Rifled Smoothie?

[Micah2]

Smooth rifle.  Cool name for a gun.  My question is:  How bad is it to shoot shot from a rifle?  Surely our resourceful ancestors put shot in their "riffled guns".  Or Not.  I am ready for my next build and I really want to build a rifled smoothie.   

[Kermit]

You might want to get a barrel that's "straight rifled."

[Long Ears]

There sure don't seem to be many of  those around. Wonder why?

[Bob Roller]

Straight rifling? Wouldn't that be called splines like is found in automobile gear boxes?

Bob Roller

[Dphariss]

Straight rifling shows up in some surprising places. Saw a European Rolling block once that was about 16 bore and straight rifled.

Dan

[DaveP (UK)]

Wasn't straight rifling just an attempt to cope with fouling issues during sustained firing?

[Daryl]

It is normally stated today that straight rifling was an attempt to make round balls more accurate while still shooting shot well.

There is a 13 bore Flintlock straight rifled English Sporting Gun for sale at Track at this time - NICE!
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/505/2/AAL-873

I have a 1900 Husqvarna 16 bore in which the left barrel is choked 16 bore and the right is 13 bore straight rifled. In this instance, they were rifled straight to meet a law that moose could only be shot with a rifle - Swedish law during the 1890's. It will shoot into just over an inch at 28yards with round balls, but so will many smooth bores & mine has a rear sight.

Some have thought that back in the 1700's and 1800's that straight rifling was used to give the fouling some place to go and thus not interfer with subsequent loading.

[Roger Fisher]

Well now, I must say that if she is rifled she is no smoothie.  And not to be used in a smoothie match.

[Jerry V Lape]

I know rifling will really make a mess of patterns from shotguns by spinning the wad and shot.  This causes shot to fly out the sides of the shot swarm pretty dramatically.  Since a smoothbore longrifle will generally be a smaller gauge gun carrying even less shot than a 12ga for example, the spun off shot will most likely render the pattern totally useless except at very short ranges - especially since you would have trouble jug choking a rifled smoothbore in any meaningful manner.  This has all been tried before and discarded as not worth the effort. Straight rifling may not hurt the pattern much, but then it doesn't help stabilize the patched ball either.  This is another example of there being no such thing as a free lunch.

[Micah2]

Thanks Jerry, I figured as much.  This post was partly in jest I admit.  I have a flintlock rifle and smoothbore and I am very partial to the 20 gauge.  I am going to build a Rowan rifle but will use a 28 ga barrell.  I think that this must be HC somehow.  If not, oh well I dont care it will be for me. 

[Daryl]

Micah2 - I shot a number of grouse with my .58 Hawken years ago, using an ounce of #8's, card wads and around 60gr. 2F.  At 20 yards or closer, they worded just fine.  I never had a lead fouling problem, but then, I didn't shoot that many - only to kill some grouse on a friend's property.

[pathfinder]

I have both,a rifled "Smoothbore" and a "Smoothrifle"! Short answer,no,shot from a rifle isn't a good idea.

But then Daryl will prove that wrong! Try it and see.

[Daryl]

Absolutely, Pathfinder - the only way to know if it will be effective form your rifle at the ranges you need it, is try it. I experimented with this 'stuff' back in the late 70's.  

I have not friend it again since, BUT- if I did, I'm sure my 14 bore rifle would work as well or perhaps better than the .58 worked - I know I'd increase the shot & powder charge, for sure. I even have a quantity of the proper sized wads if I do.

With a good smooth bore, the normal tight ball and patch combo will remove any leading while loading and blow it out when the gun is fired.

[frogwalking]

I thought about that once, but made the fowler.  Some of the kits for fowlers offer rifled barrels, but, many of them have very large and effective locks, ideally adapted for shotguns.  When the big hammer slams the flint into the frizzen, the gun moves around.  This is not significant in a shotgun, but could be detrimental to a rifle's accuracy.  My .02 worth.

[JTR]

I think you're sort of missunderstanding the meaning of the name smooth rifle, at least as used today.

    I don't believe it means a smooth styled gun or Fowler with a rifled bore, but instead a smooth bored gun with most of the typical rifle type features.
A smooth rifle will generally have an octagon/round smooth bored barrel, rifle sights, a patch box, a cheek piece, a flat toe line, a rifle type trigger guard and generally a flat faced lock as opposed to a round face lock, and rifle type carving if it has any.
 
I have a couple, including one that was made around Allentown and it has straight rifling.

Also don't confuse an originally made rifle, that has been bored out smooth at a latter date as a smooth rifle, because it actually isn't,,,,, although it is......

John   

[Pete G.]

I once loaded shot into a fifty cal at an informal shoot for the axe shoot. Broke the targets on both sides of the axe plus the spares that were stacked on top of the log. Had to fess up after that one 

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I must disagree with the concept that a big lock interferes with accuracy in a rifle.  My most accurate rifle, off the bench or offhand, is my Chambers' Virginia in .50 cal.  That model is built to receive a .58 or .62 cal bbl. but I asked Barbie if she had a .50 cal barrel for my rifle, and she did.  It made up into a 10 pound rifle, and I love it.  Ignition - could bet my life on it - and deadly.  It carries that big round faced English lock.  Ignition fastest bevel up.

[frogwalking]

Taylor,  The 50 cal, bore turning a sub 7 pound fowler into a 10 pound rifle goes a long way to stabilize the effect of the big lock.  I agree about 100% ignition though.  I was unaware of the availability of anything smaller than 58 cal.