Coning Question

[zimmerstutzen]

The point is that coning can only detract from accuracy. Now your fall back position, is that it only has to get the job done. So called Minute of deer, I suppose.

Why would I pay for a first rate muzzle loader barrel for a custom gun and then detract from the accuracy put into it by the barrel maker by coning it?

Because I am a crappy shot and need to reload without a short starter and save four seconds in the process?

Certainly such a person would have his charges premeasured and use a ball board to save the time fumbling for a patch and ball.

So the question one has to ask, is there really such a crucial need to reload that fast in hunting conditions, that the gun's accuracy should be compromised for the sake of that one or two times a year when the second shot may be needed four seconds faster?

The next question, is whether the barrel as made is better able to "hit the vital spot" so the need for the rapid reload is diminished?

It is a question of odds. Frankly, the odds are against it.

Deer rifles win and place in matches frequently. And family sedans sometimes win the races at "the Buck" A local revolving junk yard sometimes referred to as a Motor Sports Park.

 

[Dr5x]

I have never needed to cone any barrel but some seem to feel its essential.

There was a gentleman in Texas, I believe, who sold a kit so that one could cone his own rifle muzzle.

How can one get in touch with him, wherever he is? A friend needs to know.

Dutch Schoultz

 

[MSW]

i think this might be the fellow:

Joe Wood, Amarillo, Texas 806-352-3032

Joe's tools are very well made... bronze, and the instructions are easy to follow. these are caliber specific, and if you have an unusual caliber, he can turn one special for your barrel.

there's another tool which uses a jag to center the tool. this is a 'universal' tool, but i can't remember the fellow's name (i think he's on this forum)

good luck with your search.

 

[Dr5x]

Thank You.

I think you have answered my subscriber's question

Dutch Schoultz

 

[Rat Trapper]

Couple years ago there was a several part article written by a builder about conning (Muzzleloading magazine). Bottom line in their testing the rifle was not more accurate nor as good as before. This is one of those subjects that will get talked about all night around the campfire. I don't want one of my barrels messed with. Others can do as they please with their barrels.

 

[Dphar]

Boy that took awhile to find
Hear is the photo that was supposed to but in my first post.

This in a fouled barrel after proving. Its a two angle crown cut on a lathe.
If the shooter cannot load this crown a long cone is not going to help.
Round ball guns are not supposed to load like sliding a round into the chamber on a 22rf.

Dan

 

[Zonie]

That barrel sure has some nice sharp edges on the rifling! :grin:

IMO, those ought to be rounded off with some fine sandpaper.

 

[M. De Land]

The reason I think it can be deleterious to accuracy is because gas begins to blow by the patch just before it reaches the muzzle on the land tops that have been tapered to a larger bore diameter. I would like to see the patches of before and after of the test barrels in that experiment.I'm talking about cones in the 2-3 inch taper range. I read and article one time of old original guns that had cone tapers 3-4 inches long.It may have been in Clines book,I don't remember for sure just now. MD
If gas escapes equally all the way around and does not disrupt the patch than I see now reason for it to be less accurate but the question is , does that really happen and the patches would tell.
I have one friend who has his muzzle coned and his 50 cal is pretty doggone accurate.MD

 

[nkbj]

For adjusting the entrance into the rifling I use conical grind rocks with different angles that have a spindle that fits into a drill and use the rocks to hold emery paper rather than to grind the steel.

The QLA .54 New Englander got the bore transplant.

 

[Shifty]

Paul I agree with what you said,my coning jobs have not taken out all of the lands surface down to the groves but almost even ,and they load easy and shoot great. So if someone has a barrel that they can insert a patched ball into flush with thumb pressure then they don't need to be conned ,but they should not try to tell others not to do it. Also any job done badly will not have great results. Other than that I HOPE EVERYONE HERE a MERRY CHRISTMAS.

 

[Shifty]

I want to apologize for directing a reply to Paul V. I did not know he had passed until someone informed me in a personal message,please forgive me for my ignorance! Shifty

 

[AZbpBurner]

Stumbled across the idea of coning many years ago & never paid any attention, since it didn't apply to any of my guns.

Until now: I recently finished refurbing a seldom fired / seldom cleaned rifle that has a nice shiney bore, complete with machine marks still present in the bore. It is accurate beyond my expectations, despite a large pitted area down the bore an inch or more from the muzzle.

Are there any recommended folks who can properly cone a barrel & any particular configuration / taper to the cone?

 

[Rat Trapper]

I'll not have it done to any of my barrels. There was a real good article done on this a while back in Muzzleloader magazine and that was all the info I'll ever need on the subject.

 

[Billnpatti]

Properly coning a barrel has absolutely no efffect on the accuracy of the barrel. The key word here is "properly". You must get the cone absolutely straight in the muzzle. If you remove too much metal from one side of your muzzle, it will cause your barrel to be inaccurate. I have coned most of my barrels and they are fine shooters. But, my coning tool has a bore guide on it to keep it absolutely straight while I am coning the muzzle. Do not try any kind of free hand coning device. Use only one that has a guide on it to keep it absolutely square with the muzzle as you cut the cone. Properly done, you will be quite happy with the results.

 

[BrownBear]

Wow! This is a blast from the past.

 

[bpd303]

Yep... http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/223037/

 

[M. De Land]

I crown all the muzzle loaders I make in my lathe.
I like a rounded hemisphere crown right at the leading edge to include the bottom of the groove.
This will prevent patch damage and allow top accuracy in my opinion.
Coning was used extensively in the "Day" to facilitate loading and some where over two inches in length.
It works very well for offhand game shooting and survival but is not the best for target accuracy in my opinion as the gas seal is lessened before the ball exits the muzzle. Mike D.

 

... but is not the best for target accuracy in my opinion as the gas seal is lessened before the ball exits the muzzle.

I doubt that it makes a difference if the ball is released at the end of the barrel or a fraction of an inch short of it. The ball has no way to know.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

To say that it has no effect on accuracy is false and misleading.

It may not affect minute of deer for hunting.

But any barrel that was capable of one hole 100 yard groups, won't ever be capable of such groups again after coning. I have a few guns with coned muzzles that are extremely accurate, but that part of the muzzle is removed before shooting.

 

[BrownBear]

Every flag needs a flag pole.