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old gun calibre
- Thread starter Jdzara
- Start date
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Yes they did and most were listed in balls to the pound. Besides rifles got freshened in the rifling a few times which increased the bore size eventually. For military purposes they wanted calibers standardized. Rifles made for trade or sale to individuals came with a mold of the proper caliber. Old inventories and sales records typically show rifles sold with worm, wiper and mold.
Yes they did... but if you read the little article in the back of the Dixie Gun Works catalogue it suggests that the "standard" calibres were proportional in terms of the weight of the ball fired
.69---13 to the pound---relative size 1
.58---25 to the pound---1/2 the weight of .69
.45---50 to the pound---1/2 weight of 58
.36---100 to the pound---1/2 weight of .45
Also, most gunsmiths only had the tools to measure to 1/32 of an inch up to about 1860 or so...
However in this case I think the gun might be metric
.530 = 13.46 mm or aprox 31 gauge in the belgian bore system
Good question
The first metric system was proposed in 1670 by Gabriel Mouton of Lyons, France. However it wasn't until the 1760's that it became popular. It was formally adopted by France in 1795. I think the 1763 (Charleville) and 1777 model french musket were made with metric threads, and US weapons followed suit from 1795-1903. The bore though, is another matter . But the .69 cal (14g) musket bore rounds out nicely as 17.6 mm.
I'm not that up on belgian history, but its next door to france, and briefly invaded by napoleon so I definately think they would have been using metric from about 1800 onwards...
Any Belgian members of the board?
The first metric system was proposed in 1670 by Gabriel Mouton of Lyons, France. However it wasn't until the 1760's that it became popular. It was formally adopted by France in 1795. I think the 1763 (Charleville) and 1777 model french musket were made with metric threads, and US weapons followed suit from 1795-1903. The bore though, is another matter . But the .69 cal (14g) musket bore rounds out nicely as 17.6 mm.
I'm not that up on belgian history, but its next door to france, and briefly invaded by napoleon so I definately think they would have been using metric from about 1800 onwards...
Any Belgian members of the board?
Why would .530 be metric because it measures 13.46 mm or aprox 31 gauge in the belgian bore system? Is 31 gauge in Belgian the number of balls per kilo of lead? And would 31 gauge be a standard number?
I just think it's .530" or 13.5 mm or whatever measure you want to use. It is what it is and old non-standard guns were bored till the flaws from welding were gone in the bore, then rifled. Then sometimes freshened and increased in bore size.
I just think it's .530" or 13.5 mm or whatever measure you want to use. It is what it is and old non-standard guns were bored till the flaws from welding were gone in the bore, then rifled. Then sometimes freshened and increased in bore size.
OK, bore gauge has no metric equivalent- I meant that if it seems an odd size in thousandths of an inch then it might be a metric conversion of a gague measurement. I am presuming that the belgians converted the gauge sizes to metric and then did a little rounding to make it easier for the man on the shop floor. :m2c:
Or it could just be wear and tear...
or faults in the barrel...
Or a long lunchbreak with lots of that good belgian beer
You can see why a man was was buggered if he lost his original bullet moud back in the day
Have you slugged the bore? If you do try measuring it with metric calipers and see what you get...
