a couple a barrel questions

[Sean McKown]

Im gettin ready for another(like I need another) project.   Looking at barrels and have a couple questions:

 Cal.  , I cant decide between .50 and .54, would like some input


 Going with 40 inch long barrel, leaning towards Rice,  advantages or dis, of square bottom or round bottom rifling.  also is it worth it to spend the extra $$  for the match grade.

I will also consider other makers,  but keep in mind the 40 inch length.   thanks for your input.    Sean

[Captchee]

Myself if you have the choice , go with a 54 over the 50 .
 Rifling , round bottom . IMO experience it fouls a lot less , cleans easier and in most cases will group a round ball much better then folks can shoot .

As to if  to go  with a match grade barrel or not . IMO a good barrel is a good barrel . You purchase one from a quality   maker and you wont be sorry
 Match grade means the accepted tolerances are much closer   and more consistent  normally this  depending on maker can be found to be no less the .0005 down to .0002
 Also the bore will be highly polished  so has to have not even  light scratches either in the lands or groves . .
 Does this make a difference ? Ya it can  if your shooting for POI that is measured in 32ths  or long distance shooting
 Past that , if your going to be using this gun for hunting or  trail walk / standard rendezvous shooting .
My take is there is no need for this .
 I think to often  with muzzleloading barrels match grade  is really nothing more then a barrel that has been lapped  and cleaned up so as to ensure no sharp edges .
 Back in the old days  it also meant no run out  but with today’s tooling , that’s really minimized anyway .
 I would seriously doubt that  if you compared a matched grade barrel and a standard barrel of proper quality and make , that’s had a good load worked up  through it ,  the average person would see any real difference.
 Now I know some will disagree with that  but the proof is in the pudding .  When you get you clock cleaned on the range by a fell shooting an old CVA with a Jukar barrel   and your standing there like penny waiting for change with a high end custom gun  with a 250-400 match grade barrel .
 You have to ask if the extra 200 was worth it .

 but if at the same time , a near perfict ,  barrel that needs little to no break in is what your after then match grade is what you want

[BEAVERMAN]

Sean, what are you going to do with said rifle?

[Sean McKown]

Jim,  basically what Captchee said,  hunting(maybe) as I have the other one for that, though this one will get "qualified" as they all do,  rondy shooting, maybe state level comp shooting(cash flow issue, with fuel prices)  that really about it.   I shoot a .50 mostly so I have balls,molds,etc.   but was leaning towards a diff caliber.

[jbullard1]

.............................................................................  I shoot a .50 mostly so I have balls,molds,etc.   but was leaning towards a diff caliber.

Good excuse to buy more trinkets  

[BEAVERMAN]

IMHO, 50 cal is an all around hunting cal including Elk, if I was building a new one and had a choice( heck I am building one now) its a 54, especially for elk hunting, that little bit more mass in the ball does an amazing job on that big critter, although a well place 50 does the job too!

[Bigsmoke]

I'd sure go with the .54 over the .50, any day of the week.  Big enough to be meaningful, small enough to not beat you up too bad.

I don't know what the problem is with me and .50's, but I have yet to have one that impressed me, and I have tried many of them over the years.  OK, that's not true, I did have one that shot pretty good, a T/C New Englander back when they first came out.  Before they made it in .54.  Every .54 that I had was a good shooting gun, for me.  And in my opinion, I really think .50 is a bit small for elk.  I know, I know, hunter success stories, etc.  But I still believe .54 is or should be absolute minimum.

Of course, if it were me making the choice, it would be a .62 with a nice slow twist barrel, hands down.  How sweet it is

[Hank in WV]

It's been my experience that Rice round-bottom barrels shoot good right from the git-go. No break in needed. Clean very easy.