Best New Englander

[nkbj]

Purely for hunting whitetails, and everything else remaining factory, what bore, rifling geometry and twist would you select for a New Englander?

 

[Bad Karma]

I’m torn. I have a .58 rifled by Bobby Hoyt, a .54, and a .50 on the way. Mine are mounted in the High Plains Sporter stock but essentially the same gun. (I’m considering having a.50,relined with a .45 bullet shooting twist on the order of 1 in 20 or so... It’s a sickness)
For pure anything on the continent versatility, it’s tough to beat the .54 with 1 in 48 t/c rifling round ball for small stuff, up to 460 grain bullets for larger game.

 

[Okie Hog]

i've killed numerous hogs and whitetail deer with .50 and .54 New Englanders using patched round balls. Many animals bang flopped. i don't like the shallow TC rifling for use with patched round balls. They will work OK with a tight fitting patch.

Will soon get my barrel back from Mr. Hoyt. It will be a .58 with rounded groove 1/60"' rifling. A roached .50 barrel will be re-bored to .54 caliber with about 1/72" rifling.

 

[renegadehunter]

I would also choose a RB twist with deeper rifling. It would be nice to have a load combo that didn't dang near require a mallet to start it into the bore, which is what I have to use to get decent RB accuracy out of my factory TC barrel.

 

[nkbj]

The TC rifling is so shallow that you can get one rebored and deep rifling cut with very little increase. Or eek, you might find a gentleman out there that has an adjustable bar rifling machine that just might match the existing rifling grooves and cut them deeper. T'were me I'd make it bigger, another reason for having that .515" round ball mold.

 

[nkbj]

Hey, anybody know how the strength of the breech on a New Englander compares with a Pedersoli Whitworth or Volunteer?

 

[Bad Karma]

It should compare favorably, the Breech is 1.135” So just over 1-/8” Bobby Hoyt had no qualms about taking it to .58 caliber for use with round ball and 120 grains ffg. If I reline one to .45 for a bullet shooter I’m planning to use bullets up to 500 grains over 90 grains of 2 or 3f Blackpowder.

 

[nkbj]

What I'm thinking is I could have a TC Volunteer for the price of a barrel made to my specs.
I'd want .458 bore instead of .451, otherwise 0.005 deep rifling and twist to suit pretty much same as the reproductions. Would have to spring for sights or maybe a really fun set of Josie Whales commemorative optics. Could use the same molds and push through sizer currently using with this one

but the sights would be for waaaaay out there.

 

[Bad Karma]

What I'm thinking is I could have a TC Volunteer for the price of a barrel made to my specs.
I'd want .458 bore instead of .451, otherwise 0.005 deep rifling and twist to suit pretty much same as the reproductions. Would have to spring for sights or maybe a really fun set of Josie Whales commemorative optics. Could use the same molds and push through sizer currently using with this one

but the sights would be for waaaaay out there.

I like the way you think... I’m probably going to pursue something like this too. Setting up to use paper patched bullets, probably 350-500 grains with 90 grains black powder or triple 7.