Octagon to Round on a Renegade Barrel?

[centershot]

I started a Renegade facelift a couple days ago. This was a .50 caliber percussion gun that I had Bobby Hoyt bore to 24 gauge (.58 caliber smoothbore). I started by stripping the stock and cutting down the comb. Well, by the time I got it to fit me as I wanted the comb was gone! And I'm fine with that, it fits me, that's what's important. I'm sanding the stock now, buttplate in place, so I know I'll need to re-blue it later. That got me thiinking of other metalwork that lies ahead.

The previous owner had D&T'd it for a scope mount, I'm contemplating using plug screws to fill the holes and solder them in place, then file them down to the surface of the top flat. Yes, a re-blue will be necessary. But, considering the barrel, the Renegade has PLENTY of barrel! Wat if I had it turned octagon to round? A new underbarrel lug would be needed and pipes for the rod. This shouldn't be all that difficult. should it? I'm thinking the lug would need to be soldered to the barrel; Once it's turned round I don't think there'd be enough material to D&T for screws, yes? I'd appreciate your opinions!

 

[Phil Coffins]

Or a half octagon which will require a different under rib. Plug the screw holes and peen them down without the solder as that would show a silver ring after bluing.

 

[64Springer]

How much meat will be left at the muzzle for your front sight dovetail?

Turning it round will remove a lot of the existing dovetail.

 

[waarp8nt]

I've done that very thing to a Renegade barrel. Cut the barrel down in a lathe. Made the underrib from a piece of steel, but one could use an underrib from a 1803 Harpers Ferry. Soldered on the underrib, the ferrules and front sight.

 

[centershot]

How much meat will be left at the muzzle for your front sight dovetail?

Turning it round will remove a lot of the existing dovetail.

I'd considered that, I'm not sure how much would be left. Since it's a smoothbore I'd considered just installing a brass bead, haven't decided yet. Or as waarp8nt said, solder a sight on. I probably won't make that decision until the barrel work is done.

 

[centershot]

waarp8nt, what was the O.D. of the round portion of the barrel? I'm assuming you didn't taper it, or did you? Did you turn off the entire front sight dovetail?

 

[waarp8nt]

I purchased the barrel used. Someone had cut the barrel down and the front sight dovetail was already gone, as a result I felt it was the perfect project barrel. I turned it down only enough to get rid of the octagon sides, so it pretty much matched the flats in diameter. I did not taper it, but did crown the barrel.

I have always felt the Renegade makes for a fine hunting piece. I have one with a Hawken .54 cal barrel that I intend to turn down half round and use a 1803 Harpers underrib. I was going to leave the dovetail for the front sight to see how it worked out and cut it off only if required.

 

[2 shots]

could also consider a wood under rib lighter,

 

[centershot]

could also consider a wood under rib lighter,

Dang, 2 shots, that's a great idea! I was a little concerned about the weight I'd be adding by using the 1803's under rib, but hadn't ruled out doing so. Thread depth shouldn't be a problem if I only turn the barrel to clean up the flats......if I match the hole pattern on the original rib it should attach with no problem.........cherry, walnut, maple.......what would you use for wood? The stock is walnut, I'm planning on a reddish brown color to stain it. Your thoughts?

 

[The Appalachian]

Are there not already holes drilled & tapped in the bottom flat for the original under rib? If all you're doing is turning down the barrel just enough to clean off the flats the majority of those threaded holes will still exist. Likely enough to attach the new concaved under rib if the old bolt pattern is used. If that's the case I would avoid soldering the new under rib on and just use the screws.

Wood? Not me.

Think about how thin that's going to be. One of the beautiful things about a Renegade is you get to unhook that barrel, dunk the breech in a bucket of water, and pump a patch to clean it. I've never not soaked the exterior of a hooked breech barrel doing that. How well will that thin strip of wood hold up getting wet like that every cleaning?
Will it hold up if you bump the ramrod/ferrels when hunting, or will it crack the wood? Will the ramrod ferrels themselves not be weakly attached to a thin piece of wood instead of securely attached to metal? Too much to go wrong. Wood, not me.

 

[2 shots]

i would use walnut on walnut so the finish matches

 

[COTNTOP]

A PA Hunter has the round to octagon barrel. The underlug is thicker than what is on a Hawken. I know a guy that turned his renegade barrel down, then made spacers and milled his underlug. Looks pretty neat and much lighter to handle, he used the same holes and groove for front sight. He modified the front sight to look right

 

[centershot]

Are there not already holes drilled & tapped in the bottom flat for the original under rib? If all you're doing is turning down the barrel just enough to clean off the flats the majority of those threaded holes will still exist. Likely enough to attach the new concaved under rib if the old bolt pattern is used. If that's the case I would avoid soldering the new under rib on and just use the screws.

Wood? Not me.

Think about how thin that's going to be. One of the beautiful things about a Renegade is you get to unhook that barrel, dunk the breech in a bucket of water, and pump a patch to clean it. I've never not soaked the exterior of a hooked breech barrel doing that. How well will that thin strip of wood hold up getting wet like that every cleaning?
Will it hold up if you bump the ramrod/ferrels when hunting, or will it crack the wood? Will the ramrod ferrels themselves not be weakly attached to a thin piece of wood instead of securely attached to metal? Too much to go wrong. Wood, not me.

Yes, excellent points! I got to thinking that over after I posted and decided that a wooden rib probably wouldn't hold up well, so, back to steel. It would seem the most practical choice would be to turn the barrel until it just barely cleaned up round. A new steel rib would be needed to match the barrel contour and be spaced properly to fit the ramrod to the existing hole in the forend. My intent in turning the barrel was to get some weight off the muzzle of the gun, but if I go about it in this manner, the weight won't change much, if at all. Back to the drawing board..............

 

[2 shots]

what makes you say a wooden rid would not hold up? i have seen dozens of 125 year old + guns that likely got used a lot more than yours will and the ribs are fine. we are talking walnut here , not balsa

 

[Reds]

Centershot I just saw this and thought if by chance you haven’t got to it yet that a TC New Englander undertone could be the ticket! A New Englander has a 1” round barrel! Hope I’m not to late, only four months.

 

[centershot]

Hi Reds! No, it's not too late, the project was put to bed once hunting season opened in September, I'll be back on it after deer season ends on Jan. 1st. The New Englander underlug is a great idea, I'll search eBay first, then the rest of the web. I haven't ruled out the Harper's Ferry underlug either, but the NE piece might be just the ticket, thamks for that!