Accuracy of .36

[wolkentanz]

Hello all,

have anyone experience regarding the accuracy of Green Mountain barrels cal. .36 at 50 yards. Is this a good caliber for shooting competitions at paper targets ?

Thanks a bunch in advance !

 

[Swampman]

I've never seen a GM barrel that wasn't accurate. I think any caliber would do fine. The small callibers are just as accurate, as the bigger calibers.

 

[Lonegun1894]

I have a .32, a .50, and a .54. All are accurate. The larger calibers are less sensitive to crosswinds than the .32 is, but you have advantages and disadvantages with any caliber you choose. Just gotta figure out which ones you can live with and which ones you cant. The .32, (sorry) closest i have to a .36, is very accurate, has no recoil, and uses very little powder and lead per shot. The larger calibers handle wind a little better, but they're no more accurate, and use quite a bit more powder and lead per shot. But part of that is me using hunting loads in all my guns instead of light target loads. They're all great guns and dont even start thinking you're gonna end up with just one rifle.

Paul

 

[bob308]

gm barrels are very good. as far a cal goes the size does not matter that much.unless it something specal like a bench rest gun.

now when i started in the offhand matches i used a .50 gpr shot well won prizes. then i got a hoyt .40 cal barrel. used less powder and lead for the same 60 round match also was not beat up like with the .50. then i tried a underhammer with a .45 and i liked that one.

so to answer your question yes a .32 is a good offhand rifle to use in matches.

 

[chasebob]

I have a .36 GM and I can hit two lieter pop bottles off hand at 50 yards. The wind does become a problem. If its windy I don't even try.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Wolke: No round ball does well " bucking " wind. The sub calibers( sub-40) make very nice, and very accurate short range shooters- out to 50 yards. There is nothing wrong with any GM barrel in either .32 or .36.

Target shooting often includes shooting at 100 yards, however, and at that range, the .32 and .36 could find it difficult to compete in any kind of breeze. That is why you see target shooters tending to buy .40 and .45 caliber barrels, where the round balls do well in modest winds, velocities would be adequately fast, but recoil would still be manageable.

Face it, a round ball in .32 caliber weighs approx. 47 grains, and has a ballistic's coefficient of only .044. The .36 RB weighs approx 65 grains, and has a B/C of .049. Compare that to the .40 caliber RB, at 93 grains, and a B/C of .055, and the .45 caliber RB at 127 grains, and a B/C of .061. Since B/C measures the drag of air on a ball, The lower the B/C, the worse the ball does in flight.

So, if you are looking for a crackerjack Target shooting rifle, that is cheap to feed, and accurate out to 50 yards, don't give a second thought to buying a .36 barrel. It will let you hunt small game, from squirrels to rabbits, to coyote, and ground hog. However, if you are wanting to stretch that range to 100 yards, you probably will do better with a .40 caliber barrel.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

For some reason, GM seems to be phasing out the .36 caliber, last time I checked they only had it in a couple of sizes, 3/4" and 1" IIRC. I've always liked the .36 as a small game gun, .40 seems to large and .32 seems too finicky.
Of course that is purely personal preference. :grin:

I just rechecked their website, make that 3/4" and A profile swamped. You can maybe find a retailer who still has other sizes in stock but the odds are not good.

 

[Gemoke]

L.C. Rice makes a great 36cal. barrel. track of the wolf list it for $245

 

[wvmtnman]

I made a fullstock Ohio style rifle and used a 13/16 Green Mountain barrel, 42 inches long. I cut the crown a little deeper and polished the bore with 0000 steel wool. With 40 gr of fffg, a .020 pillow tick patch and cast .350 round ball, I can sometimes clover leaf shots off hand at 25 yards. As for shooting from a banch, the groups are geat.
As for the 50 yard target, the groups were about 2 inches, shooting from a bench. Usually the 50 yard shooting benches are filled at the local public range but the two days I did shoot from the 50 yard, it was windy so that could account for the open grouping. I would suggest a .36!
Brian

 

[MikeChapin]

I don't have a .36 Green Mountain but do have a .32, .50 and .58 with GM barrels. All are excellent shooters. I used the .32 this weekend at our club shoot. I won two matches and came in second on most of the rest. The two matches I blew it on were those that were at 100 yards. Didn't do well at all on those.

My .36 has a Sharon barrel. The rifle is about 30 years old and still shoots fine. If the day is fairly quiet it will reach out to 100 yards nicely. Over the years I have won quite a few aggregates with the rifle.

If I was to build one now and wanted to use it for target work, I would probably go with a .45. It has a little more oomph at 100 yards and is not as affected by the wind as the smaller calibers.

 

[chapmans]

My son started out with a .36 GM and has many, many medals won with it. As a sub jr ( 12 and under) he shot the silhouettes at Friendship and has cleaned them twice. They are, crows at 40yds, groundhogs at 60 yds, reduced buffalo at 80 yds, turkeys at 100yds and bears at 120 yds. We would practice the relay before and "try" to figure out the wind and then shoot the record relay. It's amazing how well it did at the longer ranges. It didn't always knock down the targets at the longer ranges but in the sub jr match the targets were painted before each relay and any hit counted.
Longball 58

 

[flaming canvas]

I'm still wringing mine out, but so far I am finding a .36 to be very accurate. This is a 13/16 x 42 GM as a flintlock. Wind is more of a problem and it does seem to drop more at 100 yards compared to larger calibers. The load is 40 gr Goex fff and ticking patch.

Power wise, I have knocked over rabbit silhouettes at 100 yards. These are sitting jack rabbits cut from 3/8 steel and are about 15 " tall.

 

[Jim/OH]

I have a GM .36 cal. on my flintlock I am presently shooting most of the time. It is a real tack driver if I do my part. As has been said, it is even accurat at 100 yds. IF there is little or no wind. But a moderate wind really causes problems. As far as 50 yd. accuracy goes, I have shot 10's and X's on a 100 yd big bull posted at 50. I shoot this gun regularly, and this past weekend did well with it. Won 3 matches, 2nd in a couple more and 3rd in one. So I am pleased with the Green Mountain .36. I am shooting 45 gr. of 3F Goax with a .360 ball and prelubed patches. It does well for me.

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOur performance with your .36 GM barrel is pretty typical for this caliber, and the company's fine work. These are excellent shooters out to 50 yards, but if there is any sort of wind, accuracy can be a bit dicey much beyond 50 yards. Now, as a caveat, .36 shooters come to expect one-hole groups as the norm, when they do their part, so they may just be a bit spoiled by these little guns! :grin: :hmm: :hatsoff: