A-Weight .40 Cal?

[FishDFly]

I had a T/C shotgun which shot one foot high and one foot to the left. One of trap shooters wanted to bend it on the bumper and ball on my truck, I said no, you are not.

I sent it to T/C and they bent it and did a perfect job.

I know they bend shotgun barrels to regulate them.

But I have never heard of any one bending an octagon barrel, though there are lots on dumb folks around.

 

[azmntman]

I would think it would take some doing. :haha: I bet ya couldn't whack a tree and bend it, but I could see driving over it :idunno:

 

[FishDFly]

I would think it would take some doing. :haha: I bet ya couldn't whack a tree and bend it, but I could see driving over it :idunno:

I would think driving over a barrel would just drive the barrel into the dirt and the stock would take the first abuse.

But there as I said, some dumb ones out there.

 

[Elnathan]

Ed Rayle told me once of a barrel that he made using customer-supplied specs that he had to check the straightness on by holding it vertically, since it was so thin that it would droop under its own weight. Might seem like a tall tale, but swords will often do that and is common enough that people sometimes look for it when evaluating a piece.

I don't see why an A-weight barrel would be any more prone to bending than a bigger barrel with comparable wall thickness, but lightweight swamped barrels are pretty skinny in the waist and usually made of pretty soft steel, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if folks occasionally bend barrels in a bad fall or similar accident from time to time.

BTW,
Meshach Browning apparently sighted his rifles in by bending the barrel.

 

[azmntman]

I would think it would take some doing. :haha: I bet ya couldn't whack a tree and bend it, but I could see driving over it :idunno:

I would think driving over a barrel would just drive the barrel into the dirt and the stock would take the first abuse.

But there as I said, some dumb ones out there.

Dirt? oh yeaaa thats what we get out here once we bust through the rocks :rotf:

 

[Col. Batguano]

Yes. Gravity works on everything. With artillery, when they have very long barrels, they often put a suspension strut mid barrel. I'm not talking about your run of the mill field pieces, even up to the railway guns, but the really really big stuff, like the Paris gun. Similar to what sailboats use with their mast spreaders.

Given the same barrel wall thickness, a wider diameter is going to be stiffer than a narrower one. That's why they use thinner walled wider diameter arrows vs thicker walled thinner ones. You can actually go to lighter wider walled arrows and get a flatter trajectory. Of course, everything is something of a compromise.

BTW; I have a 48" Burton A-weight in 38 cal. I asked Charles about whippiness when I was ordering it. He said there is a world of difference between a 38 cal and a 40 cal in that profile. When I asked him about maybe going to a 36 or 34 cal, he said it was a law of diminishing returns. Your greatest increase in stiffness (vs a 40 cal) comes earlier rather than later.

 

[FishDFly]

"about whippiness when I was ordering it".

Are whippiness, harmonics and vibrations one and the same?

 

[Elnathan]

Given the same barrel wall thickness, a wider diameter is going to be stiffer than a narrower one. That's why they use thinner walled wider diameter arrows vs thicker walled thinner ones. You can actually go to lighter wider walled arrows and get a flatter trajectory. Of course, everything is something of a compromise.

BTW; I have a 48" Burton A-weight in 38 cal. I asked Charles about whippiness when I was ordering it. He said there is a world of difference between a 38 cal and a 40 cal in that profile. When I asked him about maybe going to a 36 or 34 cal, he said it was a law of diminishing returns. Your greatest increase in stiffness (vs a 40 cal) comes earlier rather than later.

That makes sense, but I'm surprised that the difference in stiffness and strength between a .50 in B weight and a .40 in A-weight would be pronounced enough to be noticeable in practice.

This is all armchair theorizing on my part, since I don't hunt and accordingly haven't spent time toting guns over long distances, but I really do think that rifles need a certain amount of weight, particularly in the barrel, for maximum effectiveness. If I was getting together a set of equipment that I expected to be toting long distances on foot, I'd work on shaving ounces off stuff like powderhorns, belt knife, etc., first, and if I wanted to lighten the rifle I'd sooner leave off the buttplate and nonessential furniture, file the triggerguard as thin I could without sacrificing too much strength (a lot of modern casting are overbuilt, IMHO), and keep a mid-weight barrel. Rifle barrels and axe heads need weight to work well, and should be at the bottom of the list of things to lighten.

Free advice and worth about what it cost, no doubt.

 

[Darkhorse]

No they are not the same. Harmonics is when the gun is fired it sets off a series of of movements in the barrel sorta like a sine wave. There will be a high point and a low point, both equal distance from the barrel centerline. The goal is to find a load where the ball or bullet exits the muzzle at the exact same point in the oscillation each shot. I have a great deal of experience at finding these spots when handloading for a centerfire, but I don't think a thick walled muzzle loader barrel will be much affected. And I never consider harmonics when working up a BP load.
Whippiness is like when you shake a limber, green stick, the more it moves the whippier it is.
Vibrations are set up after the gun is fired and can be controlled with proper inletting or glass bedding. If the ball has already exited the barrel then vibration should have no effect on accuracy.
These are just my definitions gathered from several decades of shooting, others may vary.