Barrel length

[Rifleball36]

What is the advantage of a 42" or 44" smooth bore barrel of any cal. over a shorter 30" barrel when shooting a round ball with only a front sight.

 

[Stumpkiller]

The longer the barrel the greater "aiming" accuracy when you are sighting along it.

In a cylinder bore you might also get a slightly tighter pattern.

 

[Bo T]

This has confused me a little, but I'm guessing, as the bore gets larger, for a given pressure, you might gain some velocity. Especially, given the use of ff and f powders in larger bores. So, you might not get a definitive answer that ignores bore size.

 

[nwtradegun]

all the ones I have owned were 30 or 31 in. easier to handle will hunting. also less chance of barrel worpage do to sock moving. never saw a difference in accuracy

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

This has confused me a little, but I'm guessing, as the bore gets larger, for a given pressure, you might gain some velocity. Especially, given the use of ff and f powders in larger bores.

You know ... I need to test this for real, whereas I have 62-cals of barrel lengths of 42", 44.3" (as measured in French pieds) & 48" ... and 75-cal smoothies at 42", 44" and the Mother Of All Barrels (MOAB) of 60" length.

Plus I have a new MagnetoSleed chronograph!

Tip - For muzzleloaders, position the MagnetoSpeed chrono unit 'upside-down' on the top of barrel ... to avoid the wood forend pulling the magneto deck too far away from the sensor array.

 

[tenngun]

In general starting at two feet and ending somewhere between 38 and 45 charge for charge you get as little as five and as much as twenty fps extra per inch, with an avarage of around ten. You start getting diminished returns around forty. Longer barrels are easier to aim, but not more accurate. I live in some thick woods and don't do much upland hunting, I can get a tree rat or thumper with a forty two, I find no draw back to a long barrel. However it's just a matter of style. Long or short will make little difference in prefomance. Though a long double barrel might be a might heavy, a lot of folks do right well with a Bess, a lot do as well with a 'canoe' gun.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

As an aside since speed loading made accuracy for military guns FUBAR, if you add 12" of bayonet, then the guy with the 46" long barrel on the musket has a 10" extra reach compared to the guy with a 36" musket and a bayonet. :shocked2: If you're militia and being taught to fire in ranks, the guys in the front rank appreciate the guys in the third rank having long barrels. :wink:

LD

 

[Keb]

I'm not much of a shooter any more so accuracy or sighting doesn't account for much in my camp. Taking a short walk thru a woods walk is about it for me any more. However, I think the looks of a barrel of 48" to 50" on a nice slim fowling gun can't be beat. I have a .58 caliber by 49" long barreled cherry stocked gun about half done at the moment and the length looks perfect to me.

 

[Hipshot]

I think the looks of a barrel of 48" to 50" on a nice slim fowling gun can't be beat. I have a .58 caliber by 49" long barreled cherry stocked gun about half done at the moment and the length looks perfect to me.

I agree, those long barrels look great. I have an early Lancaster style .45 with a 38" swamped barrel and it's sweet to carry but I gotta give a nod to the longer barrels looks wise.
Hip

 

[Eric Krewson]

I built a 12ga turkey gun with a 38" D weight barrel. My only complaint is the barrel is so light on the muzzle it is hard to hold it steady off hand. I wish I had a longer barrel for more weight up front.

 

[Mzzlldrinpa]

I've been shooting a 44" barrel .62 for few years, I like the Xtra weight. Typically they can been rather light with the larger calibers. Just my opinion though.

 

[Rifleman1776]

For a good sighting barrel, I believe 36" is just fine. But not shorter. If you get a fowler built be sure to ask the builder if he owns a ruler. I didn't.

 

[Stumpkiller]

One more thing. Loading a 42" barrel is easier - especially if you have bifocals.

It all happens up where you can see it. ;-)

 

[tenngun]

:metoo:

 

[hanshi]

The shortest flint barrel I own is a 36" .45 and a great rifle in the deer woods. The rest are 38" including the smoothbore. The longest I had was a 42" .50 EVa rifle. Difficult to get it into a car or my truck; otherwise I did like it a lot.

 

[spudnut]

I used to shoot a 46 in LLP bess prety well but it just got too heavy and ate too much lead, I now have a 36 inch NWTG and am having a bugger of a time sighting it in , though all I really do is woodswalks and only taken it to the bench once. The bess seemed to sight in easier :idunno:

 

[kingsax26]

personally i think 36-44 inch length all shoot about the same. its the person at the trigger, and how much time you spend practicing to be more accurate. allbut 1 of my fowlers have 48" or longer barrels. because i like the look. but i dont shoot them any more accuartly than my pedersoli NW trade gun....

 

[Elkeater]

One school of thought: when rifle is butt down the muzzle should be at the curl of your bottom lip.

 

[Golfswithwolves]

I continue to maintain that one advantage of a 42" barrel over a 30" barrel is that the one is an entire foot longer, and thus gives the buyer of the longer gun a whole foot of extra value over the shorter one which obviously has that much less steel in its construction. You wouldn't want to buy a house with one end cut off or a suit of clothes with only one arm and leg after all. It's a simple matter of economics. I hope this helps.

 

[larryp]

The shortest flint barrel I own is a 36" .45 and a great rifle in the deer woods. The rest are 38" including the smoothbore. The longest I had was a 42" .50 EVa rifle. Difficult to get it into a car or my truck; otherwise I did like it a lot.

That is one thing that I notice is that anything longer than the 36" barrel of my trade gun will have a hard time fitting into my truck cab or my jeep Wrangler.