swamped green mtn.

[jim m]

anyone had a close look at a green mtn swamped barrel. just wondering if there profile looks right, I know quality usually isn't an issue. and no I don't want a  debate on type of steel used , or is one barrel maker better than another

[ironwolf]

  A friend at my club has a 'B' wt .50 x 38".  It looks correct to me.  The gun was built by Jack Garner.  Kinda generic Lancasterish look.  I've never really looked at the barrel closely and I think it has square bottom grooves.  One drawback, for me; it's not 12L14.  I don't know how deep the breech threads are.  The GM straight bbls. have deep breech's.  In a large barrel with a liner installed, the touch hole winds up around 7/8" to 15/16" from the end of the barrel...  Uglee.
  In my book, If you gotta' supply and fit your own plug as well as shorten the hind end of the tube,  you're not saving saving much in the end.
  Order a Getz or Rice, it's worth the wait.

  Just my opinion, you understand.
  Kevin

[don getz]

Jim...if you are inquiring about the shape of the barrel, it was copied from our specs.  While it many not be exactly the
same, it is very similar to our standard swamped barrels.  I don't know if they still breech everything 5/8" deep, which
is excessive in my judgment, not really necessary.  Also, I don't know if they supply their swamped barrels with breech
plugs installed or not, if they don't, they are not really a bargain.  In order to properly breech them to make a good looking flintlock rifle, the threaded portion should be shortened to 1/2", and be breeched that way.....this requires a
little bit of work........Don

[rich pierce]

They shoot well but the steel is weird for me to engrave.  My graver feels kinda slippery then grindy.

[Mike New]

I'm working on a rifle with a "C" weight .54 now. I have allways had good luck with the straight barrels.  Mike New

[jim m]

think Don Getz might have answered my ?'s. I know the straight barrels are still 5/8" deep at the breech. although it doesn't make much difference as far as shootability, I know from my last build that 5/8" positions a flintlock to where it just doesn't quite look right. I was just wondering if they were doing anything different with the swamped barrel

[AndyThomas]

A friend built a rifle around a GM 42" C-weight barrel this past winter.

A breech plug was NOT included, and the threads were 5/8" deep. 

Andy

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I've used 3 or 4 of their swamped barrels in 38" length.  If you look down the tube along a flat toward a light source, you'll see a pronounced end to the taper where it begins to flare for the muzzle.  It's a very noticeable line.  Their breeches are 5/8" deep and should be shortened when installing a plug.
IMHO!

[California Kid]

Save your penny's and go for a Rice or Getz. Shortining the breech, fitting the breech plug and so forth and so on. Last GM barrel I used had a lot of run out. Their quality has gone down hill from what yhey used to be. To concerned with inlines perhaps.
Too much work to build a gun to use a barrel that you have reservations about.

[ironwolf]

  AMEN

[Lucky R A]

      The Green Mountain straight barrels are not breeched.  The Green Mountain swamped barrels are breeched.  The steel used is harder to draw file or engrave.  If used with a L. Siler or similar lock the breech is a bit long.  The Late Ketland mates up better if you need the fence to align with the rear of the barrel.   

[Dphariss]

Save your penny's and go for a Rice or Getz. Shortining the breech, fitting the breech plug and so forth and so on. Last GM barrel I used had a lot of run out. Their quality has gone down hill from what yhey used to be. To concerned with inlines perhaps.
Too much work to build a gun to use a barrel that you have reservations about.

I don't know when you started getting GM barrels but the later ones are a lot better than the ones 10-15 years ago. These often had flats with enough crown it was impossible to balance a file on them (1 barrel anyway)
I would not hesitate to use GM several reasons. Load easy, shoot great are 2.

Dan

[California Kid]

Dan-
Used a 42" .40 not to long ago. Looked fine till I cut 10" offthe breech. Had a lot of runout.
Had a 42" .40 and a .50 15 years ago and were pretty good.
If I was using a straight barrel I would use one again. Can't beat it for the money.
All the ones I have used have shot well, but for a swamped barrel I would go another route.

[northmn]

Actually I think the GM's are breached square.  The bigger bores with 3/4 in plugs are 3/4 in deep, etc.  One way to remedy the placement is to hollow out the face of the breech with a drill so that the lock can be placed properly.  Another thing that often causes weird lock placement is that folks not only allow for the 3/4 inch or 5/8 inch breech but another 1/8 inch for the threaded touch hole insert.   

DP

[flintriflesmith]

The Green Mountain tapered and flared barrels have gone through several revisions. The very first had an almost convex form to the flats at the flare that required considerable filing to correct. They changed the profile in this area so the flare became a nice flowing curve from smallest point to muzzle.

The early T&F barrels were threaded but did not include a plug. Those for sale at Friendship in June had plugs in place but I don't know how long ago it started.

Gary

[George F.]

I bought a few GM barrels in the past month from Track of the Wolf and looked like top quality barrels. They were threaded for a plug, however no plug was supplied or installed.  ...Geo.

[Eric Kettenburg]

I've used a few of the recent - i.e. past year manufacture - GM swamped barrels and have found them to be excellent barrels.  The taper/flare profiles were as smooth as anything I've seen (early ones a few years back did have some kinks), bores excellent, shot great.  I prefer 12L but these really aren't any more difficult to work.  I did have to fit the plugs.

[Don Tripp]

Green Mountain barrels are a lot easier to file than a Rayle barrel that's for sure (but I do like Rayle barrels none the less). I looked at the GM swamped barrels when they first came out and I went with a Colerain instead because I wanted round bottom rifling. The profile was not exactly the same as the Colerain but that was when they first came out. The exterior finish of the GM was better than the Colerain which had some chatter marks I had to clean up. Getz and Rice barrels are so much nicer and cleaner to begin with I'm beginning to think the bargain barrels aren't really a bargain.

[bob in the woods]

I would pick a Getz barrel any day. But availability is the reason I end up with Col. or GM
Some of the most accurate guns I've had were built with GM barrels.