Double barrel

[Atilliator]

Hey Guys, recently i bough a couple of 54 cal. barrels, i was originally planing on making 2 muskets but i got the idea of soldering the two barrels together, doesn't seem like it would be to hard, would you guys recomend it? the barrels are both exactly the same and perfectly straight.

 

[Lonegun1894]

I wouldn't for several reasons. First off, you would have to be VERY precise to end up with a gun that puts both shots into the same place, or same group. That is something even many modern gun manufacturers with their high tech equipment very often can't seem to accomplish. Second off, unless these are light fowler type barrels, you will end up with a very heavy gun. Sorry, maybe I misunderstood, but when someone says .54, I tend to think rifle thickness barrels (read that as: heavy), and not fowler barrels. Maybe a few more details would clear things up? Could be an interesting project, but well over my head.

 

[Britsmoothy]

If you get two well fitting tubes in the bores of long length you can adjust the mating of the two barrels for some regulation.
B

 

[19 16 6]

Sorry man, BUT, if you could do this, you would be working on it right now.
Instead of asking the opinions of the likes of us.
O.

 

[Atilliator]

Hey Lonegun1894, both barrels proper musket barrels, very heavy wich was one of my concerns, i was planing on using it only as a shotgun, i would estimate it would weigh about 9 or 10 pounds wich might be quite a lot for a 28 gauge.

 

[Atilliator]

I Can build it, whether it be practical or accurate is a diferent matter :grin:

 

[Bo T]

10 pound 28 ga??? Might git a hernia swinging that thing around. You might be able to trade off your barrels for some lighter (much lighter) ones.
Don't doubles have a rib running between the barrels to help hold them in position?

 

[Lonegun1894]

Interesting idea, but I would pass. For what it's worth, I have a Lyman GPR with a GM .54 smoothbore barrel that weighs about 9 lbs. My barrel is 32" long by 15/16" octagonal, with no taper. I'm ind of thinking you might end up with a gun that is at least as heavy as mine, and probably heavier. JUst to give you an idea, I use mine as a smooth rifle, and it is great for that, but with the weight, makes a LOUSY shotgun. WHat I mean is it is great with a PRB, and just fine with shot for anything stationary like turkey, squirrel, rabbits, etc. But I have a 13ga SxS with 31" barrels that gets to go on things like dove hunts and such because it swings much better due to it's 7-7.5# weight.

 

[jerrywh]

Wrong barrels. They need to be contoured for a shotgun.

 

[Col. Batguano]

You might take some time to watch some of the Holland and Holland, W.C. Scott, and Purdey et. al. videos about the steps they go through to regulate their barrels to the same point of impact. It involves much trial and error. With a rifle it is much harder than it is with a shotgun too. I mean, an inch off center with a shotgun at 25 yards (and who can really tell?) isn't the same as an inch off with a rifle.

 

[WyomingWhitetail]

I love doubles personally and dream of building a 54 double rifle someday. Most doubles ( I think, I'm not exactly an expert) have the barrels regulated at an angle so that they shoot to the same spot with a certain load at a certain distance. Some would say there is a little black magic involved in regulating the barrels. You should check out Stolzer gunsmithing site for some large scale double builds. A lot of work but really cool.

 

[WyomingWhitetail]

OK that's weird. In my reply it shows me stolzer with a z but when I post it changes the z to a d.

 

[Greyfeather]

Spell check can be the enema!!!!!

 

[WyomingWhitetail]

That's the weird part. I clicked on the edit button and it still says the right spelling but when I post it, it shows up different.

 

[Captjoel]

If you are building a double SxS rifle, you can get away with placing rear and front sights on each barrel. That will eliminate the need to regulate each barrel as is done on shotguns.

I have seen a few original SxS Kentucky rifles made this way. They are pretty rare, but documented.