Slim, trim fullstocks? Barrel balance?

[Skychief]

I plan to build a squirrel rifle with a Douglas barrel I have. It measures 32 caliber, 13/16", 42" long (currently).

I want the rifle to be as light, trim, and well balanced as the barrel will allow. I plan to buy a precarved fullstock.

What "school" of stock should I consider to meet these wishes?

Also, any thoughts on barrel balance at different lengths appreciated. I do not know how short I can go with the barrel in a fullstock and still look proportioned.

I am new to 32 calibers and fairly new with fullstocked flintlocks.

So, any help/suggestions are very appreciated!

Skychief. :bow:

 

[rabjr]

You may want to check out the "Boys Beck" precarve from MBS.
http://www.muzzleloaderbuilderssupply.com/riflesets/lebanonbeck.html

 

[Stophel]

My opinion...if you want it to "balance", do NOT use a straight barrel. It needs to be "Swamped" (tapered and flared). My first flintlock was a Tennessee type rifle I built with a 13/16", 42" long .36 Green Mountain barrel. The whole gun weighed only 7 pounds...but ALL that weight was WAY out front. Very cumbersome. For me, a rifle should balance just in front of the lock. No straight barrel will do that, unless it is only about 16" long. :wink:

 

[Skychief]

Thanks Swamp'. I will check it out. :thumbsup:

 

[Skychief]

Stophel, I know where you are coming from. Still, I am bound and determined to use this barrel.

It's one of those things between blackpowder buddies....You should have seen the look on my friend's face when I showed him the Douglas barrel! :rotf:

I appreciate your response (and I am sure swamped barrels are in my future), but, I gotta use this barrel, this time.

If my rifle turns out to be a little muzzle heavy, that will be alright. What I don't want is a SUPER heavy muzzle (or rifle for that matter).

Skychief :thumbsup:

 

[Deadeye]

I'd suggest you cut it to 36". In .32 it might still be a little muzzle heavy. I have a .45-13/16-36" straight and in a southern Mt. stock it balances well and weighs 6 1/2 lbs. In .32 it'll probably weigh 7 1/2. That Beck stock is a beauty
but she says 7 1/2 lbs. for the same barrel and action as my 6 1/2 pounder. I don't see where the weight is unless it was a real dense piece of wood. I think you'd like the Southern Mt. style.
Deadeye

 

[biliff]

FWIW, I just had a percussion rifle built around a .32 cal, 42" X 3/4" GM barrel. Went with an ash stock, iron Bean furniture and small Siler lock. It balances well, is pretty light (haven't weighed it) and about as slim looking as it can get to the point of delicate looking.

Not sure how much extra weight your 13/16" barrel is adding, but even if you were to cut it back to 38-40" it would still look O.K.

 

[tg]

I would go with the full length barrel and see how you like it, I think the 36"-38" barrels just look funky on longrifles, I have had 39" and 42" straight barrel in 13/16 .45 that were not unhandy the smaller bore will weigh a bit more but I would try it myself, before making a semi-longrifle, my cousin nad a 42"x 15/16 in .36 cal that was an original, many originals were made like that.

 

[bioprof]

I finished building a .36 caliber flintlock in a 13/16" barrel last year and cut it off to 40". It is still a little muzzle heavy, but not bad. Some people actually like the extra weight in the muzzle and say that it helps them hold steady. I'd say 38" would be just about right and wouldn't look too short in a longrifle. Heck, there are a number of Beck precarved stocks that are made for a 38" swamped barrel.

 

[J.D.]

I'm working on something similar to the piece you plan to build, except that my 32 cal X 13/16 barrel is 38" long.

I draw filed as much as I could off of the exterior to help reduce weight as much as possible, but I don't think it helped all that much. The barrel mounted on a precarve without the other hardware is just muzzle heavy enough to hold steady, off hand.

I would try it full length, then cut it an inch, or so, at a time until it feels comfortable.

I suggest that you inlet the lock and mount the buttpiece before checking for balance or cutting the barrel, since the feel and balance will change with the weight of the furniture, once those parts are mounted.

That said, I, personally, would not reduce the length of that barrel below 38". Shorter than that and they begin to look kinda funky.

God bless

 

[Skychief]

I am really appreciating all the thoughtful replies guys.

I believe that a slender fullstock will also help the percieved proportions if I shorten the barrel to 36, 37, 38, 39 inches.

Look forward to any more thoughts from you all.

Really appreciate it, Skychief. :thumbsup:

 

[tg]

"I believe that a slender fullstock will also help the percieved proportions if I shorten the barrel to 36, 37, 38, 39 inches."

I think you will find the oposite to be the case if you look at the originals and compare the shorter ones with the longer ones.

 

[nchawkeye]

I've got a 13/16 Rayle .40 caliber barrel in a Bob Watts stock that started life as a .45...The stock is 1820s in styling...If you happen to have Foxfire 5 (and you should if interested in muzzleloading) you can see what Bob's stocks look like...

Frankly, even when a .45 you need more weight in the butt of the rifle...

I'd go with a Lancaster stock, wide butt stock so the brass butt plate would counter the barrel...You could also drill some holes in the butt and add some lead to help with the balance of the gun...

 

[Skychief]

I am hoping for a trim (narrow) buttplate Hawkeye. Adding weight to the buttstock is a great idea to offset the heaviness of the straight taper 13/16" long 32 caliber barrel. BUT....I don't want to wind up with a 9+ pound squirrel hunting rifle. :shocked2:

:hmm: Skychief :hmm:

 

[Ephraim]

If it was me I would use southern mountain stock with full 42" barrel as slim as you can get the stock. point in a tree like you are shooting a tree rat it will hold just fine. They are not made for off hand shooting take a rest. You will be fine.
Ephraim

 

[Birddog6]

I think ya should go shoulder something close to what you are wanting, then you will know what you are building. No use building a rifle then realizing it is not at all what you thought it would be. Balance is all up to each individual. To one guy a 9# longrifle is nothing to hold muzzle weight is no issue, & to the next guy it is like trying to balance a 14' log by holding it by one end. :idunno: The dif. in balance of a longrifle with a straight barrel vs. a swamped barrel is like taking a canoe paddle & put the blade to your shoulder & shouldering it, then taking a 8' row boat oar & do the same. :shocked2: BIG difference.

Also most people have a misconception of old long slim rifles too, and a good example is a original Tennessee rifle. Most think of a Tennessee rifle as a long slim light squirrel rifle, when actually they were a long slim Heavy rifles........ :shocked2: Yes, most of the originals going from 11 to 13# !! In fact, I weighed a blank barrel last week a friend brought by & it will be a Tenn. rifle & the barrel alone, unbreeched, was 10.5# !! :grin: But also allot of them were 44, 46, 48" long & that gives them the appearance of being slender, thus one would think light, and also being smallbores usually under .40 cal, it again makes you think light.

Before ya do any barrel whacking or parts buying, I suggest ya go shoulder one or two similar to what you would like & then make a decision.

:thumbsup:

Keith Lisle

 

[Skychief]

Birddog! Thanks for the great idea. It has been under my nose all along!

I have a 13/16" 45 caliber tennessee rifle. I will simply swap barrels and then KNOW what the .32 will feel like at it's full length in a slim fullstock.

Proof that I like to make things harder than they should be at times. :youcrazy: :haha:

I will report back here later with my findings.

Thanks, Skychief.

 

[Skychief]

I just swapped the 45 barrel in my longrifle and replaced it with the 32 caliber barrel.

I was delighted to find that it was NOT the monster I expected it to be. I weighed it at 7 pounds. I feel that I may just leave it at 42" and be happy with it.

Of course it doesn't handle like an upland gun, but, the muzzle heaviness that I feared was not overwhelming. Sighting down the top flat, it seemed that things were very steady yet I didn't strain to keep the muzzle up.

Wanted to give this report, Skychief. :haha:

 

[ohio ramrod]

To balance out longer barrels, or guns for youths I hollow out the stock and add lead to the stock to balance the barrel. It adds total weight but really helps the balance and makes for steady shooting. The butt plate covers the lead.

 

[Little Wattsy]

To balance out longer barrels, or guns for youths I hollow out the stock and add lead to the stock to balance the barrel. It adds total weight but really helps the balance and makes for steady shooting. The butt plate covers the lead.

Where EXACTLY do you create THE balance point?