That lathe made barrel

Topical Discussions include anything pertaining to Gunsmithing.

Moderators: JackF, Harold_V

homebrew .357
Posts: 214
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:32 am

That lathe made barrel

Post by homebrew .357 »

Hi all, I bit the bullet and re sized the black powder barrel I made in my lathe. The bore was .440" and I wanted .450", so removed breach plug and re reamed it out to .430" and made up a new rifle cutting head with a t/c cutter, then re cut the rifling 0.010" deep for .450" bore. Hand laped and polished bore, replaced breach plug and now working up loads.
Shooting cast lead bullet,260grs, 70grs FFFg B/Powder for a hunting load and P/ Ball with 45grs FFFg for target shooting. The hunting load is on the money," minute of deer", got some kick, I don`t know what fps is my be 1.200/300 with the 26" barrel, but if it hits anything it will know about it!. A low load for the p/ball, with the fast twist barrel, (1-33") and thats good to, all was shot at 50ms on the deer stalkers range with my son, and had the camera so some pics of the action. I`v done it. Cheers Homebrew357.
Attachments
P1010464.JPG
P1010465.JPG
P1010472.JPG
P1010472.JPG (31.47 KiB) Viewed 10166 times
P1010471.JPG
P1010468.JPG
pacrat
Posts: 231
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 9:38 pm
Location: SoCal

Re: That lathe made barrel

Post by pacrat »

Real Nice looking smoke pole. Good job.
User avatar
steamin10
Posts: 6712
Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2003 11:52 pm
Location: NW Indiana. Close to Lake Michigan S. tip

Re: That lathe made barrel

Post by steamin10 »

OK, a dumb question, if you dont mind. Why arent you working in ffg powder instead of hotter fffg? Would the performance be that far off in the 50 - 70 gr range? I would think ffg would perform well with the longer burn for that barrel length. Should be good for 60 yds and beyond a bit. ( I dont think in milipeters ). :wink:

Just askin. :|

Owner of a Traditions 50 cal, and a Motley array of .44 and .45 pistols. Frontier, CW Army, and 2 navies.

Pirate Corvette in the making. ( 2 bbl SxS .44 cal.) 8)
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
homebrew .357
Posts: 214
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:32 am

Re: That lathe made barrel

Post by homebrew .357 »

No Steaming 10 it is not a dum question, It` just that I had to start some where and looking at Black powder info for the .45 It seams that most are useing FFFg. Loads for T/C Seneca, (Russ Chastain, "my owen hunting load in the 45 Seneca is 70grs FFFg with a 240gr T/C Maxi-ball.") But in T/C`s load info it`s all FFg. This barrel is only 26" long, has a 1-33" twist, good for a bullet and I would use a p/b only for target shooting, I do not want to wound any deer, so a 220/40gr bullet at 1.800 fps is my aim. I just wanted to have one powder only, so yes I my try ffg and see how it goes when all the 3fs is gone. Just seeing what it likes at 50yrds, :wink: , I just weighed my bullets and they are 270grs,, with 70grs of FFFg powder, some say its a hot load, some say no, there you go, It goes all right, a bit of a kick. I do not know the m/v , but if I hit any thing it wil know about it. :twisted: Cheers, Homebrew357.
Attachments
P1010466.JPG
User avatar
alphawolf45
Posts: 110
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2003 8:57 am
Location: South Central Arkansas

Re: That lathe made barrel

Post by alphawolf45 »

I haven't tried rifling a barrel. I don't want to but it is a months long wait for BPCR barrels. While there are several folks who have rifled their own barrels , few bench test and then tell the results.. What size groups are you actually getting?

Nice seeing a guy using a wood stocked traditional muzzle loader for deer hunting. Not a high percentage do.. The last several times I have been to the range there have been scads of hunters sighting in their scoped inline plastic stocked rifles.. And I will brag that my groups at 100 yards off the bench with scratch built .45-70 iron sighted Highwall using cast bullets and black powder I am getting consistent 5 shot 1.5 inch groups to their 6 or 8 inch groups...Naturally some hunters shoot better or worse but seems many aren't really concerned about shooting tight groups.
redneckalbertan
Posts: 1274
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:39 am
Location: South Central Alberta

Re: That lathe made barrel

Post by redneckalbertan »

alphawolf45 wrote:I haven't tried rifling a barrel. I don't want to but it is a months long wait for BPCR barrels. While there are several folks who have rifled their own barrels , few bench test and then tell the results.. What size groups are you actually getting?

Nice seeing a guy using a wood stocked traditional muzzle loader for deer hunting. Not a high percentage do.. The last several times I have been to the range there have been scads of hunters sighting in their scoped inline plastic stocked rifles.. And I will brag that my groups at 100 yards off the bench with scratch built .45-70 iron sighted Highwall using cast bullets and black powder I am getting consistent 5 shot 1.5 inch groups to their 6 or 8 inch groups...Naturally some hunters shoot better or worse but seems many aren't really concerned about shooting tight groups.
Didn't you know that all the tacticool options, scopes, do dads, and trinkets help you shoot better and you need all that help when using the latest greatest ultra magnum turbo newest flavour of the month cartridge that will dislocate your shoulder after one shot, but will kill a deer at 3000 yards...

Ya I'm not a fan either. I love my rifles wearing a wood stock, but find my vision is not what it used to be and a scope is a nice addition.

Was at a gun shop a couple years back when a salesman there was trying to sell a potential buyer on a 7mm Remington ultra mag for elk. I was there for bullets for my wife's .270 and a moose hunt coming up. When the potential buyer expressed concern about recoil I mentioned a couple other cartridges for him .270, 30-06, .308. and was promptly told by the salesman that the .270 was not gun enough for elk. I would have liked Jack O'Conner to have been there and heard that comment!

Some days I just shake my head in disgust.

As for the rifling. I think that it can be done, I'm certainly not the person to tell you how to do it, but with the proper attention to detail and precision I don't see why you can equal the quality of Shilen, Lilja, or any other quality barrel maker. By handloading we can make more accurate ammunition, tune actions, and adjust triggers all to add to the precision and accuracy of the firearm. There are books on the topic of boring a barrel and rifling. Pick one up, try, and report on the accuracy!! I am interested to know.
hammermill
Posts: 2938
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2010 10:43 pm
Location: pendleton or

Re: That lathe made barrel

Post by hammermill »

not enough :shock: do not tell that to the many elk widows i have have created living in eastern ore the last 30 years

all with a 270 win. but we all knew that.
User avatar
Harold_V
Posts: 20231
Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2002 11:02 pm
Location: Onalaska, WA USA

Re: That lathe made barrel

Post by Harold_V »

redneckalbertan wrote:was promptly told by the salesman that the .270 was not gun enough for elk.
Heh! The ravings of a true moron.

Many years ago I read a book titled Karamojo Safari, written by William D. Bell. In his many years of hunting in Africa, he killed more than 1,000 elephants (no, I do not endorse this idea) using nothing larger than a 30 caliber rifle, virtually all of them one shot kills. But a .270 isn't large enough for an elk?

Blink! Blink! More a statement about this man's inability to place a shot than it is about the .270!

I recall Ackley saying that a center fire 22 is more than enough weapon to bring down an elk.

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
homebrew .357
Posts: 214
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:32 am

Re: That lathe made barrel

Post by homebrew .357 »

Hi Alphwolf45, Alot of rumglings going on here, I only made the barrel for black powder only and will not make one for high power rifle, with chambering, action fitting, exc.
At 50ms/yrds I`m getting a 1-1/2" to 2" group, so no it`s not a tack driver , but I will keep on testing loads , powder. This is just a hobby, I have an old .303, a .308 P/Hale, Marlin lever 3030, but I love having a go with black powder, My first "Gun" was a black powder home made smooth bore shot gun made of 1/2" water pipeing, (you don`t want to know).
But this one I call "Old Lead Poison ", So it`s all about having fun, going hunting and seeing if I can get some meat for home. And my lathe is set up ready for :idea: another barrel :lol: Cheers Guys, Homebrew357.
Attachments
P1010473.JPG
The barrel making lathe!
The barrel making lathe!
User avatar
alphawolf45
Posts: 110
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2003 8:57 am
Location: South Central Arkansas

Re: That lathe made barrel

Post by alphawolf45 »

Homebrew357
Sweet setup, bet that took up a heap of time setting that up so it worked just right.. Like you I don't venture into big smokeless projects.. I really do like the black powder.

I'm fulltime hobbiest. Have built several rifles from barstock. I cast metal buttplates , carve stocks, make every piece, bolt and spring. I'd rather buy barrel blanks but they aren't sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting for a fellow to call in an order. Is irritating to wait months on an ordered barrel to arrive....But I expect that developing a setup for drilling, reaming and rifling barrels and practice runs would eat up a considerable chunk of time. . And I doubt that I or any other hobbiest is going to produce a target grade barrel that rivals the good barrels manufactured today...But, if somebody is doing that then I sure want to hear about it. I might get into that if I really believed it were possible.. I did buy another lathe this year with intent to modify it for a dedicated barrel making machine.

Here is picture of one of the two new rear sights I made this week.. This'un on my home built Highwall I will be shooting at match this weekend.. Presently building a Sharps.. Waiting impatiently for my new barrel to arrive.
Attachments
10 24 2013 a.jpg
User avatar
BadDog
Posts: 5131
Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 8:21 pm
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: That lathe made barrel

Post by BadDog »

was promptly told by the salesman that the .270 was not gun enough for elk.
Most of my family were dirt farmers in AL/TN/GA/FL up until TVA. My grandfather (mother's father), who in many ways was more like a father, told stories of using waxed cardboard boxes to seal cracks and insulate his first house, and apple crates nailed to the wall with grain sacks for curtains used for cabinets.

Anyway, with the stage set, the only gun he could afford was a used stock loading 22 LR he bought from a local general store for something like $4. He used that gun to supplement their table with everything from squirrel and rabbit all the way up to White Tail deer with nothing but OEM iron sights. I also grew up hunting with him, but even in his later years with body and eyesight failing, he could still spot AND drop 'em further out than me, though by then he carried a Remington 30-06 with big scope. Try stalk hunting White Tail in S AL with a 22 LR. He would have laughed himself silly at the notion that a .270 couldn't be used to take Elk...
Russ
Master Floor Sweeper
redneckalbertan
Posts: 1274
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:39 am
Location: South Central Alberta

Re: That lathe made barrel

Post by redneckalbertan »

BadDog wrote:He would have laughed himself silly at the notion that a .270 couldn't be used to take Elk...
There is a small classified weekly magazine here circulation probably 7-8,000 every summer there are one or two ads run 'gun for sale only 10 rounds through. Includes remaining ammo from first box and additional box.' Without exception that I can remember all new magnum shoulder dislocaters. I wonder how many people have been turned off of shooting/hunting because the get some big behemoth of a gun before the know how to shoot and are scared away because of the recoil.
Post Reply