in the opinions of flintlock shooters and caplock shooters, what is the most accurate barrel brand you have ever shot? green mountain, L&R, rice, Colerain, ect,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
what brand barrel?
- Thread starter olskool
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It is very hard to find a barrel that will not shoot well, assuming the shooter knows his business.
I have yet to find any barrel that does not shoot better than I am able to shoot, unless it has been bent in shipping! All barrels that I have used Green mountain, the old Dixie barrels, rice, or Colerain, Douglas, or even Numrich arms
bldtrailer
Pilgrim
Don Getz if you can find one, Bobby Hoyt, Green mtn never tried a rice or Colerain
getz
below hoyt above
hoyt above green mtn below
yet
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ronaldrothb49
45 Cal.
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I have had good luck with any barrels I have used, even one that I have no idea who made it shot very good. If I had to pick a favorite it would be Douglas. They just seemed to be more forgiving on the loads that you could shoot them with. Still have a .45 Douglas been sitting in the workshop for probably 30 years, Keep saying I'm going to make a rifle with it one of these days, even have a CM5 stock blank to go with it that I got from Golden Age Arms when they went out of business. The target in the picture was a Dixie Gun Works barrel, had several people comment they would never again say anything bad about a DGW barrel after that day. That rifle was damaged beyond repair but I still have the barrel which is currently being used in a new rifle I am building. Looking forward to seeing how it does in it's second life.
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All those you mentioned will give winning groups if you do your job. I have two rifles with Douglas barrels that will keep them in the 'X' at 100 yards with a .45 rb.
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Wow!!!!! You make up tough questions. I have a mixture of barrel brands and they all seem very good to me.
My first barrel was a Numrich and it is a $48 tack driver. Early 70s bought the 45 cal for 48 bucks. My friends shootin with me then were using Numrich.
My second barrel is a Golden Age made by Douglas in 54 cal, awesome barrel!!
I have a 54, either Green Mountain or Green River, don't remember, awesome shooter
My current builds sport Rice barrels. Again awesome!!
Sorry olskool I can't give you a best from my lot. I can tell you it isn't my smoothie
Larry
Not all that long ago, the Gemmer Muzzleloading Gun Club did a survey of our favorite barrel makers. It's a list of the usual suspects.
All of the makers are good. Substitute Ardessa for Jukar.
https://www.gemmermuzzleloadingclub.com/muzzleloader-barrels/
All of the makers are good. Substitute Ardessa for Jukar.
https://www.gemmermuzzleloadingclub.com/muzzleloader-barrels/
i have owned and shot several different barrels, and yes, they all shoot good. if i had to pick just one it would be a rice,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Pete G
76 Cal.
Rice.
The old Douglas were good barrels. I still have a 32 and a 45 I bought from Golden Age Arms. They are a 48 twist and are as accurate as I can shoot. I have a Rice 54 that is an excellent barrel. The main difference I find in modern barrels is that some are smoother than others. The Rice barrel is probably the smoothest barrel of all of mine. Any of the modern barrels are probably as good or better than what were made in the old days unless you get one that has a defect that got missed during inspection. That does happen once in a while. I'm more interested in the twist rate these days than in what brand of barrel.
longcruise
70 Cal.
I've never shot a Getz or rice but among those I've shot it would be a tie/toss up between Hoyt rebore and CVA/Traditions.
I have three long guns with Getz barrels, 40cal rifled, 60cal rifled, and a 10ga smoothie. They all shoot better than me and they clean up nicely.
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For offhand shooting my most consistently accurate rifle for the last forty years has been a Jaeger with a Getz round bottom rifled barrel. The barrel is part of it for sure but the rifle just fits me perfectly.
Benchrest? Lots of good barrels out there.
Benchrest? Lots of good barrels out there.
My experience is it depends on what you’re shooting. I have never had good luck with a combination barrel. I have a green mountain fast twist that shoots amazingly well with a conical. My Bobby Hoyt rebore with proper rifling. Does an amazing job with Patch round ball. My experience is shallow grooves and round ball will never shoot well for me. I suspicion the different types and depths of the rifling makes a tremendous difference, but have not had a chance to explore that to its fullest.
