How much gun weight can I lose

[French Colonial]

I have a rifle with a 38" long barrel, 1" across the flats in .54 caliber that is to muzzle heavy for me.
I considered cutting off the muzzle but after much deliberation determined the architecture would never be right.

If I were to have it rebored to a .58 does anyone know or have a reasonable estimate of how much weight I could shave off it?

 

[new2bp]

Assuming everything is just a big long cylinder and such you'd loose 1.2 cubic inches of metal from the barrel, or about 5oz.

Just for giggles get a few 1oz lead weights and some lengths of string, use the string to tie the weights to your stock at the rear and see what that does for the balance. It could be that a 3/8" hole drilled in the butt with a few ounces of lead added (and then epoxied in maybe) will fix the balance issue for you.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

If I were to have it rebored to a .58 does anyone know or have a reasonable estimate of how much weight I could shave off it?

According to Track of The Wolf website, the 37" Colerain barrel in .58 is .2 pounds lighter than the same barrel in .54 or 3.2 ounces lighter. However that's a bit misleading as the balance of the barrel will be more toward the lock than the muzzle.

It could be that a 3/8" hole drilled in the butt with a few ounces of lead added (and then epoxied in maybe) will fix the balance issue for you.

So for those who haven't seen this done, you remove the butt plate, and drill a hole or two into the butt of the stock. Put in a few lead balls and epoxy them. Then replace the butt plate and you have added weight to the rear and may get better balance, but the added portion cannot be seen with the butt plate reinstalled.

LD

 

[tenngun]

Remember loss of weight means more recoil.
I built a full stock Leman. Those had crescent butts that could double as a knife.
It had a 36”-15/16 .54 barrel. Very light
My first .54 was a Hawken full stock flint with a .42” 1” barrel.
The Hawken was almost no felt recoil. The extra weight absorbed and the bigger butt distributed the recoil well.
While the Leman was an angry mule

 

[French Colonial]

Thanks guys, obviously boring out the barrel isn't going to help much. I really like the gun, its a copy of the John Schreit rifle but really should have been made with a swamped barrel. The barrel is a J. Goodoien straight 1", no flare or taper and shoots really well but the older I get the heavier the muzzle seems to get.
I will ponder on this some more.

 

[4570govt]

I wonder if you could go .62?

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I have a rifle with a 38" long barrel, 1" across the flats in .54 caliber that is to muzzle heavy for me.
I considered cutting off the muzzle but after much deliberation determined the architecture would never be right.

If I were to have it rebored to a .58 does anyone know or have a reasonable estimate of how much weight I could shave off it?

My second build in the 70s was a Kentucky style flintlock longrifle. It has 44" long X 1" Golden Age 54 cal barrel. I shot that for years until it started taxing my effort to hold steady. I went through a similar thought process as you to compensate weight. Same issue, it would mess up the architecture! I decided to build another 54 only with a shorter barrel. To this day I am very happy with that decision. My son in law is now shooting that 44" long barreled flintlock.
Don't mess up a good look, and regret it later!
Larry

 

[LME]

I have a rifle with a 38" long barrel, 1" across the flats in .54 caliber that is to muzzle heavy for me.
I considered cutting off the muzzle but after much deliberation determined the architecture would never be right.

If I were to have it rebored to a .58 does anyone know or have a reasonable estimate of how much weight I could shave off it?

If you cut the barrel off don't expect it to shoot the same?