green mountain barrel

[brubincam]

just got to tru my new flintlock today, was shooting 490 balls and 10 patches ,,,was shreading patches,,tried pillow ticking from walmart, had to hammer into barrel then it went down fine,didnt shread,way too tight,,,,,,,when they say to lap the barrel, do they mean with one of the plastic scouring pads, also would that work fo the sharp muzzle end, think i might be cutting them there,,,,,or would you just shoot it a couple hundred shots and smooth itself? :huh:

 

[roundball]

just got to tru my new flintlock today, was shooting 490 balls and 10 patches ,,,was shreading patches,,tried pillow ticking from walmart, had to hammer into barrel then it went down fine,didnt shread,way too tight,,,,,,,when they say to lap the barrel, do they mean with one of the plastic scouring pads, also would that work fo the sharp muzzle end, think i might be cutting them there,,,,,or would you just shoot it a couple hundred shots and smooth itself? :huh:

I've got a couple GM barrels and think they're very good quality like TC barrels...haven't ever had to make any alterations or do any post-manufacturing work on a TC or GM bore in my life, so lapping the bore would not be my first reaction.

Personally, FWIW, I think .010" patches are too thin and very prone to shredding/burning, period...that's an awfully thin and flimsy piece of material to attempt to hold back fire and gas pressure.

In my experiences, .015" is as thin as I want to go, and even then I only use .015" with light 50grn target loads...I use the heavier, stronger .018" pillow ticking for bigger powder charges.

And for full power hunting loads, I also include an Oxyoke wonderwad down on the powder first as a firewall and better sealing.

An easy experiment next time at the range:
1) pour your same powder charge you just used

2) then seat a DOUBLE PATCH by itself down on the powder as a firewall. (set the double patch on the muzzle, then use a small screwdriver blade, pencil, stick, etc, to gently push in the center...that'll cause the excess matetrial to bunch up all around the walls of the bore which is where you want the extra protection).

3) then normally seat a patched ball with the .010" patch you've been using

If the .010" patches around the balls now survive without shredding, you'll know it was being shredded by fire & gas pressure, not rifling.

:front:

 

[rich pierce]

Roundball's advice is good. In case the rifling is sharp, the first lapping should be with green scotchbrite and do take care to rotate the barrel 90 degrees each pass so you keep pressure on the up/down/right/left well distributed. It's always better if you lap from the breech but you may not want to unbreech it.

 

[harryo]

I have 2 .50cal GM barrels and both take .495 balls and Walmart ticking patches fine. I have to use a short stater, and it takes a pretty fair rap to start them, but then they push down the bore, with the ramrod, fairly easily and are not overly tight at all. I wouldn't think you would have any problems with the .490 balls and a ticking patch. What kind of lube are you using?

I have 5 GM barrels in all and I have never had to lap any of them. They all will take a .005 under bore sized ball and a ticking patch with no problems and they have all shot great right out of the box. I agree with roundball that a .010 patch is woefully thin and weak for anything other than light loads, especially the precut, prepackaged patches, which do have a tight weave but don't seem to cut from a very sturdy fabric. I use pillow ticking patches almost exclusively in all my rifles.

 

[brubincam]

thanks guys ill try your ideas next time out,,,,,my other rifles all used 10 thou patches with no problems with shreading or acuracy,,,,,felt the same with this rifle as the others while loading,,,,,had to hammer the pillow ticking loads through the muzzle but went down the barrel just fine,,, :thanks:

 

[JOHN L. HINNANT]

Greetings Brubicam,

What kind of lube are you using on your patch material?

Are you wiping the bore between each shoot?

The standard load for my 50 caliber GM barrels is .500 cast ball with .018 pillow ticking lube with Teflon, Young County
103, or Ox-Yoke Wonder Lube, in that order of preference.

All combinations are seated with a mallet and stub starter, then are pushed down the barrel with mimimum effort.

Also use a 5/16 inch diameter stainless steel range rod with Delrin muzzle/crown protector.

A number of my friends use the same. No problems with any of them.

Best regards.

John L. Hinnant

 

[brubincam]

crisco,,,used crisco all my muzzleloading days even with cap and ball,,,,wiped bore every 2 shots

 

[brubincam]

i couldnt pound the ball in with my hand had to hammer it in,,,do you think the patch was too thick :thanks:

 

[Stophel]

You know, I have NEVER measured the thickness of a patch! For whatever gun I have, I get a ball sized so that I can use regular linen fabric for the patching. If it is too tight to push in with my thumb...or at the most, with the butt of my knife, it is too tight!

Simplify, man! eace:

 

[brubincam]

that is what every rifle i ever had before was always used thumb presure to start ball,,,,,the green mtn barrel with the thumb presure loading shreads patches using 50 and 70 gr loads,,,

 

[Runner]

So lap the barrel. I use a short starter and 495 balls so I have to use a pretty good rap to start them in every gun I have. Thinking about a going to a bigger ball. Never have used a load that I could start with my thumb except REAL conicals.

 

[BLAHMAN]

Everytime I get a new barrel, or one that I cut the rifling in, I run some steel wool through the barrel.

It doesn't matter if it's a Green Mountain or Colrain or what ever.

I do that to knock the sharpness off of the edges of the grooves.

Toothpaste will do the same thing, and it will also give your barrel that fresh minty smell! :haha:

 

[fatboy]

My .54 GM barrel tore some patchs I used some steel wool on the rod wrapped it did like 50 strokes and have never had a issue with it since using .015 or .018 patch

 

[big bore 75]

my new .54 cal gm barrel, did the same thing after I fitted the breech plug used 3ott steel wool and cylinder honing compound to smooth out the lands and grooves works for me even did the same thing with modern barrels called
firelapping. bb75

 

[MikeChapin]

I have two rifles with GM barrels. Mine have deep rifleing and need at least a .015 patch or they will burn blow the patch to confetti. On my .50 I use .022 denim. It takes a rap to short start it but pushes easily down the bore. The .58 is the same with Ox-Yoke .020 patching. I just use spit for a lube.

I also have not had to lap or do anything to a GM barrel.

 

[brubincam]

me again,,,tried my GM barrel out again today,,,50 cal barrel,,,490 ball 10 thou patch crisco over 2 patches,,,ball patch was fine a couple tries,,,went to 15 thou TC patches pre lubed,,,they tore,,,tried walmart blue stripe pillow tic with crisco,,,had to hammer into bore,,,swab bore every 2 shots,,,almost couldnt get seated,,,didnt tear,,,could not get a group with anything,,,NEVER GOT SHREADED PATCHES with any other barrel before,,,[hope you are not getting disgusted with me] :sorry:i forgot to tell you im useing 50 gr 3f goex,,,sparking and going off flawlessly,,,useing sand bags under forearm and butt,,,ramrod in stock every shot,,,am at a loss,,, :what: :what:

 

[Rebel]

It is possible that even GM can produce a BAD barrel. Maybe you should contact them and let them know the problems you are having and see if they wii exchange it. :m2c:

 

[brubincam]

this rifle was custom made,,, :thanks:

 

[brubincam]

do you think i should scrub the bore? :thanks:

 

[roundball]

this rifle was custom made,,, :thanks:

Still, if it was custom made by Green Mountain as the thread says, they should honor it...or if you mean it's a GM barrel that somebody has now modified, then all bets are off with GM of course