barrel octogon

[patrick203]

hello, I introduce myself, my name is Patrick, I'm French and I'm interested in long rifle and I would like to know what is the difference between the various barrels octagon swanped, straight and tapered and what model existed there in the eighteenth?
and also what is the pitch of the stripes most suitable for the cal 54?
thank you in advance and excuse me for the translation hoping to be clear to you. cordially Patrick.

[smart dog]

Hi Patrick,
Welcome to ALR.  American long rifles were one of a kind handmade firearms.  There were no models as there are in modern and military guns, however, there were "schools" identified by specific regions and gun makers.  Most long rifles had octagon barrels 92-122 cm long although some had round and combination octagon to round barrels. A swamped barrel is thick at the breech, thins gradually to a waist usually 16-20 cm from the muzzle and then flares out again to the muzzle.  That shaping brings the weight of the barrel back toward the breech and makes the gun balance much better than a similarly long straight octagon barrel that has no taper and flare.  A tapered barrel simply is largest at the breech and thins gradually toward the muzzle without the flare near the muzzle.  During 1750s-1800, most barrels on American long rifles were swamped but some were also simply tapered.  Later in the 1800s, barrels were often straight with no swamp and as a result they also tended to be very muzzle heavy unless shortened.  Our modern made barrels for long rifles typically have rifling that completes a full turn in about 167 cm for calibers such as 0.54 (13.7 mm).  For barrels 0.45 caliber (11.4 mm) and smaller the twist (pitch as you called it) often is faster such as 1 turn in 122cm  and for barrels 0.62 caliber (15.7mm) and larger twists often are about 1 turn in 183 cm.   

dave

[Seth Isaacson]

I suppose you could argue there were some models as things became more industrialized. Leman, Tyron, etc. certainly made batches of the same basic designs, but in general, especially in the 18th century, each rifle was handmade and not built on a standardized pattern though as Smart Dog aptly pointed out, there were aspects that are widely used in given regions.

Nearly all those I have seen are octagonal and swamped or tapered if early, and then later guns are more often more straight.

[Spinner]

Nice response, Dave. Welcome, Patrick and all who enjoy the unique art of the American longrifle.

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

In the mid-19th c. Remington invented a way of forging wrought iron barrels without using the welding process.  These barrels were hot rolled in his finery mill, and were all straight octagon with the resulting bore slightly off-center at one end.  The Remington barrels were a lot less expensive than forge welded barrels and they were very much less likely to fail a proof test.  As most collectors know - they made the later rifles dreadfully nose-heavy, too.  The US armories at Springfield and Harpers Ferry adapted this process and were actually able to hot roll a tapered barrel with closely controlled inside and outside diameters.  19th C. high technology!

Jim