don't have what you want? Pecatonica River, Log Cabin Shop, Muzzle Loaders Builders Supply, etc.? Then the barrel makers themselves; Colerain, Green Mountain, Rice, Oregon Barrels, FCI, Ed Rayl, etc.? Most all of them make straight walled barrels. Or, have you looked for used barrels (like Douglas) on the usual boards yet? If you've done all that, and still can't find what you want, there are some custom guys out there that will make you exactly what you want, up to and including cannon barrels.

If that doesn't work, then there are folks that can take an existing barrel for you and modify it (if it's modifiable) to your specs too.

Unless you are building a Hawken-style rifle, straight-sided barrels would be (very) uncommon. Many early rifle barrels are swamped and fowler/smoothbore barrels are either tapered round or tapered octagon-to-round barrels.

I'm looking to start with a fantasy piece (mostly to learn the basics of the process rather than emulate a particular rifle/style).

I am planning for a large bore .54-.69 caliber matchlock rifle; something that I can build, alter, add remove as a want.

The Gun Works (Oregon Barrel) will make what you are after. So will Charlie Burton/FCI barrels.

Both are reasonably priced. The Gun Works is "often quicker" than Charlie as far as "to your door from when it was ordered" and both are great to deal with.

And yes, both ship to Canada without issue. Yes, the cost is in US bucks - the shipping (normally about 45 bucks for a barrel) is also in US bucks and when customs gets a hold of it they will convert the cost to Canuck Bucks and tack on the GST/HST/PST as applicable (plus the 5 buck charge for being so kind as to add the taxes), but there is no issue or special permit required to bring in a muzzle loading barrel.

I have dealt with both of these builders, plus Rice, plus "off the shelf" buys of barrels from Muzzleloading Building Supplies (MBS), Track of the Wolf and Cains Outdoors. Again - no issues - just need a phone and a credit card (TOTW is the only one that has on-line Canadian ordering).

You can google any of those I have mentioned above to find their sites or drop me a note and I can pass the info/links to you.

Thanks that is exactly what I need!

what part of the firearm is considered the gun in Canada? In the US ML'rs are not considered firearms so they don't have a rule.

Since another way to describe a barrel is as just a piece of hollow tubing with an end cap, you might think about describing it that way too.....eh?

So in Canada, muzzle loaders fall into three categories - all other firearms fall into one of four categories.

Antique firearms require no licence.
Non-Restricted firearms require a PAL (possession and acquisition licence).
Restricted firearms require an RPAL (restricted possession and acquisition licence) and,
Prohibited firearms require a "grandfathered" rider to an RPAL. (allows people who owned something that "went prohibited" to continue to own it and others in the same class/style)

In Canada a ML pistol is a "restricted" weapon. Doesn't matter if it's flintlock, caplock, wheel lock etc, it's treated exactly the same as a brand new Glock off the shelf. So even a pistol "kit" would be considered restricted (as are some components of modern firearms even if not complete - some "lower receivers" are restricted and others are prohibited, all by themselves)

Without going into the ton's of red tape and regulation, essentially a ML pistol, or enough components to constitute a pistol is generally a "no-go" for an individual (would have to use a licensed importer along the lines of your FFL dealers).

A barrel shorter than 14" would always be considered a pistol barrel by our customs and firearms center regardless if it was for a modern or antique arm, thus a "restricted" barrel - and it doesn't matter that it's simply a "tube with a hole in it".

One could try importing an 8" piece of 12L14 "tube" but if customs discovered it was actually a pistol barrel "life would not be good" for the importer.

So basically then we are dealing with either flintlock (or earlier ignition systems) and caplocks in the form of long guns, plus their components.

In finished form (or "functioning" form) a flintlock or earlier ignition is considered an Antique firearm even if was built yesterday so it is NOT a firearm under our firearm regulations - so no restrictions at all - just like importing a box of pencils.

Components to build a flintlock from the barrel, lock and onward, are simply treated as "stuff" - again, could be a box of pencils.

A functioning caplock is considered a "non-restricted" firearm. To import that it would/could be held at customs until proof of a firearms licence is produced.

But, we can import all the components to build that "long barreled" caplock totally unrestricted, again as easy as a box of pencils.

Once it's all "assembled" the flintlock is still not a firearm (under the firearm regs) and the caplock is non-restricted, requiring a licence to own.

Since I personally only hold a non-restricted firearms licence, if I chose to say lop off 8 inches of barrel from a long gun and make a pistol with it, I would then be in possession of an "illegal" restricted firearm.

Up here if you want "any pistol" it is possible to own them. But complying with all the requirements is very onerous. And they can only be discharged on a government approved range requiring a permit to move it from your house to the range etc etc etc.

It gets better a pistol (all pistols being restricted) is 'a weapon designed for use with one hand'; and shotguns (smoothbore guns) can have a barrel no shorter that 16 inches except for shotguns manufactured with a barrel shorter that 16 inches.

so Shotguns (be it flintlock, caplock, wheelock, matchlock, or modern cartridge) with a 7 inch factory barrel legal. Cut down grandpa's hunting shotgun to 7 inches prohibited (though this one is nice for trekking and guns like the paget carbine).

We're at 18" as our short end limit for shotguns in the states. Since BP firearms are not official firearms here, the BATFE takes no position on what part of the gun constitutes the gun. (Law enforcement however DOES consider BP firearms as "weapons" however, so you can't play cute with the law and take it in to places that otherwise ban guns, and say you don't have one.) With cartridge guns it is generally the receiver, and with firearms with 2 receivers, I believe it is the lower receiver. In restricted firearms like a Thompson Sub Machine Gun with 2 serial numbered receivers, I'm not entirely sure which part is the restricted part, since they generally have the same SN. Basically, if it has a serial number on it, that's the part that's the gun.

* If it was manufactured before 1968 it didn't necessarily need to have a SN on it though. I believe if you are manufacturing a modern firearm for your own personal use you do not need a manufacturing license, but I don't think you can even transfer that gun to a family member without it flowing through a regulated manufacturer. I think you can make just about anything you want, unless it's a restricted weapon type subject to regulation under the NFA of 1934.

I understand that in Europe and other places, it is the barrel that is considered the firearm, (and governmentally restricted), and the receiver is the proverbial "box of pencils". that makes sense if they consider ML'ers to be firearms.

When it comes to ML'ers, that certainly makes sense, as, with a fully loaded barrel (with a touch hole) you can use anything (like a bic lighter) to ignite the charge. In a cap gun just a sharp strike on the capped nipple with a rock will do it.

Our laws are even more convoluted than we could discuss in 10 pages of posts.

Our firearms are covered by different acts and aspects of the law.

So similar as to what you mention - according to our firearms act/laws and regulations a flintlock rifle is considered an antique so NOT a firearm under that act.

But if you hunt with it then it is considered a firearm under the fish/game laws - so storage, transportation, whether it's cased during dark hours, what constitutes it being loaded etc - whole different set of laws/regulations.

Then, if you use it to hold up a bank, it would be a firearm under the criminal code - in fact, even a non-functioning replica or a CO2 pistol would be considered a firearm if used in the commission of a crime and you would have that firearms charge tacked on to whatever else they drop on you.

But because the flintlock rifle isn't a "firearm" unless I use it (essentially) while committing a felony, I can hang it over the mantle, even if it's loaded.

But if I want to hang a caplock on that same hook it must have a trigger lock on it and it can't be loaded. The powder, caps and projectiles must be stored in a manner so that "anyone without a firearms licence does not have access".

Go figure...