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Question for the flintlock crowd

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I was talking to a few older gentlemen about old muzzleloaders and we got on the topic of "Over the Mountain" barrels. Like the ones that are 50"+. One of the older gentleman said when he was growing up in Tennesee before moving to Baltimore he said there was a man in his 50's with a 55" barrel .45 caliber rifle and he would go deer hunting all the time and got to shoot it a few times at old metal buckets and coffee cans. Question is do smaller caliber rifles suffer from such long barrels due to their smaller powder charges ? I can understand something like a .54-.62 would take a 100-120g charge just fine but would a smaller caliber like .40,.44 and .45 suffer from a barrel length of 50"+ ?
Wow, that would just be too much barrel for me. The muzzle would be over my head, when I tried to load it…short starting a ball would…take some getting used too for sure.
 
There can be diminishing returns with an extra long barrel. e.g. once the charge is burned the extra barrel length may actually drag the ball down to a lower velocity . The flip side of that, as some are sure to point out, is the extra length actually (maybe) gives the powder an opportunity to burn more fully. There are published discussions and tests on this subject. Some searching will find them for you.

At the extra length in original post, the diminishing returns will only mean a smaller increase in velocity per increase in powder charge. As long as the gasses are expanding there will be pressure on the back of the ball.
 
YMMD but I've never seen much reason for a barrel longer than say, 42". okay 44" to be generous. I've owned a .50 with a 42" tube and it came up to my nose. a 44" would be right at my eyebrows. I like a rifle that fits and works for me in the woods and elsewhere, not one that competes for longest...well, you know. Would I want a 46" barrel, well that depends on how it handled not because of that "way-out-there" look. I like the looks of long barreled rifles but know when one's not for me.
 
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