Long barrels ?

[talon]

How much demand is there really for barrels 48" to 50 + inches long? Is there a standard patteren people want or, is every barrel going to be different?

 

[rich pierce]

There would be good demand for a Carolina gun barrel 46-48", .62 or so, 1" at the breech, octagon to roundwith 2 wedding bands, and profiled to be very light.

Next there is a demand for fowling gun barrels; these could be round or octagon to round, 1.125 or so at the breech, 48-54" long and thinner at the muzzle than some of the Colerain musket barrels or Longhammock barrels. Most of today's shooters prefer a 20 ga because they shoot round ball but a 16 would be a nice compromise and more suitable for Hudson Valley, British style, and New England fowling pieces of the 1740-1780 period.

At the moment one cannot get such barrels off the shelf unless R.E. Davis has some of their trade gun barrels in stock.

 

[tg]

It would be nice to see some proper thicker French barrels in the 44-48" range as well

 

[Mike Brooks]

It would be nice to see some proper thicker French barrels in the 44-48" range as well

According to the new book that is out, about 51" would be even better. :thumbsup:
Actually, everybody is going to want something different. I'm personally working on a gun with a 72" barrel at the moment, it has a 1 3/8" breech.

 

[tg]

Bigger the better I was thinking along the lines of some of the Tulle contract FDC's of the 1730+/- as these are a popular gun but most barrels are way off in breech thickness and taper to have one made proportionaly correct.

 

[rich pierce]

I have a barrel from R.E. Davis that is terrific. Think it's 48", 20 ga, oct to round, and about 1.25 at the breech. Thin at the muzzle. I just finished rounding the bottom flats with a file.

 

[talon]

Where would I find imformation on the barrel diamensions that you guys describe? Maybe some pictures also? Thanks.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I have a barrel from R.E. Davis that is terrific. Think it's 48", 20 ga, oct to round, and about 1.25 at the breech. Thin at the muzzle. I just finished rounding the bottom flats with a file.

When compared to originals, that one needs a quicker taper at the breech, it's about 1 to 1 1/2 lbs too heavy for a period french barrel. It is otherwise a very nice barrel.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Where would I find imformation on the barrel diamensions that you guys describe? Maybe some pictures also? Thanks.

My information comes from measuring original barrels.

 

[BillinOregon]

Mike: I'm dying to know what style/period of gun you are building with a 72-inch barrel. I'd like a 54-incher for a circa 1650s club-butt fowler.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Mike: I'm dying to know what style/period of gun you are building with a 72-inch barrel. I'd like a 54-incher for a circa 1650s club-butt fowler.

HVF, A project 15 years in the making.

 

[rich pierce]

I have a barrel from R.E. Davis that is terrific. Think it's 48", 20 ga, oct to round, and about 1.25 at the breech. Thin at the muzzle. I just finished rounding the bottom flats with a file.

When compared to originals, that one needs a quicker taper at the breech, it's about 1 to 1 1/2 lbs too heavy for a period french barrel. It is otherwise a very nice barrel.

Yeah, I can see that it's thicker than it needs to be in the area around the transition from oct to round. Not something I could fix with a file, evn if I had the skill. Not ready to file a 1 pound block of steel to nothing. :rotf:

 

[Mike Brooks]

Most of the old fowling/trade gun barrels tapered rapidly in the first 4 or 5 inches, then tapered at a lesser rate from there forward. Most modern barrel makers miss this important feature.

 

[talon]

My concern is are there enough builders to buy the barrels. A guy would need to sell 40-50 in order to pay for tooling & expenses.

 

[talon]

The light french patteren, is that simular to a track of the wolf barrel just longer?

 

[Mike Brooks]

The light french patteren, is that simular to a track of the wolf barrel just longer?

I don't know what a track of the wolf barrel is, they sell about a bilion different barrels.

 

[flintlock50]

All of the many custom barrelmakers, myself included, will build any safe profile of smoothbore you may want.As to length I go to 48" and believe Ed Rayl and some others will go longer. Currently having a blast shooting my .54 smoothie at Friendship!!

 

[BillinOregon]

Dixie: I think Rayl and Coogle do longer barrels.

 

[tg]

I do not think that TOW has a real French style barrel, the one in their 44" "Tulle" parts set is only 1 1/16" at the breech and tapers for over 13" and lacks the short length of 16 flats it is very thick walled in the .58 not so much in .62 and closer to good in .66, I think all their other French guns use the same 42" barrel as the NW gun or C/D French guns as I recall

 

[talkingamoeba]

I have quite a list of builds I intend to do that are 48" or longer, pushing 2 dozen. I favor the longer guns and there are quite a few really nice, architecturally, guns shown in RCA I & II, Kindig's book, and The Kentucky Rifles and Pistols book that are long barreled. The problem is the wait time, as the guys who will make these lengths seem to be quite busy.