Yeah , I hate when makers use the same outside dimensions on all their barrels ...I understand their reasoning , and the vast majority of folks dont seem to care but ... I dont care for it . The heavy reproductions of modern Fowler's and trade guns just dont accurately emulate the originals . Some makers being better than others . Colerain barrels would make wonderful wall guns , LOL .. Like some others have said , Rice makes a nice barrel . My buddy Tommy just bought a dozen and they are very good looking barrels . The wall thickness at the muzzle is great . They are still a little too heavy but not by much esp. when compared to other brands . I can't remember how long their flats are though . I have looked at so many guns and pictures of guns that have the flats 13 , 14 " long .... I dont know why and when they extend beyond the entry pipe , esp. on a N.W. trade gun which had very short flats , .....they look ridiculous and add unnecessary weight the the gun . When you have the rare opportunity to handle an original the first thing that you notice is their light weight , an attribute demanded by the natives for their trade guns , mentioned time and time again in HB company records . I sure love lugging around a 5 1/2 - 6 pd. fowler ! and the balance is great . I'm certainly biased toward a 20 ga. barrel for my builds but I do wish I had a way to obtain D.O.M. steel with an I.D. of .58 so I could have the option of 24 ga. but thats not the case . The DOM we can get is 625 ( actually 19 ga.) and .560 ( 28 ga. ) so i stick with the .625 since a lot of originals were 20 ga. and thats as close as I can come to it . I've been collecting measurements from originals that I've come across and Ken Netting turns the tubes to a long taper for me , to my dimensions , then I grind the flats at the breech . He doesn't offer flats on his barrels , he has no way of doing them , no mill . Good shooting barrels and light weight just like the originals . I'm making a Fusil de Chasse now and its in the roughed in stage now and its 6.3 pds. with a 44" barrel . My Carolina guns usually weight 5.5-6 pds.with 42" - 46" barrel . I sent a N.W. trade gun to Texas with a 48" barrel and it was 6 1/8 pds. Fun stuff !
