Balance point

[DASH]

I have built five Bedford County long rifles over the past four years using pre-cut stocks. The balance point which I have always believe should be at the ramrod entry. Point is always way forward that entry point. The rifles are always front in heavy. How do I get the balance point to be further back in the correct location? On the last rifle, I drilled into the butt and inserted lead weights. That is the only thing I could think of any thoughts?

 

[tenngun]

I have built five Bedford County long rifles over the past four years using pre-cut stocks. The balance point which I have always believe should be at the ramrod entry. Point is always way forward that entry point. The rifles are always front in heavy. How do I get the balance point to be further back in the correct location? On the last rifle, I drilled into the butt and inserted lead weights. That is the only thing I could think of any thoughts?

Is it a swamped barrel, all my rifles are straight octagon, but I notice swamped loses the muzzle heavy on my guns

 

[DASH]

Is it a swamped barrel, all my rifles are straight octagon, but I notice swamped loses the muzzle heavy on my guns

 

[DASH]

All the barrels were 42 inch, 13/16 “, and 45 caliber.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Swamped or at least tapered, shorter barrel would not look good. Until you handle a rifle with a swamped barrel you may not realize how much better they feel.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Plus it has a wider breech so the whole shape of the rifle benefits.

 

[DASH]

Were Bedford’s typically swamped? It’s hard to find a whole lot of information on Bedford county long rifles. IE detailed dimensions. Thanks so much for your ideas.

 

[waksupi]

Just carry the rifle where they balance. Not all fore arms are the same length, not all sights are located in the same place. Sometimes you need to live with things as they are, not the way you think they should be. My old Bedford balanced well forward of where you think they should.

 

[rchas]

Straight octagon barrels are going to be muzzle heavy; "it's the nature of the beast" as they say. Muzzle heavy rifles and deep curved buttplates were in style around the time Bedford rifles were being built.

As for measurements, both Track of the Wolf and Dixie Gunworks have a full size drawing. Also look up Hetrick's 1975 "The Bedford County Rifle and its Makers".

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[LME]

I have built five Bedford County long rifles over the past four years using pre-cut stocks. The balance point which I have always believe should be at the ramrod entry. Point is always way forward that entry point. The rifles are always front in heavy. How do I get the balance point to be further back in the correct location? On the last rifle, I drilled into the butt and inserted lead weights. That is the only thing I could think of any thoughts?

You can cut the barrel shorter but I like the muzzle being heavy it make it easier for men when shooting off hand. I used a muzzle loader for runing shots and found once i had the proper lead it was easy to hit moving targets on the ground and in the air. The key is the lead and a heavy rifle!

 

[Rudyard]

I only made one Bedford Co they are seemingly made well into the post Golden Age and 'late' in style by any standards . Bedford being fairly sort of 'off the beaten track' by quite a few years .It was a 40 cal uniform Dougles , Its owner has shot it for years and always does well . Not my preference the long barrels or uniform preferring short & swamped I only hunted once with a long barrel 'Long rifle 'Much prefer my 5 pound weight 50 cal with its 26" Swamped Round barrel way better gravity resistant but each to his own . Rudyard

 

[The Crisco Kid]

My ancestor's half stock rifle has a short forend. The balance point is ahead of the ramrod entry pipe so the balance point is on the ramrod. It's pretty uncomfortable to carry and in cold weather wouldn't be good at all with the fingers wrapped around that cold barrel.

 

[wiscoaster]

Yet another vote for swamped barrel.

 

[Mulemauler]

From what I've read and seen most Bedford's had long, straight barrels. Part of the problem with the precarved stock is the thickness. Bedford's were THIN! It scares me to build one but remember the words of an old timer "Take wood off until you are scared and then take off some more." Without the barrel in the stock the forearms are almost as whippy as a fly rod.

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

From what I've read and seen most Bedford's had long, straight barrels. Part of the problem with the precarved stock is the thickness. Bedford's were THIN! It scares me to build one but remember the words of an old timer "Take wood off until you are scared and then take off some more." Without the barrel in the stock the forearms are almost as whippy as a fly rod.

Yeah, I'm building an Abraham Sweitzer styled rifle and I find I have a ton of wood to remove, but that's the way it is!

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Were Bedford’s typically swamped? It’s hard to find a whole lot of information on Bedford county long rifles. IE detailed dimensions. Thanks so much for your ideas.

YES!
Virtually all longrifle barrels were swamped in the 1700's and early 1800's. It was about 1838 when Remington designed a long hollow drill that would shoot oil down the center of the bit shaft to come out the tip to keep it from overheating and melting as it drilled through solid steel barrel blanks. That was a real revolution in barrel making and a huge time-saver.

Prior to that they had to hammer forge-weld an iron bar into a flat iron skelp, into a tube around a mandrel using swaging blocks (U-shaped steel forms), heating it to the perfect temperature as they hammered the two edges together. Done correctly those two edges become perfectly welded without any seam. This is done bit by bit starting in the middle. Then they removed the mandrel and reamed it out to make it straight, true, and smooth. If there was a Cannon factory anywhere nearby, the would often send them to that factory to have the "bored" which was this reaming process. They could save a lot of time and effort by doing that. Then they would rifle it with a wooden hand driven rifling table using small steel cutters. The whole process is incredibly labor-intensive. Here's a link to a video from 1969 called "Gunsmith of Williamsburg" which goes through it step by step. This is an hour long video but everything about the barrel takes place within the first 16-minutes or so.