what barrel gives the best accuracy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[olskool]

what is the most accurate barrel? Colerain, rice, others? I know there is a lot to consider here. but what has been yall's experience all around? I have 3 guns with rice barrels and 2 with Colerain. what do you experts say,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Grenadier1758]

Its the barrel you are most familiar with.

Its all about load development. One person's super accurate on target barrel and another's barrel from the same maker can't do much better than a group.

Read all the comments on the 32 Crocketts . There are some that are super accurate and others that the shooter has given up all hope of possible head shots on a squirrel.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Great observation Grenadier. It is like the Chevy, Ford, Dodge truck debate.

 

[hanshi]

I own Rice, Colerain, Green Mountain, Numrich Arms and a few others and see no difference in barrel accuracy.

 

[oldwood]

Grenadier and Jake pretty much summed it up. All the custom barrel makers are good . To give some suggestions , if you are strong , and young enough to have good eyesight, and want to do competitive shooting out to 100 to 200 yards it's common knowledge a stiffer barrel is the ticket. For instance , a tapered and flared "C" wt. in a .50 , or .54. , around 1 turn in 56 to 60 , and 42" length should fill the bill. Why a heavy "C" or "D" weight? Those thicker barrels have little whip or torquing when the ball goes down the barrel. Thus , more accuracy. The style rifling used by the individual custom rifle barrel makers and different twists are nuances overcome by choice of patching , lubes , and ball diameters .
"Tapered and flared "B" weight barrels are more accurate in .45 cal. and smaller. The only perceived advantage of a taper and flared barrel is weight distribution .
Straight octagon barrels in thicknesses and lengths for .50 cal and above in what is considered the 18th century long rifle accepted lengths , 38' to 44" might be too muzzle heavy for the average shooter. All of these will be accurate , if you do your homework on what you put in the open end. Oh yea , also the price of taper and flare vs st. oct. is significant enough to be important to some.
Most custom barrels have .012 to .016 inch groove depths in .45 cal. and above. .40 cal. and below usually have more shallow rifling depths in minimum thickness straight oct. barrels. All of these small cal. thin barrels are accurate no matter what brand used.
Sorry I had to get so far into the weeds. Books have been written on this subject. Figure out your purpose and make your choice....oldwood

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[Roughneck]

I have Rice, Colerain, Douglas and Green Mountain. I have also owned others as well. My favorites for consistent accuracy are Colerain with round bottom rifling and Green Mountain.

 

[Tobie]

what is the most accurate barrel? Colerain, rice, others? I know there is a lot to consider here. but what has been yall's experience all around? I have 3 guns with rice barrels and 2 with Colerain. what do you experts say,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Mine

 

[Billy Boy]

Easiest for me to get ‘right’, and stay so, are the Colerain tubes, don’t know why, can’t say, its’ a pudding thing. Always the smallest groups.

 

[TreeMan]

I’ve had just as good of luck with CVA/Traditions as I have custom made barrels. Its more about the correct sight radius (for you), length of pull (for you), load development, weather conditions and trigger pull than it is which barrel maker. If you have a $300 barrel in .32 cal, a ten pound trigger pull that you can’t see the sights, trying to shoot 1” groups at 100 yards in 20mph winds then you’d be better off with a $200 CVA that fits you and the situation better.

 

[hanshi]

What they said.

 

[Old Timer 48]

My favorite is my Lowell Haarer nothing fancy early virginia. 50 cal. 42" Rice swamped. I'm 5 ft. 7inches, small frame & 72. Handles & carries great.

 

[ord sgt]

Most of my barrels are from Green Mountain. One Getz barrel and one Colerain, untested yet. Patch, ball and powder are the biggest part of any rifle and how well it shoots.

 

[Art Caputo]

For sheer accuracy, can’t say one of the top name barrels has been materially more accurate then the others. There are other attributes that I also look for in a barrel. Balance, workmanship, ease of loading, cleaning, and most importantly, the ability to maintain top accuracy and easy reloading without swabbing between shots. My favorite is a Jack Hubbard early colonial styled rifle that has an Ed Rayl swamped barrel.

 

[Flintandsteel]

What barrel has the best accuracy? The one you’re bragging to your friends about.

 

[MSW]

Can't really give you a 'straight' answer (sorry - just couldn't avoid that pun) … all my barrels shoot better than I can anyway.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

what is the most accurate barrel? Colerain, rice, others? I know there is a lot to consider here. but what has been yall's experience all around? I have 3 guns with rice barrels and 2 with Colerain. what do you experts say,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Well folks tell me that Rice barrels are overall more accurate than Colerain barrels, and Green Mountain Barrels.

Rice sells "heritage series" barrels, that are a tad more expensive than my Colerain barrel, and "match grade" barrels that are a lot more expensive than my Colerian barrel. The heritage and match grade are a lot more expensive than my Green Mountain barrel.

So for me it's a moot point. I can hit the target and win matches, or put game in my freezer with my Colerain and my Green Mountain barreled rifles. No need to spend the money on the more accurate barrel as I don't think I'm shooting in a venue or any situation where that added cost will show added benefit. IF I was a contender for a national or perhaps international shooting prize..., then I'd be looking for the most accurate barrel I could find. Heck I might contract with Rice to make me a custom barrel.

LD

 

[Scott Somers]

Been out of the game for about 35 years but Fat Alice, my 73 [pound bench gun use to have a lot of fun in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma. Louisiana and Mississippi. If you can find one, an H&H Barrel Works ( Hoppy Hopkins) was, and still is, in the big gun and I also had several others, bench and offhand, with Ken Bresien. Both makers were consistent and very accurate. Also made a full stock Lancaster bench gun with an old Bill Large bench gun barrel. About 50 pounds. Played with some gain twist barrels but I forgot who made them. Except for the flint bench, all mine had false muzzles and sealed ignitions . Even got ahold of some original 1800's heavy barrel guns that shot amazingly well. I'm sure there are a lot of really good barrel companies out there. Get references. Sidenote...one of my best practice days was when I was practicing with Fat Alice and a shooter 6 or so stations down noticed how well she shot and could I help him sight in 3 of his old guns. Glad to help. They were muzzle breach and VERY nice. Almost dropped one when I saw the name on the barrel. POPE All 3 were Pope guns. I asked him if he knew what he a had and still wanted me to shoot them. They were magic. I bought books on Pope guns and even took some ideas with Fat Alice such as mechanical starters, powder drop tubes and later some experiments on ramrods with pressure gauges. Kept a razor blade bolted to the table to run my trigger finger across. Weighed powder charges and put one charge in a small medicine bottle. Worked great. So, not a hobby, more like an obsession. Is Webb Terry still making Teflon pillow ticking? Loved the stuff

 

[Dibbuk]

The barrel chooses you. I have several rifles with various barrels from Green Mountain and others, but the one that shoots possibles for me is a Navy Arms barrel that I think may have been made by Ithaca.

 

[okawbow]

The most accurate barrel I’ve ever bought was a match grade Rice barrel in .54 caliber. It shot into the same hole from the very first shot. The amount of powder didn‘t seem to matter. Every load I tried worked.

 

[Tanglefoot]

I dunno about Rice barrels. Or Colerains either, except I have friend who swears by those. My favorite rifles have Douglas Premium barrels, and they shoot `way better than I can hold them or ever could. The gent who was NMLRA National Flintlock Champion for several years running was Ted Heatherly, and Ted favored Judge Resley's barrels above all others. The Judge bored and rifled his own barrels, and they would all shoot center or they never left the shop. The bores weren't pretty -- somebody said they looked like the Judge cut his rifling with a rusty roofing nail -- but like I said, they all shot center. I believe the biggest source of variation in the way my rifles shoot is the nut loose behind the butt plate. There floats my stick.
Tanglefoot