Choosing a barrel

[54Bucks]

 Looking for some feedback to help choose the barrel for that next "ideal" build. Yea I know....ideal may not exist.
 At any rate, it will definitely be a .45 cal.  As the 45 has become my favorite. Presently I only have one point of reference, the .45 I'm shooting now that has a straight Green Mt. 13/16" X 39" barrel.
I like the muzzle hang and prefer some in all my rifles. But overall it may be a tad on the heavy side.   So....... I'm considering Rice swamped: 42" Golden Age Bwt. @5lb. 1oz., and the 38" Transitional Bwt. @4lb. I probably should also look into the 38" Tansitional in Cwt. As I'm leaning towards that length.
 Any thought on .45 cal. barrel options would be appreciated.

[tallbear]

54

If you like the 39" straight I would go with the 42 or 38" B weight.My choice would be the 42" but that's just me.The C weight in a .45 is going to be a quite a bit heavier than what you're currently shooting.

Mitch

[bob in the woods]

Ditto !    38 in or 42 in  B weight.  Depends on what style you are building.  It is hard for a 42 in B weight to not make a "correct " looking rifle in my opinion. I like them.

[rsells]

The last two rifles I have completed were B weight 44 inch swamped .45 cal rifles.  The shot great and they held great as well.  I would expect the 42 inch B weight would do great as well.
                                                                     Roger Sells

[54Bucks]

 Thanks and Keep it up guys! What I'm considering will aim to accomplish that feeling that most of us have experienced. That special gun that just goes right to the proper position soooooo naturally. This will strictly be a hunting rifle with school being a distant consideration.  I would say if 42" or 44" Bwt. were both good choices, I'de probably lean towards 42" for the type of cover I frequent.

[Dennis Glazener]

Last spring I built a Mathew Gillespie pattern 37" "C" profile Getz barrel in 45 caliber and was amazed at how good it felt as an off hand rifle. Always like the 38" B profile for a hunting rifle but that "C" profile sure did feel good and wasn't too heavy either. Of course the slim walnut stock cuts down on some of the weight.
Dennis

[galamb]

Well, I'll throw you my choice - and will also be starting a 45 cal for hunting as soon I get my barrel from Rice.

I opted for an A weight Southern Classic in 45 cal.

Although an "A" weight it's actually kinda in between an A and a B. At 42" the swamp is less pronounced (see pic), it comes in at about 4 1/4 pounds (Jason estimated 4lbs 4'ish oz) in the 45 cal, and given the profile you can get both your front and back sight on the same plane (barrel width is .800 pretty much at the point where you would put the sights).

Recoil is not bad on a 45 so I didn't feel I needed the extra weight.



It is only available from Rice, but Jason is getting tooled up to do a run of 42" barrels right now - so just a phone call away, and the wait time would be quite short...

[Dennis Glazener]

It is only available from Rice, but Jason is getting tooled up to do a run of 42" barrels right now - so just a phone call away, and the wait time would be quite short...

John Getz makes an almost identical profile, I believe he calls it his standard light. Last year I had one of John's and one of Rice's and there is very little difference in the two profiles. Not trying to suggest one over the other, both barrels shot well for me when sighting them in, just letting folks know.
Dennis

[smylee grouch]

A straight sided 13/16 in 45 will weigh about  one pound less than a b weight  in 45 if the tables in TOTW catalog are right.