What would you do?

[Rifleman1776]

Asking this for a friend who doesn't use computers. He is a long time active muzzle loader. He and his wife were members of our club for many years. At one point he had a rifle made for her by a local ml shooter and craftsman. It is a percussion full stock, well done. Quality parts (siler lock, Douglass XX barrel, etc.). Problem is, at being only a .32 cal. it is very barrel heavy. Friend wants to sell it but I told him I thought it was essentially unsaleable. With short pull it is designed for a small person. But being heavy, not shootable by most small people. I suggested to him to send the barrel to Bobby Hoyt for boring out and re-rifling to .45 cal. to lighten it.
Enney other ideas?

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

No idea of barrel length, but you could also remove length. I would guess though ... who really wants a HEAVY gun for a tree rat caliber?

FWIW I just took a good ~6” +/- chunk off a 40” barrel - down to, but above the next ramrod pipe - to keep the same balance. This was done to make it lighter & handier for my youngest daughter to hold & shoot.

 

[BrownBear]

I suggested to him to send the barrel to Bobby Hoyt for boring out and re-rifling to .45 cal. to lighten it.

That's where I'd go with it. For comparison, long ago I bought a 15/16" Green Mountain 32 caliber drop-in barrel for a TC Hawken. Best I recall it was 32" long, but it might have been as short as 28". The thing was a perfect rock rolling pry bar, it was so heavy and useless for my needs. And I'm 6'4" and 230.

Sold it to bud who had to have it. A few months later he sold it to another bud. That thing was sold around the neighborhood and up and down the street so many times, a guy didn't realize I was the first to buy it and tried to sell it back to me. At my suggestion he had Hoyt rebore it to 50 cal, and it's now his favorite. Feels just like any other TC Hawken 50 cal these days, so he's a happy camper.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I'll throw in a disenting voice. Will the cost of a rebore add that much to the value of the rifle. Also, what rebore do you choose, 45, 50, 54. What might be of value to you may not be a caliber I would choose.

What is a realistic asking price for the rifle as is as opposed to after rebore?

If I thought the rifle is worth x, why not try to sell it as is. If no interest, then it can always be rebored.

 

[ol vern]

I'll throw in a disenting voice. Will the cost of a rebore add that much to the value of the rifle. Also, what rebore do you choose, 45, 50, 54. What might be of value to you may not be a caliber I would choose.

What is a realistic asking price for the rifle as is as opposed to after rebore?

If I thought the rifle is worth x, why not try to sell it as is. If no interest, then it can always be rebored.

I agree. Decide what you think it's worth add 30% for those that like to beat the price down and see what happens. Might be just what someone is looking for.

 

[Zonie]

Looking in an old Dixie catalog, I see Douglas barrels were about 43" long.

Assuming it wasn't shortened, reboring that length barrel from a .32 to a .45 would take about 1 pound out of its weight.

Whether this amount is worth the cost is something that your friend will have to think about.

As for small bore, heavy barrels, almost all of the old original cap lock guns I've looked at were exactly that. Small bore heavy barrels.

Appearently the folks back in the day didn't have a problem shooting them. :hmm:

 

[Patocazador]

Apparently the folks back in the day didn't have a problem shooting them. :hmm:

Well, they didn't have access to Bobby Hoyt so they didn't have much choice. :wink:

 

[Rifleman1776]

No idea of barrel length

My bad. :redface: 38"

 

[Rifleman1776]

Cost is the sticking point. I suspect his kids will inherit this as it is now. IMHO, it is worth almost nothing due to being almost unshootable due to the very heavy barrel weight.
Skinny barrel like that probably should not be bored out to larger than .45.
If I had the cash available I would offer him no more than $500.00 then send to Bobby Hoyt. I'm sure he will accept no less than $1000.00 which I don't see happening.

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Let him sell it.

You never know. Some of these things are bought for the sole purpose of ornamenting some wealthy person's fireplace. So long as it doesn't break the support pegs!

What is the dimensions across the flats? How heavy is it?

I have a T/C Renegade hunter in .54 that will bust the cheek-bone of an average sized man (5'10"). It is kind of heavy, having a 1-inch across-the-flats barrel, but tolerable as a youth gun. It would be the perfect gun for a full-grown man that is under 5'8" I bet.

 

[Brokennock]

1st, define "heavy."
2nd, some of us would prefer a "too short" length of pull compared to one that is "too long," myself included.

Given that too heavy and too short are somewhat subjective, I would try to sell it as is. Shortening a 38" barrel would make it oddly short and the nose cap, etc would need to be redone, lots of work and expense for questionable gain.

Not being a builder or m.l. gunsmith, I have a question, could a good machines reduce the weight by "fluting" the flats that are hidden by the stock?

 

[ol vern]

Why not add some lead under the but plate? 1/2 lb of shot
would shift the balance and make it less muzzle heavy.