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Fowler Barrel Length ??
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Booshway
posted
Thinking about a new fowler. Undecided as to barrel length; 42" er 46". What's your opinion? Planning on both shot and RB. Thanks.

Rupe/PA
 
Posts: 467 | Location: NW Pennsylvania | Registered: 20 December 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Pilgrim
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I ordered mine with a 38" barrel. 38" is right for me and my shortness,anything longer and I would have to climb a tree to be tall enough to load it Big Grin. A 38" barrel you may find a little easier to get in and out of a vehicle.
 
Posts: 90 | Location: WV | Registered: 04 October 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Pilgrim
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Mine is a 46" but I'm 6-3 so it fits me very well.
Tom Black
Cantucky
 
Posts: 63 | Location: Kentucky | Registered: 14 February 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
Picture of Hanshi
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Likes Mountaineer, I'm short but I still like long barrels. But I have to be practical. My fowler, like most of my guns, is 38"; fits me perfectly. Also anything longer is very, very difficult to fit into my truck.


*Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.*
 
Posts: 3559 | Location: Maine (by way of Georgia then Va.) | Registered: 26 January 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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One thing a muzzleloader builder pointed out to me was that often times, the powder blast doesn't blow enough of the fouling out of a long barrel.

I have a 45 cal rifle with a 42" barrel and 3Fg was fouling up real bad about 10" from the muzzle. I switched to 2 fg and reduced the problem.

The slower burn of the 2Fg moves more of the fouling up the barrel during it's burn time.

I have two 45 cal flinters and they both have Getz barrels with 1 in 72 twists. One thrives on 70 gr of 3FG and the other chokes to death on it. I had to switch to 2Fg in that second rifle.

Deciding on a barrel length for my NW trade gun was one of the most difficult decisions I had to make. Caywood provided either 36 or 41 so I based my decision on the following:
36" would be better for me while using it as a shotgun during grouse season.
The gun was modeled after those built in 1834 and at that time, though longer barrels were available, shorter barrels were becoming more popular, especially in Alaska.
So, the 36" it was.

Load fast and aim slow.
 
Posts: 1726 | Location: Pacific Northwest | Registered: 08 March 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
<mtnmike>
posted
White Finger,,36" you won't regret,that's the length of mine,Spot on at 50 yds and a breeze to clean. Razzer
 
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Booshway
Picture of captchee
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LMAO , My Hudson valley has a 52 inch barrel and if i could have found a 67inch barrel i would have built it with that as it would have been a more correct length..
If that’s not a real concern for the given smoothie your looking for , then get what fits you and the hunting you will be doing . IE longer barrels aren’t as quick in the swing as a short barrel , so if your doing wing shooting you might be happier with a short barrel
 
Posts: 687 | Location: Payette ,Idaho | Registered: 23 November 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Pilgrim
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The barrels on all my flintlocks are 38".
32 cal
45 cal
.620 Colerain Turkey Choke

54 cal smoothbore in progress.

50 cal Southern Mountain Rifle after that.

That is what works for me.
I try to balance what is practical today with some sort of twisted historical correctness.
I feel the most important thing to consider is what YOU would enjoy using the most.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PJC,


Seasoned woodsmen that depend on skill and knowledge to lead them to a successful hunt rather than the crutch of modern technology
http://americanlonghunter.com
 
Posts: 71 | Registered: 22 March 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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PJC, I like the 36" barrel on the NW trade gun real well. It's really an asset when grouse hunting.

I have 2, 45 cal southern mountain flinters with 42" barrels. Love em' both.
A 54 cal Sharon Hawken with a 32" barrel
A .54 cal lyman GP rifle with a 32" barrel
A .54 cal Pedersoli Blue Ridge flint rifle with a 39" barrel
A 1861 colt Special Musket in 58 cal with a 39" barrel.

You can tell I'm a real fan of 54 caliber, especially on a deer hunting rifle. The two 45 cal long rifles are my "go to mountain doins" rifles. The 62 cal NW trade gun is my grouser and does double duty on the mountain doins trade gun trail walks.

The 58 cal Civil War rifle is the odd-ball that doesn't see much use but still something I had to work with. Too many mountain men said those guns just don't shoot well. It was a challenge that I suspected was more BS than fact. I proved them wrong too.

Another challenge was trying to get my Pedersoli Blue Ridge rifle to shoot with hunting dependability. It was the first rifle I picked up with a 1 in 48 twist. I'm a fan of 1 in 72 so getting that rifle to shoot was also a challenge. A secondary challenge accompanying the challenge of overcoming it's inconsistent ignition.


Load fast and aim slow.
 
Posts: 1726 | Location: Pacific Northwest | Registered: 08 March 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Greenhorn
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I would ask...
1. Pot shots or shooting flying?
2. What types of birds and animules?
3. If stock barrels, who is the maker and what are the specs? (One make of 46" barrel can be very different than another in thickness, breech size, etc.
 
Posts: 43 | Registered: 22 October 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Greenhorn
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I have a musket with a 44-inch barrel and it's very hard to get inside my little chevvie cobalt. Outside of that,love the gun. No one expects me to be able to hit grouse with it, and I don't disappoint them. graybeard
 
Posts: 31 | Location: west michigan | Registered: 15 December 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
Picture of Dick
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Well, I've got three long guns with barrels at least 41.5" long. They do fit in the back seat of a Honda Civic or similar-sized vehicles, with the butts on the floor on one side, the muzzles up near the window of the other side. But I've found the best way is to use the front passenger side. Muzzles in first up by the head rest, butts down where your passenger's feet would be. Tie them to the head-rest posts with a bungee cord or something. Doesn't work as well if you've actually got a passenger, of course.
Length doesn't much matter with that set-up, unless they're too short!

Dick


"Est Deus in Nobis"
 
Posts: 2902 | Location: Helena, Montana | Registered: 10 December 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Greenhorn
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Both of the ones I've gotten have been 46" barrels. Like the extra sight radius, even without sights, per se. Never have found them to be a problem, even in brush. My 2 drachmas!
 
Posts: 19 | Location: Bastrop County, Texas | Registered: 25 May 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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I'll spend your money for you..Go with the longer one..lots easier to shorten than lengthen.


Currently Use a 38" rice 10 ga...OCT to round tapered and flaired.. ..no problem with grouse or geese.
Have an 8 ft bed in the truck so on the next one the skies the limit.
50-60" Hudson Valley comes to mind.
Now to find a thin wall barrel maker using shot only.Big Grin

This message has been edited. Last edited by: fowl,
 
Posts: 122 | Registered: 05 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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Rupe since your question was about fowlers (aka smoothbores) and not rifles, which grow terrible heavy with length, here's my take on it. I wondered about the same problem since I do a lot of hunting in very confined spaces and often aloft. Turns out, it's a non-issue. I've smoothbores from 20 to 42 inch in length and they all work just fine. It may take a smidge longer to swing the longer pipes..but swing they will. I like the looks of the longer barrels. That's just a personal preference. I don't think a longer barrel has a longer sight radius. Unless, of course you have a rear sight. Sight radius is determined by the distance between front...and rear. I have not been particularly impressed with the sighting plane of the swamped smoothbore barrel. The front sight just kind'a hovers out there in mid-air. (no barrel visible between breech&sight...odd thing) The longer barrels are considerably more efficient with powder. Mike Nesbitt wrote a most excellent article on that topic. That may/may not matter. I shoot close and use modest charges so it's a wash for me. The difference in length you mentioned (42vs46)wouldn't matter. Here's something that will matter. Ask, or look, at the thickness of the barrel at the muzzle end. I am often unimpressed with the dimensions on the current crop of barrels. A smoothbore barrel should be thin and light right after the wedding bands and taper to the muzzle. I'm seeing them nearly 3/16 thick at the muzzle. Balderdash. This is what makes for a slow/sluggish swing....not the length. There is a fellow up near Cooks Forest building them the right way. I believe his name is Alex E. ....something or other. I'll find his address and get back. Not cheap but at our age why should we deny ourselves? I remain Sir....your friend. Audie...the Oldfart.
 
Posts: 2155 | Registered: 31 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
Picture of Hanshi
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My smoothbore, 38", has a thicker barrel like oldfart1956 speaks of. The gun isn't heavy but certainly doesn't swing like a hickory switch. It does, however, swing much, much better than any rifle. This makes it ideal for my purposes which are using ball for deer - once made a nice running shot on one with it - and shot for squirrels and turkey. I usually refer to it as a musket. If I got another smoothbore it would have a thin, whippy barrel for flushing upland birds as I don't hunt waterfowl or do pass shooting. A thin barrel would also be great for bunny flushing. Swamped smoothie? No way.


*Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.*
 
Posts: 3559 | Location: Maine (by way of Georgia then Va.) | Registered: 26 January 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Pilgrim
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I've got one that has a 38" barrel and one that has a 72" barrel. Both shoot well with either shot or ball. Try to find a couple you can handle and see what you like best.
Mark
 
Posts: 68 | Location: Central Ohio | Registered: 31 August 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
Picture of Hunts4Deer
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I am having a Hudson Valley Fowling Piece built for me. It will be 12 gauge with a 56 inch barrel. I fear I may need a stepladder to load it, but Mr. Gahagan assures me he is making it very light and handy for it's size. I have handled others that he built and they point extremely well, despite the long length.

captchee, What bore is yours? How do you like it for hunting?


John
Vive le Roy!
 
Posts: 513 | Location: Colony of Maryland | Registered: 04 November 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
Picture of captchee
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quote:
Originally posted by Hunts4Deer:
captchee, What bore is yours? How do you like it for hunting?


i built mine under bored so its a 54/ around 28 gage . i like it for hunting . it paterns well with bopth shot and ball . the only real drawback is that with the long sight picture , on a hot day , the heat waves coming of the barrel can completely distort the front sight . as to loading . all you do is just lean the gun over alittle , dump the powder . stand it up and give it a little thump to settle . then lean it back and finish your load . its really not as hard as one would think
 
Posts: 687 | Location: Payette ,Idaho | Registered: 23 November 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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