Sealing round grooves

[bob in the woods]

That looks a lot like my old .54 target rifle.  I had Enfield sights on it.


We had some serious 200 yard matches back then.  Now I prefer the off hand, and trail type matches, finding them to be more of a relaxed crowd 

[Levy]

years ago, I stopped by H&H barrels in Ocala, FL and spoke with Hoppy Hopkins.  Round bottom rifling seemed to be just becoming a popular thing.  I asked him what it took to make his barrels shoot well and he said a bore sized ball, but didn't address what type of patch material.  James Levy

[Daryl]

I used this AJParker rear with Anschutz, a Custom make hooded globe & a Tiger Eye on my position/prone rifle.

[Daryl]

Daryl here's a pik


upload

Now, that's a nice bench rifle.
Lefty I see.

[rich pierce]

Good and interesting stuff, fellas, but let’s stick to topic or start a new one, and limit the showing of guns outside our focus. Sidelock guns, and so on, are what we do here.
Thanks.

[hortonstn]

Sorry Rich I got carried away

[hanshi]

My battery includes three round bottom barrels; two are Rice and one is a Hoyt.  Don't know precisely the depth of the grooves but they are deep.  The Bobby Hoyt barrel is a .45 with wide, round grooves and narrow, ridge-like lands.  The two Rice barrels are a .50 and a .32.  The .50 was easy to find a load for, the .32 took more work.  The .45 was kind of "in-between" so to speak.  The .45 likes both .440" and .445" ball, the .32 & .50 get's ball .010" undersized ball.  The same patch they're loaded with is the same patch used in the square groove barrels .50, .45 and .36.  The loads are very snug but still get seated with the wood, underbarrel rod.

Patch thickness is around.023" to .024" and shows significant compression in the grooves and the recovered patches show no scorching or holes.  Accuracy is everything I could hope for but my shooting has admittedly deteriorated over the decades.

[Daryl]

Taylor and I have both noticed that and remarked on it, Hanshi - I guess what we have now, is about as good as it's going to get.

[Ted Kramer]

I just measured a lead slug driven through a yet un-used old H&H 1” x 36” x 50 cal barrel I have here. It measures .500” x .520” with the grooves somewhat wider than the lands. Nice radiused grooves only .010 deep should be easy to seal with a normal .50 cal  patch/ball combo.

I should either use it or sell it I guess, wish it was longer.

[Daryl]

That will be easily filled, Ted.