BARREL?? LOCK??

[m-g willy]

I got the flintlock bug a few years ago and picked up a traditions PA. rifle ,
After learning the dos and don'ts from you guys around here I now want to build a flinter .
I want a gun from the 1750s-1780 peroid.
I also want a shorter barrel like the german jager in 54 or 58 cal. with a 1-66 or slower twist and around 30" long.
Sooooooo, who makes the best barrel without breaking the bank?
And the best lock for this time frame?
thanks for any info


Willy

 

[Stumpkiller]

Visit the Jim Chambers' website. A Large Siler or other Germanic style lock and any of the various barrels he (his wife, actually: Rice, Long Hammock, Getz, Rayl) sells through Buckeye Barrels on site.

I have one of his L-5 locks and it's a dandy. A tad bigger than the Large Siler.

Check out his English Rifle kit as an alternative to a jaeger.

 

[loophole]

You might want to look at the Chambers "Edward Marshall" rifle, although the Barrel is 37" long. With some different furniture and shaping some of the lines, you can make a close copy of the "Bethabara" rifle which Gunsler wrote about in Muzzle Blasts a couple of months ago. In .58 cal the rifle is a bit heavy, but perfectly balanced. The big germanic lock throws a shower of sparks, and is strong and dependable.

 

[dek]

:hmm: The idea about the Jim Chambers English rifle is a good one if you want a .54 caliber short rifle. Another way to approach this is that by changing the trigger guard, the lock and useing germatic double triggers and carving the rifle properly you can make this into a Yeager. The gun (I've examined the original) is remarkably styled as a Yeager of the same period. :v :v

 

[Swampman]

Chambers makes the best lock. Rice or Colerain make the best barrels.

 

[rich pierce]

There are remarkably few rifles attributed to America in the "early" to "very early" timeframes with barrels shorter than 37-38". I can think of one- the odd jointed-stocked rifle (re?)stocked in ash. If building a short-barreled jaeger, you might want to make it as if it was made in the German lands, with a walnut stock. English rifles of that timeframe were scarce as hen's teeth and would work best for a wealthy plantation owner, perhaps.

Most shorter barreled guns have faster twists. Any of the major barrel makers make better barrels than I can shoot but for tops I'd try to get a Getz. The Chambers Germanic is a nice snappy lock, perhaps a little early for the end of that timeframe. The large banana-shaped "jaeger" locks on the market are quite early in styling.

 

[Leonredbeard]

dek,
You can't make a proper yeager out of an English Sporting rifle. The yeager comb is almost parallel with the barrel, albeit lower, and it is a completely different 'feel' and handling than the German. I would not recommend changing the English rifle. It is nice enough as it is. But if you want a yeager, do by all means, find a yeager kit, or better yet, get plans and make one. Houston Harrison from tennessee used to sell full size line drawings of two yeagers. I have one of them.
God bless.
volatpluvia

 

[Birddog6]

I would go with a set of Jaeger plans from Tracks or MBS or Tip Curtis Frontier Shop, Colerain or Rice barrel and a Chambers Germanic or Colonial Virginia lock.