How would you recycle your old muzzleloader barrel??

[khaga]

Be creative - let's hear some practical, fun (and clean) suggestions for how to recycle or reuse old muzzleloader barrels that have seen better days.

If I had 3 more, I could build a barstool... what else??
:dead:

 

[Pete44ru]

Some washed casing material can be hooked over the front sight, and ground game meat pushed through it to make sausage links.


:stir:

.

 

[roundball]

Have it freshly bored out to the next size larger as a smoothbore and enjoy shooting / hunting with some shot loads

 

[khaga]

hey, I like that idea! that could be a whole new gun project, building one from scratch.

Know anyone in NC who can do a quality job at a reasonable price? I'm in Raleigh.

 

[cowpoke1955]

I thought there was a guy in Georgia that did that. Remember reading that in a post a while back. Hopefully, someone can remember.

 

[Maynerd62411]

At Grant's Farm, (Ulysses S. Grant)in St. Louis, there is a fence made of gun barrels.
I haven't been there since 3rd grade, but that stuck in my mind. I'd like to go back to get a close look at it now.

 

[roundball]

hey, I like that idea! that could be a whole new gun project, building one from scratch.

Know anyone in NC who can do a quality job at a reasonable price? I'm in Raleigh.

No...I'd recommend Ed Rayl, Gassaway, West VA...I expect it would easily be less than $100.
What caliber and diameter barrel is it currently?

 

[Swampman]

They are very easy to make tomahawks with. I had one and it looked great.

 

[MikeChapin]

Back in the mid eighties I had a motorhome fire and lost most of my rifles and my black powder gear. I salvaged the barrels after the fire and built a couple of items out of them. I built a field rifle stand out of the 42" Tennessee barrel. I used cut one of the pistol barrels and welded them towards the top to hold the rifles. Another pistol barrel was bent 90 degrees and welded towards the bottom for a base. Large spikes were welded in the ends of the barrels for driving in the ground. The lollypop tang was bent into a hook to hole bag and horn. If I am in an area where there is no place to put my rifles, I haul this along. It also looks cool in front of the camp. Great conversation starter.

The fire was hot enough to weld my camp grate to the frame of motorhome. The rest of the barrels went towards making a new camp grate.

 

[Many Klatch]

I cut one in half and used it as rebar to hold down a treated 4X4 at a gate in my fence.

I have heard of a bunch of barrels being used for rebar in a concrete floor.

A friend of mine cut up a shot out barrel for spacers on his Harley.

Many Klatch

 

[Walks with fire]

Fireplace tools, camping/cooking items, boot jack, shed/camp door handles, rifle rack. Lots of stuff if you just look around.

 

[badpenny]

bore it out,make yourself an nice smoothbore.or even have it rerifled.

 

[J.D.]

Make an old gun out of 'em.

If the barrel is long enough, or you have two or more old barrels, use 'em for forging buttplates, trigger guards, side plates, or hammer 'em flat and use 'em for patchboxes, thimbles, underlugs, sights, or whatever.

Bobby Hoyt can rebore and rifle 'em too.

Check the depth of screw holes and underlugs when you send a barrel out to have rebored. I talked to Bob the other day, and he related how he just blew through screw holes drilled deeper than normal on a TC barrel.

He recommends a minimum of 1/16" of material at the bottom of a dovetail or screw hole, BTW.

Bob Hoyt
700 Fairfield Station Rd
Fairfield, PA 17320
717 642 6696

God bless

 

[Ray-Vigo]

I think I'd go this route and then decide whether to re-rifle or go smoothbore with it. But if it's structurally sound, it could still be useful on a gun.

 

[zrifleman]

Two things to use old ML barrels for----bar stock for making bullet sizing dies, a jig for making foreends for single shot BPCR.

 

[longcruise]

What? :shocked2: No jack handles yet?

 

[rafterob]

Beating a dead horse?

 

[khaga]

yep, I got that one covered...

I appreciate all the ideas, and I hope they keep coming. I enjoy seeing how ingenious and creative people can be, and we all learn something!

 

[Captjoel]

They also make great tomato stakes!

 

[tg]

I have a short piece that I try new barrel finishes browning/blueing/aging on then sand down to brite again to start over.They are good for practicing dovetails as well.