Loading & shooting Track's no name barrels

[Ted Kramer]

There was a thread about TOTW's no name barrels in Gun Building a few days ago. I have a .50 x 7/8" x 42" being used in a very plain early rifle. It was at the point that it was shootable so since the temps here in Todd County MN warmed to near freezing, I thought I'd shoot a group to see how the narrow groove/wide land rifling shot. I tapped in a front and rear sight. No adjustment was made during shooting, I just wanted to see how it loaded and shoot a group. A .016" pocket drill spit patch and a .490" ball started with a light tap on a short starter and went down smooth and easy with a range rod. I fired ten shots in all, the last five at the target shown. #10 loaded as easily as #1. I forgot to put a ruler by the target when I snapped the picture but the bulls-eye is 3.25" diameter. The group is about 1.75" wide and 2.25" tall. Someone with better vision than I could probably make 5 touch.  Some load tweaking and sight adjustment and it'll be a good deer rifle for it's new owner.



Five @ 60 yds.



Un-finished rifle & target. M&G Barker-Whatley lock was very fast and reliable.




Dirty muzzle showing the narrow grooves

[Ted Kramer]

I didn't even notice that ding in the outer edge of the crown until I looked at the closeup of the muzzle. Barely visible without my glasses on. I know when it happened now that I think about it. When I went to slide the barrel into the drill press vise to drill the blind holes for the staples,  the muzzle bumped into the edge of the vise jaw.

It didn't snag the patches when I loaded it and facing the muzzle off just a bit removed the mark. All's well.

[OldMtnMan]

It can't really be a no-name barrel. Someone has to make it.

[Pukka Bundook]

Very promising results, Ted!!

Good of you to let us know how the "No Names" shoot!

[little joe]

That 60 yd target is pretty good.

[Daryl]

Smoothing your muzzle crown like this, will allow even tighter loads which will improve accuracy.

[Ted Kramer]

Is that emery cloth or fine sand paper you're using or doesn't it matter? So you're just taking off the sharp corner where the crown transitions onto the lands, right? The crown in your picture looks good. I'll have to give that a try.

[Daryl]

Either/or, doesn't matter, Ted, adn I like 320 grit. Works like a dream. Rotate your wrist (bit of cloth down the bore to catch 'grindings'),

rotate the bore 90 to 180 degrees now and then and the smoothing will automatically centre itself.

If you can find the use of a lathe that will handle your barrel through the headstock in a 3-jaw chuck, the "work" can be done in less than a minute, from chucking up the (wrap of cloth or paper around the) barrel to finishing the smoothing.

The Hawken's barrel (above post) in the bottom picture is one Taylor did on the lathe. 

The bottom picture, is my work by hand from the post above, on a 20 bore's barrel, with some rifle barrels above that one.
Sometimes I do finish with finer paper or emery, 400, 600, or crocus cloth.  Hemostats, medical or normal needlepoint pliars are handy for pulling the cloth plug out of the barrel. Too, dental picks are also good for that.



upload the pictures

[OldMtnMan]

You can use a patch puller to remove the cloth/patch. I've been doing this for decades. It does make loading smoother.