How would you recycle your old muzzleloader barrel??

[c.t.smith]

miniture spud canon?????

 

[stubshaft]

I made a .51cal smoothbore out of an old T/C Hawken.

 

[arquebus]

A few folks have mentioned boring it smooth, or getting it rerifled, but getting it relined would be another option.

 

[Swampman]

Here's a tomahawk made from a gun barrel.

 

[khaga]

Wow - now that tomahawk is too cool!! Thanks for the photo. I'm not a blacksmith, so that's not something I could do myself, but it's a great idea.

I'm thinking I will get the barrel bored out which will give me a smooth bore on hand for small game. My boys would really enjoy that too. I read a few postings on the Smooth Bore forum and it seems to be something others are doing with success.

Thanks again for all the advice! :hatsoff:

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you can drive a nail into wood with a hammer, you can make that Axe. All you need is a heat source, an anvil type striking surface, and a good sized hammer, This not rocket science.

There are groups of knifemakers, and Blacksmiths all over the country that have regular meetings, where they invite interested members of the public to try their hand at the forge, and anvil. The are lots of good, used tools, and equipment out there to buy to get you started, and plenty of folks willing to help you learn.

 

[khaga]

Learning some basic blacksmithing is something I've always wanted to do, so I'm glad to know there are folks out there willing to help.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Condahaw]

Here's a tomahawk made from a gun barrel.

Very nice! I've got an old .54 barrel that would look good as a tomahawk head I think. Lacking the skills to produce one from it though I am planning on cutting it short to 22 inches and make a .54 carbine.

 

[BrownBear]

I've really got to laugh. Or is it cry?

I just found one in the road ditch on a walk today that looks as though someone "recyled" it. As a fence post! :rotf: It's kinda bent and the muzzle looks like it's been pounded on pretty well.

Pretty darned rusty and I've got to get it cleaned up for a better look and attempt an ID. It's 36", tapered round and either 62 or 69 cal. The walls are thin enough to make me suspect that it is smoothbore. The breech plug is still in place and quite distinctive. Three underlugs are there too, tiny and apparently brass. And the vent looks like it was "spiked" at some point.

If you want to have some real fun with your old barrels, go bury them somewhere for someone to find and ponder years from now. Talk about long term recycling! Careers have been built on less. :hatsoff:

 

[shootemup]

If you want to have some real fun with your old barrels, go bury them somewhere for someone to find and ponder years from now.

http://www.prospector-utah.com/gun.htm

 

[nchawkeye]

I'd love to have an old rifled barrel (or section) to use when I give historical talks, so the kids can look through the barrel at the rifling...Currently, I show them the lands and grooves at the muzzle and use a patched cleaning rod to show the twist...

 

[Swampman]

I'd go back and look for the rest of it. It's probably a Trade Gun and it could be a burial gun.

 

[BrownBear]

I'd go back and look for the rest of it. It's probably a Trade Gun and it could be a burial gun.

I'm pretty sure that it worked its way out of the fill used to make the road.... in the 1950's. It definitely didn't come out of the hillside, which is shale. Good thought though. I happen to know a guy who worked on the crew that built the road back then.

 

[BrownBear]

Better light and a little picking around reveals that the "spiked" vent is actually threaded for a liner. Unless I'm really wrong about such things, that makes it a fairly modern piece, whether or not a repro of something older. The bore is too small and the barrel too heavy compared to my Pedersoli Bess, so at least I'm starting to narrow things a bit.

 

[mjones1579]

If you can drive a nail into wood with a hammer, you can make that Axe. All you need is a heat source, an anvil type striking surface, and a good sized hammer, This not rocket science.

There are groups of knifemakers, and Blacksmiths all over the country that have regular meetings, where they invite interested members of the public to try their hand at the forge, and anvil. The are lots of good, used tools, and equipment out there to buy to get you started, and plenty of folks willing to help you learn.

Yeah, shoot, all you gotta do is beat the parts off that don't look like a tomahawk. :rotf:

 

[mr.flintlock]

A friend of mine has an old shot out TC Hawkin barrel. He loads it with a squib of black powder topped with sand and shoots carpenter bees with it.

 

[Keb]

I had 2 old rusty barrels, 1 in .40 & 1 in .50, both 42" x 15/16". I pounded them in the ground and use them for horse shoe stakes.