Your Thoughts on an Idea

[The Crisco Kid]

I have a 45 cal barrel that came off a Sharps rifle of some brand or another. It's a 20 twist 1 1/8" x 1" that can be 30" long. I'm thinking that I could build a plains style muzzle loader out of it. I know for a fact that a 14" twist 375 Whelen will shoot round balls with surprisingly good accuracy at 25 yds or more. A patched 445 ball is a very good fit in the barrel I have and should shoot pretty well but I don't know how fast. The other thought is that with the right size bullet like a minie ball or one of Lee's REAL bullets it would make a very powerful big game rifle and a round ball could be used for plinking and practice. It would be a fun project and something for me to do but would it work?

 

[poker]

A 30” tube should be dandy for a plains rifle. Possibly a little small on bore size compared to traditional, but most certainly usable and effective. You might need to use bullets, but Ive seen patched balls work ok from some relatively fast twist barrels. I say build it!

 

[Col. Batguano]

Is it an octagon barrel?

 

[rich pierce]

Building a gun is a lot of work. I’d start with a barrel you know is going to be great.

 

[excess650]

I had no luck at all shooting PRBs from a TC White Mountain Carbine with TCs 1-20" twist. A paper patched conical would be what I might expect that barrel to shoot well. Keep in mind that the 30" cartridge Sharps would have a chamber at the breech, and most of that end of the barrel would have to be cut off, so 2.1" for a 45-70 to 3-1/4" for a 45-120. Another option would be to send that barrel off to have it rebored and rifled to .50, .54, or even .58 with a twist suitable for patched roundballs.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Stay away from round ball and shoot a conical type of bullet out of it perhaps paper patched should do O.K.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Excess bet me on the bullet thing.

 

[user 34300]

A modern Sharps reproduction, I hope...

45 cal barrels intended for modern cartridges make excellent ML barrels. I have used many. They shoot very accurately with patched round balls. I have never had one that was not accurate with patched balls. If you save a little piece of barrel you can use it to make a size die to make mechanically fitted bullets.

Super deep rifling is normally used on patched ball barrels. My experience is that it does nothing to enhance accuracy.

 

[1950DAVE]

I think, that if you desire to do a project such as this that you will enjoy it. Sounds like some have had experience with barrels such as you reference. Keep us posted should you go forward.
Dave

 

[deerstalkert]

chrisco, i too have a take off 45 barrel . same configuration as yours. mine had a chamber stamp of 45-90 before i defarbed it. breeched it with a 2 inch round breech extension i filed flats on. that's as far as i have gotten with that one. one heavy son. i hope you go ahead with yours so i can steal ideas.