My smoothbore weighs almost 8 pounds. I cut the barrel down to 36 inches from 42. Besides shortening it again does anyone have suggestions to make it lighter?
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loosing weight
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Bob McBride
54 Cal.
Keto.
Bob McBride
54 Cal.
Joking aside. Determine the barrel profile you have and bore it out to the maximum caliber or just send it to Bobby Hoyt and tell him to bore it out as far as she'll go. That's the best way to do it. I just had him bore out one of my Allen Martin .45's to .50 so my wife could carry it on Woodswalks. I expect it back for Christmas. If he can't take it to .50 he'll take it to .47. I always wanted one of those historical oddball calibers so either way works for me. Cost a couple hundred smackers but totally worth it. Sorry Al, I love ya, but she was one of Muddy Water's Big Leg Women and I had to put her on a diet....
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Seriously, I was going to suggest wrist weights or just adding weight to the gun, then remove the weights right before shooting.
I sold my heavy smoothbore military based muzzleloaders years ago sans the Bess carbine due to their weight.
I know it doesn't help you sorry but it might be worth selling up and replacing with something lighter.
I apologise if this is discouraging.
I know it doesn't help you sorry but it might be worth selling up and replacing with something lighter.
I apologise if this is discouraging.
Discouraging, @Britsmoothy, perhaps, but true. Changing to a smoothbore with a lighter barrel and stock profile will end up with the less weight, better handling result.
Shortening the barrel will reduce weight at the cost of handling and pointing efficiency.
Shortening the barrel will reduce weight at the cost of handling and pointing efficiency.
Alexander Efremenko
40 Cal
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Since you asked. Buy a new bun with a properly made and contoured barrel, appropriate to its caliber. A proper 20 gauge barrel, 44 inches long, should yield around a 7 pound gun.
My French fusil with a 57.5 barrel is less than 8.5 pounds. As long as it is,it is not unwieldy or unbalanced.
Learn and move on
My French fusil with a 57.5 barrel is less than 8.5 pounds. As long as it is,it is not unwieldy or unbalanced.
Learn and move on
If it's not stocked in a North American hardwood, then restocking it in Maple is the only answer to the actual weight.
The next answer is to do what we once called "Rifle PT" (P hysical T raining with our firearm), in other words you do weight lifting exercises to build up strength and eventually don't notice the weight so much. (Nobody cared to reduce the weight of my dang pack radio. The Gunny just told me to carry it and extra batteries. After about a month, it wasn't that heavy.
)LD
Many Klatch
69 Cal.
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I had a 48" barreled smoothbore that weighed 12 pounds. No problem to shoot and hold when I was 30 years younger but a bugger now. I cut off 12" of barrel and that helped. I also started going to a gym 3 days a week and worked on upper body strength. That helped too. Then I started shooting a lighter weight smoothbore more often and that helped too.
My main physical problem is arthritis, and with a stent in my heart the cardiologist doesn't want me to take the arthritis medicine. I do keep a quart of burbon on hand for those days when the pain gets bad. I just got a shock watching the news, they said the taxes on distillers might increase by 400%. I'm on a fixed income, I guess my next build will be a still!
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Bob McBride
54 Cal.
My main physical problem is arthritis, and with a stent in my heart the cardiologist doesn't want me to take the arthritis medicine. I do keep a quart of burbon on hand for those days when the pain gets bad. I just got a shock watching the news, they said that Sleepy Joe is going to raise the taxes on distillers by 400%. I'm on a fixed income, I guess my next build will be a still!
A Still. That's a great idea. Here's mine, 5 feet from me. Shut down for the winter...
Have it restocked in balsa wood. 
Have it restocked in balsa wood.
You might even get several shots out of it before the wrist broke (the stock's wrist, not yours....hopefully).
