“Smooth rifles”

Yeah, they are know from very early on, especially with the Germans. There are certainly historic reasons to build a modern one if that's the point, but I don't think there are acceptable ballistic ones to go that way in a replica.

Spence

Among old original flintlock long rifles a surprising percentage are actually smoothbore, in some cases you'll find more smooth than rifled. It's a period thing, much more common in earlier pieces, and a regional thing, very common among early Allentown-Bethelhem style rifles, rare among Bedford county style.
I have a beautiful flintlock .54 caliber smoothrifle. Shooting from bench rest at 50 yards I will consistently get 4 balls into about a 2" group, maybe less, but always one ball opens the group to 4" or 5". I've tried .520" & .530" balls, tight patches, thin patches, spit lube, tallow lube nothing seems to get rid of that one flyer. With that said, shooting a typical rendezvous trail walk I do about as well with the flintlock smoothbore as with my sideslapper percussion which shoots much tighter from rest.
Of course a typical trail walk has few targets beyond 50 yards, many closer.
Oh, and I might add, my .54 caliber throws a very good pattern with one ounce of #6 shot.

I've got a source or two saying straight rifling was a German invention allowing fouling to go somewhere and not build up in the bore as quickly. Obviously, it wasn't as accurate as spiral rifling but who knows. I wasn't there! :wink:

I have often wondered if they used a patched round ball with the original smooth rifles in the period? It makes some sense to me they would because the smooth rifles were generally made by gunsmiths who made rifles. Those gunsmiths were used to making molds for barrels to have a rather precise fit (for the period) for use with patches.

A straight rifle barrel is going to keep the patched ball from turning as much in the barrel compared to a bare ball in smooth barrel. So the patched ball from a straight rifle would exit the bore more uniformly and that would give better accuracy than a bare ball in a smooth bore.

However and in my experience, a well fit patched ball shoots more accurately in a smooth bore than a bare ball. A smooth bore with a well fitting PRB is more than accurate enough for taking deer up to 75 yards. Take that a step further and put a wad down before the patched ball, as Spence has mentioned before, will make a smooth bore accurate for deer even further.

Bottom line it seems to me that if they used a well fitting PRB in a smooth rifle, they did not need straight rifling.

Gus

Give Tip Curtis a call , I think he still has some . 62 cal smooth bores barrels for TC s in his shop . 615-654-4445

Being as big into living history as I am, if I got a smooth rifle it’d have to be period correct. It would feel odd otherwise, and, honestly, I’d end up looking for the same thing after shooting a TC haha.

I have never heard of straight rifling before now. There are quite a few technological developments that never caught on to the mainstream.

My only experience with smoothbore thus far is a Short Land Pattern (Bess). Its design doesn’t lend itself well to accuracy, especially with its trigger pull. Its versatility is what’s gotten me interested in a smooth rifle. The smooth rifle seems to be optimal; structure conducive to accuracy, bore designed for multiple functions. It is not surprising that they were popular in the period

If you want a period Smooth Rifle I reccomend Jim Chamber's Smooth Rifle. It is based on RCA 119. I think it is. I have studied 119 and...man! They do look similar. 119 has a full octagonal barrel where the Chambers gun is octagonal to round.

A trip to Tip Curtis as mentioned may be good for you too, I hear he has all kinds of stuff. Call ahead.

Right on, 54ball. I have lusted after that one. It is said to have been designed after a gun by an early gunsmith, John Newcomer. Kindig has a Newcomer gun in his Thoughts on the Kentucky Rifle, and I have an ad from 1772 for a John Newcomer gun in the Pennsylvania Gazette.

Spence

"What did they call these guns in the 18th century?"

Wore out rifles.

Stumpkiller said:

"What did they call these guns in the 18th century?"

Wore out rifles.

Click to expand...

Funny but they were dismissed as such for many years, folks refused to believe anyone would build a smoothbore rifle, after all, it is a rifle
Of course lots argue against that thinking too.

I knew a fellow shooter that just had to have a straight rifled gun. In operation, no real benefit with respect to performance. He was able to say that he had a straight rifled gun.

Man, that Chambers smooth rifle is just lovely. I’m afraid I’m no builder, though. I spent this summer trying to teach myself some skills that are necessary for the craft. I have a long way to go before I’d be comfortable enough to shell out for a kit.