Dixie Tennesse Mountain Rifle

[Brian cox]

After reading the posts on barrel steel, my brain is spinning. Now I want to know what I'm shooting. I was wondering if anyone out there knows what type of steel the Dixie Tennessee Mountain rifle used for their barrels. I have two TMRs - one in .32 and one in .50. I contacted Dixie and received a polite "we don't know". I tried to contact Miroku but have failed at navigating their site. Any help would be appreciated.

[OldMtnMan]

I've never heard of one blowing up. Have you been shooting it?

[smokinbuck]

I've had several, and still have a couple, over the years and always had good luck with them. I've never purposely overloaded them but do shoot some moderately stout loads, 75-80 grns of FFFg and never experienced any problems. Seem to be pretty good rifles for the money.
Mark

[Mike Brooks]

Probably made from a piece of conduit. Or, that's what everybody acts like recently. Go shoot, don't worry.

[wattlebuster]

Use good loading habits an good ole plain common sense an you will be fine. Get stupid an it will be a trip to the ER no matter what the barrel is made of

[Brian cox]

Thank you for the input and encouragement. I do shoot both guns. 30gains of Goex fff in the .32 and the .50 seems to like 80grains of Goex fff. The 50 was a cap lock that I converted to a flint with an L&R RPL lock. Hunting squirrels with the 32 is fun. By the time I reload, the woods have settled down and in no time another grey is in my sights. Kind of like fly fishing - always active. Both rifles are straight shooters, I have no complaints about how they shoot. I was curious about the type of steel used for the barrels and have had no luck finding out. Like I said in my OP, the discussions on barrel steel has my head spinning. There is a lot of food for thought. I will need to do more research on barrel steel before my brain settles down. It might be a good thing though, I will always be questioning and never complacent. Riding a motorcycle is the same, they are dangerous when you don't know what you are doing and dangerous when you think you do. Safety is my number one priority, its all fun until its not. The art of shooting blackpowder works well with my obsessive compulsive traits. Again thanks for the encouragement and input.


images from up

[gumboman]

In an old copy of Dixie Gun Works Catalog, Turner Kirkland writes of a test he conducted to try and determine the safety level in barrels made for his guns and gun kits. For the test he cut a length of barrel that would hold 200 grains of black powder. He threaded both ends of the barrel piece and installed breech plugs so that both ends were effectively plugged. He drilled a touch hole/flash channel so the 200 grains of powder could be set off.

The charge was set off. The barrel did not rupture or bulge. All of the expanding gasses, heat and pressure was expelled from the tiny flash hole. Turner said that gave him a great deal of confidence in the durability and safety of his barrels.

That knowledge was comforting to me since I have one of his Tennessee Mountain Rifles. This gun has had many rounds through it both round balls and bullets. A great load for this gun is 100 grains of 3f and a 435 grain lead bullet. It is fairly accurate and is devastating to deer. And a 100 grain load of 3F and a .490 patched round ball is a very accurate and effective load for deer.

I have no concerns for safety in the Dixie Tennessee Mountain Rifle with loads at 100 grains black powder or more.

[Mike Brooks]

In an old copy of Dixie Gun Works Catalog, Turner Kirkland writes of a test he conducted to try and determine the safety level in barrels made for his guns and gun kits. For the test he cut a length of barrel that would hold 200 grains of black powder. He threaded both ends of the barrel piece and installed breech plugs so that both ends were effectively plugged. He drilled a touch hole/flash channel so the 200 grains of powder could be set off.

The charge was set off. The barrel did not rupture or bulge. All of the expanding gasses, heat and pressure was expelled from the tiny flash hole. Turner said that gave him a great deal of confidence in the durability and safety of his barrels.

That knowledge was comforting to me since I have one of his Tennessee Mountain Rifles. This gun has had many rounds through it both round balls and bullets. A great load for this gun is 100 grains of 3f and a 435 grain lead bullet. It is fairly accurate and is devastating to deer. And a 100 grain load of 3F and a .490 patched round ball is a very accurate and effective load for deer.

I have no concerns for safety in the Dixie Tennessee Mountain Rifle with loads at 100 grains black powder or more.

Don Getz did the same test with the 12L14 stock he used for his barrels. He couldn't blow them up either.

[Tim Ault]

A great load for this gun is 100 grains of 3f and a 435 grain lead bullet. It is fairly accurate and is devastating to deer. And a 100 grain load of 3F and a .490 patched round ball is a very accurate and effective load for deer.

I have no concerns for safety in the Dixie Tennessee Mountain Rifle with loads at 100 grains black powder or more.

    I'm real surprised yours shoots those big heavy bullets . I have one too an early one with the 7/8 barrel in 50 cal seems the twist on mine is a 1:56 ish twist . Figured the shorter lighter Lee real bullet might work as it did in my 45 with the same twist . Still don't plan on pushing mine that hard a ball and 75gr 3F or 85 gr 2F is about my comfort level with the thin barrel . Did the 15/16 barrels have a faster twist ?

Tim

[T*O*F]

A great load for this gun is 100 grains of 3f and a 435 grain lead bullet.

Well, that will almost guarantee the barrel will blow at some point.  That's a load for a well made bullet gun that is 1-1/8" across the flats and has a well made patent breech as found in long range muzzleloading rifles.  It is not suitable for a round ball gun.

[Treebeard]

My DGW kit from about '61--'62 came with a Belgium barrel. It was a .40 and I was shooting a .395 over about 60gr of the old DuPont 3f. It was a 13/16th straight barrel. Never a problem and very accurate. I put it together as a percussion but if I still had it I would shorten it and restock as flint.
Loss the barrel in the chaos of cleaning out my mothers house. If I did have it I would shoot without any second thoughts.

[axelp]

FWIW I seem to recall that on the Rice Barrel website, they recommend to not shoot conical bullets and will void the warranty if you shoot bullets out of their barrels? I could be wrong. K

[Daryl]

A great load for this gun is 100 grains of 3f and a 435 grain lead bullet.

Well, that will almost guarantee the barrel will blow at some point.  That's a load for a well made bullet gun that is 1-1/8" across the flats and has a well made patent breech as found in long range muzzleloading rifles.  It is not suitable for a round ball gun.

Beware - THIS is good information that should be followed.

Accurate Arms pressure tested ctg. guns with the load you show and they developed 30,000PSI. No- they did not have a vent, however they were also not skinny ML's with questionable materials.

[hanshi]

I've been reading this thread with interest.  I simply shoot my guns and never worry about the barrel.  I only shoot prb and do not like the heavier "bullets".  My loads are very reasonable and quite effective; don't need no stinking overloads. 

[gumboman]

After 35 years of owning the Dixie Tennessee rifle and firing thousands of rounds, it has not blown and I do not expect it to blow. The 435 grain bullet is not tack driving accurate but it has taken deer for me up to 80 yards. At 75 yards it is consistent enough for deer hunting. With a round ball it is very accurate with its 1-56 twist and shallow rifling.

I used it for match shooting for a time and the old gun is as accurate as my much more expensive custom guns and has the fastest lock time of any I own. I don't use it much anymore as I have other guns that need range time as well as hunting time. But based on my 35 years of experience with it, I would not hesitate to shoot the 100 grain load of 3F behind a 435 grain bullet again in the future.

[JCKelly]

I wouldn't worry about a Belgian made barrel. The Europeans seem to use steel that is meant for rifle barrels; that is, it is low sulfur/not free machining.

I really do not know what Miroku uses. Chances are it is decent stuff.

[Daryl]

That is possible, James, but they are also the ones who made the 2-piece barrels, threaded in the middle, featured on the Buckskin Report - with a nice wide but gap where the inner threads didn't bottom.

[nosrettap1958]

A guy had a beautifully stock Dixie Tennessee Mountain Rifle in cherry, I believe, with a Miroku barrel at one of our shoots and it was incredibly accurate. Good rifles.

[gumboman]

It is my belief the shallow rifling found in the Dixie Tennessee Rifle barrels contributes to its accuracy. It is not sensitive to patch thickness or lubrication. And using just about any load of black powder produces a tight group. Plus it cleans up easier and faster than my deep rifling barrels.

[Dennis Glazener]

It is my belief the shallow rifling found in the Dixie Tennessee Rifle barrels contributes to its accuracy. It is not sensitive to patch thickness or lubrication. And using just about any load of black powder produces a tight group. Plus it cleans up easier and faster than my deep rifling barrels.

You may be right about the shallow rifling. Back in the 70's I built a Numirch Arms Minuteman kit is was 45 cal and according to my check it was 1 in 72 twist. The hotter I loaded it the better it shot. I have never owned a ML since that shot as accurately. It had very shallow rifling.

Dennis

[Hungry Horse]

 Thats the nature of slow twist rifling. It take a lot more powder to stabilize the bullet in a slow twist. Shallow rifling seals the bore easier than deep rifling, but requires at least a wet patch every few shots to clean the fowling out of the shallow grooves. My Carolina hog rifle has a Montana .50 cal. barrel 1in 72" twist, and is 38" long. It doesn't shoot very accurately with less than 80 grains of powder, and is most effective hunting deer, and hogs, with a 100 grains of powder.

  Hungry Horse

[n stephenson]

Gumboman  and, Dennis, I had a .40 Montana Barrel Co.  barrel on a rifle I built years ago. The rifling was button broached and, very shallow. That rifle was super  accurate. I always wondered why it shot so much better than some more expensive barreled rifles I`ve had since.  Maybe there is something to the shallower grooves I don`t know .  Man I wish I still had that little rifle!   Thanks for the explanation HH .

[Hungry Horse]

 I am currently building a flint Bedford in .36 cal. With one of Montana's barrels. Montana button rifled everything .40 cal. And less, in 1 in 48" twist. My .50 cal. Hog rifle has a cut rifled Montana barrel. I have had very good results with their barrels.

  Hungry Horse

[varsity07840]

After reading the posts on barrel steel, my brain is spinning. Now I want to know what I'm shooting. I was wondering if anyone out there knows what type of steel the Dixie Tennessee Mountain rifle used for their barrels. I have two TMRs - one in .32 and one in .50. I contacted Dixie and received a polite "we don't know". I tried to contact Miroku but have failed at navigating their site. Any help would be appreciated.

I guess 25 years ago I had Bob Hoyt  fresh out my .50 TMR to .54. It had the 15/16" barrel. I remember him telling me that the steel was quite hard.

[hanshi]

It is my belief the shallow rifling found in the Dixie Tennessee Rifle barrels contributes to its accuracy. It is not sensitive to patch thickness or lubrication. And using just about any load of black powder produces a tight group. Plus it cleans up easier and faster than my deep rifling barrels.

You may be right about the shallow rifling. Back in the 70's I built a Numirch Arms Minuteman kit is was 45 cal and according to my check it was 1 in 72 twist. The hotter I loaded it the better it shot. I have never owned a ML since that shot as accurately. It had very shallow rifling.

Dennis

I think you're both correct.  My .54 has fairly shallow, .006" and certainly not much more, with a twist of 1-66".  I shoot only prb in that rifle and it's a 1" or less at 60 yards, rifle.  And that's with 60 grains of 3F.