13/16 50cal barrels

[sheba]

Was looking at a gun today that had a 13/16 octagon 50cal barrel on it.What type of powder charges would you generally shoot out of a barrel that light in 50cal?

 

[Richard Brinkman]

LIGHT

 

[ohio ramrod]

Very Light! I would not go over 50 grain FFF.And would start at about 40 grains and creep up. :hmm:

 

[BrownBear]

Boy.... Make it a decimal # and 13/16" is .8125". Hack a 50 cal hole in that and you've got .3125" of steel left over, split in half for .15625" walls. Rifle it and hog out a little more to thread in a breech plug, add sights and pin it to the stock somehow, and there's going to be some real thin spots in that barrel.

I'm curious if it's an original or if a modern genius put it together.

Me?

I'd lube the bore real good, plug the muzzle and vent with beeswax, and hang it on the wall.

 

[roundball]

If it's a straight 13/16" barrel it does sound a might thin...but if its a tapered or swamped barrel, the breech end is where the real pressure is should probably be fine.
Pin tenons and sights could be soldered instead of cutting dovetails, etc.

As a similar reference Ed Rayle rebored/rerifled a straight GM 7/8" (14/16") of mine from .45 to .50cal without hesitation...but wouldn't take it up to a .54cal smoothbore due to breech plug threads getting too thin.

 

[David W.]

Was looking at a gun today that had a 13/16 octagon 50cal barrel on it.What type of powder charges would you generally shoot out of a barrel that light in 50cal?

I'm not suggesting you follow my footsteps at all, but my .62 caliber hss a 15/16" straight barrel. My barrel however, is made from ordanace steel. There are not many barrels out there as tough as this one. Hoppy Hopkins is the only maker I know of that used it. I have shot up to 130 FFg, and 100 gr. FFFg, but my standard load is 75 gr FFFg.

 

[sniper68]

:hmm: The "ONLY" way I would consider such a rifle, if for whatever reason I liked it so much that it would be worth re-barreling.
When you can hold the breeh up to the light and see if it's loaded or not, I think that's a little to thin. :youcrazy:

 

[Robby]

Barbaroso, I have heard A well known, and respected barrel maker comment on this, caliber/ diameter before, and says its good to go. I have one of his barrels in that very same configuration, and plan to build a gun around it. He trusts the steel he uses, and I trust him. He didn't comment on what other barrel makers are using.
Robby

 

[BrownBear]

Barbaroso, I have heard A well known, and respected barrel maker comment on this, caliber/ diameter before, and says its good to go. I have one of his barrels in that very same configuration, and plan to build a gun around it. He trusts the steel he uses, and I trust him. He didn't comment on what other barrel makers are using.
Robby

No doubt it boils down to the steel and your trust in the maker. But an unknown barrel? Back to the beeswax-plugged wall hanger. :rotf:

 

[ohio ramrod]

I remember about twenty years back a factory built model with 50 caliber 13/16 barrels. I suppose they new what they were building, but I passed on them for safety concerns. :hmm:

 

[rf50cal]

My hunting rifle has a 13/16 .50 cal Getz barrel. My builder didn't recommend more than 65 grains of fff.

Not long afterward, this same question came up on the ALR board and Don Getz replied. He said they proofed this barrel with 300 grains and could not blow one apart, so he was certain you would be safe with 70 or 80 grains. I have since met Don and he has told me the same thing in person. So, I now use 70 gr. fff for hunting and 50 gr. fff for target.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

I remember about twenty years back a factory built model with 50 caliber 13/16 barrels. I suppose they new what they were building, but I passed on them for safety concerns. :hmm:

Pedersoli made .50s in 13/16" barrels for years - I don't know if they still do. I have a late friend's .50 Kentucky flinter, and I just use his standard load of 60gr of FFFg. That's been plenty so far for targets and hunting, up to mule deer.

Regards,
Joel

 

[brubincam]

-----a 58 cal in a 15/16 barrel would be nice for a lyman rifle----- :idunno:

 

[BrownBear]

-----a 58 cal in a 15/16 barrel would be nice for a lyman rifle----- :idunno:

Actually Lyman (actually Investarms) used to make them. Every now and then you run across an older Lyman or Cabelas in 58 cal. I'm in the legion that suspect Lyman had to lawyer up and quit doing it.

 

[scobrien]

Both my buddy and I have rifles with 13/16 .50 cal. Getz barrels. Rifles were built by Ed Dillon and sights and tenons are dove tailed.

My buddy shoots 70 grns and I shoot 65 grns. I faintly recall at the time of purchace that 70 grns was considered fully reasonable by the maker.
We shoot them with full confidence.

The small profile does make for the lightest little sweet packing long rifle that I have ever carried through the woods.
On the downside though, during a trail walk or shooting paper at a Rendezvous, the heat waves coming off the thin profile barrel makes for some interesting sight pictures :shocked2: .

Steve

 

[hoochiepapa]

Yeah, I think it's a non-issue. The GM barrels on my swivel breech measure .850 at the breech and .750 at the muzzle with a .54 cal hole.
GM said they would stand behind them. And some that have them use 90grs. Goex for hunting.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Pedersoli made .50s in 13/16" barrels for years - I don't know if they still do. I have a late friend's .50 Kentucky flinter, and I just use his standard load of 60gr of FFFg. That's been plenty so far for targets and hunting, up to mule deer.

Regards,
Joel

This is why Pedersoli and Traditions use the chambered breech with the percussion drum or vent liner threaded into the breechplug. If threaded in ahead of the plug as was done in traditional American rifles there would be only two threads holding in the thin barrel walls. It is one thing to hold the charge and quite another to hold a threaded drum or vent liner.
The wall thickness on the cylinder of my Ruger .44 mag measures only .086" and the rear of my 1860 Kirst conversion cylinder in .45 colt is only .041" but there is nothing threaded into those cylinder walls.
The .44 mag is loaded to 40,000 psi. Even the .45 Colt is commonly loaded to pressures over 15,000 psi. With a .50 caliber ball it would take a whopping charge of 3f Goex to reach 15,000 psi.

 

[Birddog6]

A 1/4" White Lightning vent liner in a Getz 13/16" barrel in .50 cal has 3 full threads & part of a 4th thread holding the vent liner in.(it is a 1/4-32 thread) On the rifling part you would have the 4th thread & on the groove part you would have 3)
A 1/4 x 28 vent liner would have 2 full threads & part of a 3rd.
I took a piece of cut off barrel & installed them both just to be sure, before I put one in a barrel.

I use the White Lightning liner & fill all the threads avail with the vent liner, then go in the bore from the breechplug end with a carbide dremel bit & cut/trim the vent liner to the bore size, so I have all the threads possible retaining it.
Or use a vent hole drilled in the barrel & coned from the inside with a coned shaped coning bit.

Keith Lisle

 

[brubincam]

-----a GPR would be great with a 58 cal barrel----- :idunno:

 

[jd945043]

Pedersoli Kentucky rifle has that Barrel. I have had it for 30 years and shoot 70 grains of 3f. No problems with barrel. The wood work is sub standard but it is a tack driver at 50 yards