Jaeger barrel lenght ?

[fatboy]

I have a .58 green mtn barrel laying here and I was just wondering what was a proper lenght for a Jaeger rifle ? The lenghts I've seen are 26" to 31". Would a 36" long barrel be out of place not period correct ? Any suggestions are appreciated

 

Jeagers had barrrels that were longer than the fairy tales admit. There are some European examples that ran 40+". Perhaps America was not the home of the long rifle!

The Edward Marshal rifle, believed to be a restocked European Jeager, goes 38" or so.

I made a 37" transitional rifle last year using a GM .58 barrel. It made a good gun. Well balanced and suprisingly light!

:front:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

The one I'm having built will have 24" barrels. Some were 22" others, as ghost says, were much longer. 36" will give what most people think of as an American transitional rifle, no bad thing in itself. The 1760 era Edward Marshall is a beautiful gun. But it won't pass as a Jaeger.
I think weight could become an issue--a 36" barrel, one inch across the flats, is going to weigh in at about 5.6 pounds. The finished gun is probably going to wind up close to ten pounds due to the solid architecture of the true Jaeger. A swamped barrel will probably save a half pound or so. On the straight barrel, every inch you remove will save a couple of ounces.
If you have in mind the "traditional" Jaeger, I think you need to go no longer than 29" to 31". If you go longer, a transitional rifle might work best.

 

[fatboy]

Thanks for the replys guys yea weight can be a real factor maybe I can bob the end off and recrown it and maybe go the coned muzzle route too if i knock 4" of barrel off I may loose a lb I'll think on it some more thanks

 

if i knock 4" of barrel off I may loose a lb

Why not make it 8", then you can make a companion Pistol to go with it, and have a 2fer, and not waste 4" of good barrel. Bill

 

[fatboy]

Bill i dont need any more ideas to spend money :: Dang now you got me thinking well I got to save my $ for the stock and other parts any how a pistol might just be a bit later :front:

 

[fatboy]

Hey Ghost did you use a GM Swampped barrel on that rifle?

 

[Birddog6]

Contrary to most popular beliefs, Jaegers came in all dif. calibers from .31 to .78 and barrel lengths from 20" to 51", I found out upon researching them years ago. The most popular seems to be. 58 cal & short barrel of 25 to 31". The Edward Marshall rifle is said to have a barrel of 37 15/16" if I remember correctly & it's style follows a Jaeger design. I have built them in 31" and 37" and have always used swamped barrels as they make the rifles lines look better & they balance much better. (IMHO)

Weere it me I would make the rifle how you want it, as you are making it for YOU, right ?

The Jaegers simply make a AWESOME deer or hog rifle....

:results:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

A 4 inch bob will save about 8 ozs. on a 1" across the flats barrel in .58 caliber. The eight inch bob isn't a bad idea at all. And you can always build a pistol with the section you lop off at a later date.

 

[Stonecutter]

While reading the posts to this thread, I've seen a number of references to "transitional guns". I haven't heard that term used before. What exactly is a transitional gun?

 

[Rat]

I believe a "transitional rifle" is a gun that "represents" a rifle belonging to a period when the Jaeger was transitioning, or "morphing" (!!!) into the Long Rifle. It's kind of a loose concept as I think that most would agree that the Long Rifle didn't spring DIRECTLY from the Jaeger. The English Trade rifles, and the long barrel smoothbore trade guns also had their influences.

Nothing wrong with long-barreled Jaegers, but to me, a shorter barrel such as a 32" is plenty of barrel, looks neither long nor stubby, but still represents what our general "idea" of a Jaeger rifle is, more of a short rifle, whether that is right or wrong.

Rat

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I've always thought that the design of the long rifle did owe a lot to the fine fowlers of the period. If you added an early rifle trigger guard, my English fowler would look like a plain, early rifle. No doubt there was influence from the French "trade" muskets of the day. But the Jaeger's rifled bore, stetched several inches is, to me, the crucial bit that brought it all together.

 

[tg]

I think the term is overused and vague and hard to nail down at best, it is mostly a term presenting builders/suppliers another product by using a combination of stock parts and calling it something different.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Got to agree with tg here. The term should mean those guns made during the period when makers of European ancestry and skills began to lengthen barrels and reduce bores. The term, as mentioned, is being applied to many guns that are just imagination. Sadly, few guns of that era have survived in "original" condition. It's tough to look at a rifle or fowler and know what's part of the original gun and what may have been added or changed over nearly three centuries, even if done by skilled gunsmiths.

One part of the equasion seldom mentioned was the reason the Jaeger rifle had such large bores. There were still bears and boars roaming around the old feudal forests, even as late as the early 18th century. Also, when hunting mountainous terrain in Central Europe required enough hitting powder to put down the rams on the spot and not allow them to wander far enough to go toppling down the odd Matterhorn. Bad enough that you had to cross some slippery rocks just to get the critter before it got gravity tenderized! We had big critters over here but hunting was a totally different game. You have to remember that the Jaeger himself was a combo game warden, veternarian, animal husbandry expert and ballistics expert...lot of hats to wear!

 

[fatboy]

Guys thanks for the info I'll have to see what I am going to do maybe I'll sell this barrel and get a swamped Grn Mtn or Colerain to build a Jaeger , or keep this barrel and build a barn gun or a poor boy I'll see . :front: