Smooth bore rifle?

[boker]

Pondering a smooth bore rifle and was wondering:

How much does barrel length effect accuracy and ballistics with round ball loads?

What are some American period “ correct” designs and features? Generally speaking

What caliber/ gauge is typical?

 

[tenngun]

Longer barrel have little effect. A little more velocity can handle a little bigger charge effectively. In general the improvement isn’t worth the weight.
That said I like long barrels. I think they look better and I don’t mind carrying it.
Surviving smooth rifles reflect typical rifle bores. .40 to.60. This led to the thinking that these guns were first made as rifles and were ‘freshened out’ to a smooth just deeper then the groves later on.
Styles were seen in any popular local style. So you can have a Lancaster,Virgina or SMR as you desire. By the 1830s barrel making had become standardized a lot and shot guns were becoming more popular. The easy of getting double barrel shotguns ended the smooth rifle time since a barrel could be loaded ball on one side shot on the other and serve double duty.

 

[boker]

Interesting, a double barrel shotgun sounds intriguing! Where you located in Tennessee? I am originally from crossville.

 

[tenngun]

Tenngun was a joke camp name for me. When Dixie Gun Works came out with their Tennessee rifle I had to have one, I bought up parts from Track of the wolf and built a SMR over winter, and proudly showed up at Berryville Arkansas. Every rifle vender there had an SMR on their blankets for sale. So I took a bit of ribbing from my friends since I had to run out and get me a Tenngun.
Canoe killer was another name I got to pick up.... I liked Tenngun better.

 

[boker]

I like it too

 

[Crewdawg445]

Pondering a smooth bore rifle and was wondering:

How much does barrel length effect accuracy and ballistics with round ball loads?
What are some American period “ correct” designs and features? Generally speaking What caliber/ gauge is typical?

43.25" swamped Rice custom profile smoothie. Shoots whatever load thrown at it with a .520 Callahan bag mold cast ball.

I personally tend to like a undersized ball and play with patching. I have no desire to shoot distance as most hunting shots are under 50yrds here in the Eastern Woodlands. Taken it out to 75yrds with little effort, so in terms of accuracy a smooth rifle likely will shoot better than you, me or anyone else ever will.

 

[Rat]

I don't have a smooth rifle, but I just found recently that my smoothbore musket (with rear sight) likes an undersized chewed ball, and a thin loose patch. I had been getting good results/accuracy with a heavy, somewhat tight fitting patch, and un-chewed ball. The chewed ball and thin loose fitting patch improved accuracy. Way more easy to load also. However, I changed two variables at once, and also went with a "wax biscuit" under the ball, instead of a wonder-wad or lubed felt wad. The wax biscuit is a wonder wad dropped in pure hot bee's wax.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Rat, try placing a wax paper disc the size of the wonder wad between the wad and the patched ball, this will ensure the bees waxed wonder wad will not stick to the patching material and possibly effecting accuracy.

 

[Rat]

Will do. Thanks.

 

[Ketchakah]

Hatito Friends,
My question would be "why would they go thru such trouble ?" Any thoughts ?

Seems it would be very simple to add a rear sight to a SB if thats the idea you wanted. Its a Puzzle to me.

 

[tenngun]

Many fusils did have a rear sight. The smooth rifle was made, 1) to refreshe a rifles bore, 2) as a multi purpose arm from the same maker as local rifle makers.3) because vision was mostly uncorrected, so a man who lived beyond the settlements who couldn’t see well enough to justify a rifle cost still had a rifle gun that looked like every one else’s

 

[Ketchakah]

Hmmmmm,
Something to ponder. Thank you for the thoughts.