Barrel Shortage?

[talon]

Hello, I hear from several sources that there is a shortage of muzzleloading barrels out there. Smoothbore & straight octagon rifled barrels. Is there any truth to it? Thanks.

 

[Roy]

Not untill your looking for a specific one :haha:

Actually not sure.. I do know that certain barrels are hard to keep in stock. I had a bit of a go around looking for a 3/4" straight oct .36 a while back..

Here lately most of my barrels are custom made.

 

[Birddog6]

I don't know of any shortage, unless if it something special. Some of the Rice barrels are hard to come by at times & that is a demand thing, Getz has never had good avail., Tip Curtis has literally hundreds of Colerains & Grn. Mountain barrels in stock all the time....
I guess it all depends on what you are looking for.....

 

[hotsparks]

I'd read or heard that GM had converted their production lines to "military" barrels for a big contract. If you look at the GM website (they will sell direct), quite a few barrels are marked "see your distributer" instead of "add to cart", which tells me they have none in stock.

 

[Birddog6]

And like allot of companies with low business right now, they may have just quit stocking the ones that are not selling = that is dead inventory & a loss to the company to have money invested in it & it sitting there not moving.... :hmm:

 

[BLAHMAN]

Hello, I hear from several sources that there is a shortage of muzzleloading barrels out there. Smoothbore & straight octagon rifled barrels. Is there any truth to it? Thanks.

Was at the Log Cabin recently and they have barrels...just don't have all sorts of barrels. Track of the Wolf appears to be out of certain stock sizes too....Spoke with Tip, he's got plenty of barrels, but certain sizes he was using for his kits....sorta kinda depends on what you're looking for.

Appears that certain barrel specs are in demand....

 

[ehoff]

Funny, several other builders and I where just talking about this on the at a local shoot yesterday. The more popular sizes seem to be hard to come by, I know Dixon's barrel selection is low.

 

[BLAHMAN]

Funny, several other builders and I where just talking about this on the at a local shoot yesterday. The more popular sizes seem to be hard to come by, I know Dixon's barrel selection is low.

I was looking for either a 7/8's 45 or a 7'8's 50 for a flint gun.....I'll just work on others.....

 

[ehoff]

7/8" in .45 and .50 both seem sizes that are hard to come by.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I doubt you will find many barrel makers who will sell you a barrel in 7/8s in .50 caliber these days. That is really pushing the safety margins, if they don't also cut the dovetails for hangers, and sights in the barrel, too. You should be able to find someone to make one in .45 caliber.

Why not find one in 15/16" and have the extra degree of safety?

 

[Mike Brooks]

I doubt you will find many barrel makers who will sell you a barrel in 7/8s in .50 caliber these days. That is really pushing the safety margins, if they don't also cut the dovetails for hangers, and sights in the barrel, too. You should be able to find someone to make one in .45 caliber.

Why not find one in 15/16" and have the extra degree of safety?

Getz makes .50's in 13/16".

 

[paulvallandigham]

I have a GM barrel in 13/16", Mike, but they no longer offer it, as I understand. I believe Getz wants to cut the dovetails for the customer, or sells them to competent smiths and builders like yourself to do that work.

I see a lot of very deep dovetails- you might think they were making a wood box!-- on guns, because folks buy sights, and never think that they can cut, or file off a lot of that dovetail base before installing it. The same with hangers.

 

[roundball]

Getz makes .50's in 13/16"

These well known, top barrel makers in the muzzleloading industry have simply GOT to start reading these posts so they can get proper instruction on barrel making.

PS: T/C made 13/16" .45cal barrels for decades.

 

[Birddog6]

I have used & have some 13/16" .50 cal Getz barrels & also have a .45 7/8" Getz barrel (14/16") & also have a .50 cal 15/16" Getz barrel. So yes, they are made. :wink:

No, you don't put a dovetail in them .060 deep, you make the dovetail thin at the base & put it in .020 deep or solder it on or both. Just like you would on the thin waist of allot of swamped barrels. In fact, 13/16" x .50 cal is thicker than the waist of allot of swamped barrels.

 

[Tommy Bruce]

I just bought 3 colrain barrels from Stonewall Creek outfitters. all 3 "b" wieghts, two .50's in 38" and 44" and a .45 in 42".

 

[gunnut]

ed rayl barrels are the best out there.they are custom made in wv. check tham out. i have personally put two in my guns and they have yet to be beat in matches. 1 in 72 twist 54 cal