R G Douglas rifle

[Jdzara]

Does anyone have any info on Barrel maker or Gun maker R G Douglas?
I've bought a nice repro flintlock with his name on the barrel.
As always thanks for your time and help.
Jerry

 

[Birddog6]

Was it GR Douglas or RG Douglas ? If it is GR Douglas it is the manufacturer of the barrel. They were/are good barrels.

 

[Jdzara]

Sorry, it's G R Douglas.
Is he still in business?
Jerry

 

[Tumblernotch]

G.R. Douglas passed away quite some time ago. The company he founded still makes target grade modern rifle barrels but after a frivolous lawsuit by some jabo who didn't know how to properly load one, they quit making ML barrels due to outrageous insurance rates. There have been better barrels made, but Douglas barrels have been and still are highly prized when found on factory made ML's. The shop is located near Charleston, WV (Cross Lanes). Douglas used a patented button rifling process to rifle his barrels, both on the modern ones and the muzzleloaders. I've been to the shop, but it's been many years ago.
:m2c:

 

[JOHN L. HINNANT]

Greeting KanawhaRanger,

According to old Douglas Rifle Barrel Company literature information I still have, their muzzle-loading barrels were cut rifled with 0.010 inch deep grooves.

A 1-66 rifling twist was used in all calibers (32-58) and available in two grades, standard and premium. Octagon bar stock was used and drilled through. The premium grade was guaranteed to be drilled through on center at both ends of the barrel and was stamped with XX,s inside an oval.


Regardless of grade, they were great shooters and many a local, state, and national match was won with a G. R. Douglas barrel. In the hands of a good shot, they are still match winners today. Nobody is handicapped using a Douglas ML barrel today.

G. R. Douglas was the first 20th century barrel maker to produce a production line muzzle loading rifle/pistol barrel at an affordable price. They were the Green Mountain of their day and pioneered the way for the H & H's, GM,s and others of todays market.


Best regards,

John L. Hinnant

 

[TANSTAAFL]

I agree, the first flinter I built back in the early 70's using a .45 Douglas standard barrel is the most accurate ML I have ever owned.

I took it off the work bench to my range, it was dead on first shot at 100 yards. I have never touched the sights for adjustment and they are in the same place as when installed.

 

[big bore 75]

I have one of those barrels on my southern mountain rifle that I just ahd to cut down three inches, its so fun to shoot that I ran out of balls so had to put her up untill I get the chance th cast some up but the barrel has a oval with two xx's inside , they are great barrels and I glad I am fortunate to have it since me and dad built it 30 years ago. bb75

 

[Tumblernotch]

Hey John, I was partially wrong about G.R. button rifling his ML barrels. He did cut rifle them, but he removed the burrs and smoothed them up with a rifling button. I was talking to a good friend of mine today who knew him very well and bought a lot of barrels from him and he gave me the lowdown on the process. Douglas did experiment with doing the whole job with a button, but could only put shallow grooves in a barrel due to the stresses that the process put in a barrel. My friend owned a ML barrel that Douglas rifled in this way and he told me that the rifling was extremely shallow. Years later he had Ed Rayl to bore it to a larger caliber and cut rifle it.

I've not been so lucky, but every now and then shooters in our area come across what appears to be a plain old TC or CVA and find out that they were sold with a Douglas barrel. How many barrels Douglas sold to those companies I don't know. But they're good. It's a shame that some nitwit improperly used one of their barrels and started the process of them stopping production. My friend told me that the Douglas company had been thinking of stopping production of ML barrels before that happened anyway to concentrate on modern rifle barrels and the fact that their insurance rates were being raised so high just made the decision easier.
:thumbsup: