What's the largest caliber a 1" oct bbl can be made?

[Nathan Bowen]

Is it safe to make a .62 rifled barrel in a 1" straight oct?

[Ky-Flinter]

Rice lists that configuration on their website.

-Ron

[Lucky R A]

      I have been shooting an Orion 1" 62 cal. on an English Sporting Rifle for over 10 years. and have never had a problem.  I even once double charged it while B.S. around with several of the other guys on the line.   My standard load at that time was 90 gr. of 2-f.  The 180 gr. really let me know that something was wrong.  After checking to see if everyting was where it was supposed to be, I realized what happened.   For trail walks and mountmain shoots I later settled on a charge of 65 gr. of 3-f.  I still use the 90 gr. charge for hunting.  I am sure that L.C. makes as good a barrel as Orion in Kalispell, Mt. did.     Ron

[roundball]

Is it safe to make a .62 rifled barrel in a 1" straight oct?

Yes...for example, Green Mountain makes 1" x .62cal smoothbore straight octagon drop-in barrels for the TC Hawken (and Renegade)...have used them for a number of years...even had Ed Rayl add .012" grooves to one of them and he said it was no problem

[Dphariss]

Is it safe to make a .62 rifled barrel in a 1" straight oct?

The thinner the barrel wall is the more likely it is to create problems when holes are drilled or dovetails cut. IE changes in bore dimension.

Modern guns are designed to not have many of these things so its not much of a concern plus the there are few "modern" rifles made in .62 caliber.
ML barrels with stock attachment lugs, under ribs, touchholes etc are more likely to have problems when made too thin. As a result I would rather the barrel wall be heavier, at the breech anyway, than that provided by a 1" 62 caliber.

Dan

[omark]

i built and have shot a 62 x 1 about 25 yrs ago. it is a grrw and has taken several mule deer with 100 gr 2f and shot at many a rendezvous. never a problem.  mark

[straightshooter1]

I just built and shot a 62x1 Rice this weekend with 80gr 2f swiss. Just for kicks built a half stock flint hawken to use for Colorado Bull Elk season when I decide to use all those preference points for a non-resident licesne I have been accumulating!
It shot well, have to file the front sight down a bit as it shot low. Too darn cold at the range to do it. Just wanted to have a little fun as cabin fever is setting in here in Minnesota! Now time to start the browning the furniture and stain the stock.

[Swampwalker]

With modern gun barrel steels, certainly!  I'll have to measure the breech of my modern 20 guage Barretta, which, after all, is made to shoot smokeless.  I'm sure it's well under an inch.  Just watch the notches (sights, underlugs, etc.)!

[Hawken62_flint]

I believe that .62 is the largest you can safely go, and GM used to make such a critter, but dropped it from their standard listing.  So, I had Ed Rayl make me a .62 caliber straight 1 inch barrel 36 inches long and built a nice left handed flint Hawken to shoot elks with, ifn I ever get to.  You just have to be careful with your dovetails, as they have to be fairly shallow and the same with the rib screws unless you are soldering it.  Mine is screwed on.  I have been sighting in with 100 gr of FFg and plan to use somewhere around 120-140 grains when all said and done.  Ed builds a super barrel and I shot a 3-shot group off the bench at 25 yards that measured .72 inches center to center--in  other words, the three .610 round balls were all cutting the same hole.

[rich pierce]

There's a LOT of barrel wall in a 1", .62.  Necessary at the breech, but you could lighten the barrel if you went octagon to round to make a very light rifle.

[stuart cee dub]

 I have an Anglisized half stock in 62 with a 1'' barrel which was my old 25yd novelty target gun.great for cutting cards .strings etc.(Looks like an english sporting rifle,the rib was soldered on too)
When I built it, it was suggested to me that a patent breech was the way to go  for a percussion gun with a barrel of this size and caliber .
It was good advise then and still good now .
Is this a flinter or a caplock??

[Nathan Bowen]

Actually asking because I just bought a full stock hawken flint rifle from an old fellow here in Texas. The rifle has not made it to me yet, hoping to have it by the end of next week with the crazy weather we are having. Any way the fellow was not 100% sure as to the calliber whether it was .60 or .62 but did measure the muzzle at 1". He has owned the gun for 40 years and hasn't shot it in over 20 years. Taking a chance buying it sight unseen but I bought a rifle from him in the past and it was everything he told me it was. He says this is a beautiful rifle so I am waiting with great anticipation! It will be my first flint and I will have some work to do because he didn't remember what his loads for the rifle were.

[Naphtali]

When making the barrel a smooth bore rather than rifled one, does the largest safe hole diameter change? If it does, what would be the largest smooth bore?