The smooth rifle comes through.

[JeffG]

A few years ago, I built a flintlock 54 smooth rifle from a kit that I bought from Sitting Fox. It's 28 gauge, and I've shot a couple of turkeys with the help of a healthy dose of #6 shot. It's a very reliable gun. My big selling point was the ease with which it loads, and how easy it is to clean.

Anywho....I am getting serious about taking it on a hunt for larger game. I've only shot patched round ball in it once, when I was proofing it. The shot was slightly out at 8 o'clock on a bullseye. I started with 100gr FFFG with a cushion wad of Circle Fly fiber wad over the powder, lubed with a beeswax and olive oil mixture. The patched round ball went down over that. Priming from the horn with FFFG topped it off.

The first shot fell as expected, out at 8 o'clock. Careful drifting of the sights got me closer to the 6 inch bull at 25yards. One more sight adjustment put the shots touching on the smaller bull at 25 yards. I am happy with this to say the least. I spent the rest of my range time obliterating water filled jugs .

My point is, smoothbores are great guns! They are easy to load, relatively accurate with the right load, and the larger bores pack a big punch.
Thanks for lending an ear! Irondog

 

[JT-AR-MG42]

Nice looking rig!
A 28 ga. sounds like a fun variation.
Couldn't figure out your 'drifting the sights' comment until I re-read that it was a kit gun.
My only experiences with the smoothbores has been with 62s.

Spot on that just as with rifled barrels, a little experimenting with the load/patch combo
might pay off big on the target.

Think I'll round up a few 20 ga. wads (am very familiar with Circle Fly from my brass 12 ga./trench gun loading days)
to try in my buddies 62.
He has never tried shot loads and so he has no card or fiber wads.
Intriguing Idea!!

Thanks for sharing, JT

 

[whughett]

If history is correct then many a war was fought, and several frontiers were settled with muskets. Not a long gun shooter but would hazard a guess they will do as much as any smoke pole in the hands of an accomplished shooter. I would suggest target practice out to any distance you would expect to take larger game. POA at 25 yards would mean a large drop at 50 to 100 yards.

 

[Dog Soldier]

Many of the Long rifles on the frontier were not rifled. The smooth rifle was popular because they were much less expensive. The 28 gauge is a .550 diameter close to the popular .540 rifles of the day.
The smooth rifle had effective sights and allowed the use of shot or gravel as well as a round patched ball. The popular 20ga/62, caliber smooth guns required too much lead and powder after the demise of the Forest Bison and Woodland Elk.
I have found the large bore .550" smooth rifles effective to 50 yards. I like shooting smooth bores.
Just some personal thoughts on the smooth bores.

 

[JeffG]

Nice looking rig!
A 28 ga. sounds like a fun variation.
Couldn't figure out your 'drifting the sights' comment until I re-read that it was a kit gun.
My only experiences with the smoothbores has been with 62s.

Spot on that just as with rifled barrels, a little experimenting with the load/patch combo
might pay off big on the target.

Think I'll round up a few 20 ga. wads (am very familiar with Circle Fly from my brass 12 ga./trench gun loading days)
to try in my buddies 62.
He has never tried shot loads and so he has no card or fiber wads.
Intriguing Idea!!

Thanks for sharing, JT

The gun was a fowler, I added partridge sights. Front and back sights are in dovetails, on octagon flats.

 

[Dog Soldier]

JeffG, The BP match rules prohibit the use of rear sights. That is not a historically correct assumption. Anyone visiting and viewing the largest collection of Fur Trade smooth guns will quickly see.
The Museum in Chadron, Neb has many original smooth guns bearing all manner of rear sights. An early trade gun was retrieved from a creek north of my place. It was very rusted but there it was. A rear sight.
You may wish to find the link to the Fur Trade Museum in Chadron, Ne. I have not posted that link.

 

[.455_Hunter]

The reputation of the smoothbore being highly inaccurate comes from military muskets and their use of grossly undersized balls for rapid reloading in the ranks. A good heavy barrel smoothbore with a proper fitting patched ball is plenty accurate for most normal open sight forest hunting conditions.

 

[Dog Soldier]

455 hunter, You are dead on correct. Very good post.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I got a turkey this season with my 54 cal flintlock smoothbore. They are versatile, fun to shoot and more than hunting accurate with the right patch and ball combo.
Couple years back I got a turkey in the Spring and a nice fat doe in the Fall with my 62 fowler.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I'm leaving for Bowling Green to build an English Rifle. I opted to pay more for an extra barrel so I can also do smoothbore. It will give me an excuse for missing.

 

[Jim Watson]

How much do your smooth rifles weigh?
My exposure is limited, the ones in an old Gun Digest article looked like typical "Kentucky Crowbars."
Yet I have seen and handled a couple of delightful smoothbores that could not have weighed more than 7 lbs. I don't know whether they would be classified as fowlers or fusils.

 

[JeffG]

How much do your smooth rifles weigh?
My exposure is limited, the ones in an old Gun Digest article looked like typical "Kentucky Crowbars."
Yet I have seen and handled a couple of delightful smoothbores that could not have weighed more than 7 lbs. I don't know whether they would be classified as fowlers or fusils.

The gun crowds 9 lbs. it"s definitely in the category of a smooth rifle. Tossing an ounce and a quarter of #6 shot would be unpleasant with a lighter gun, with an iron buttplate. I'm glad for the weight.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Both of my fowlers are pretty light weight, the 54 only has a 28" barrel and it is real handy, and they have the wide butt plates common to fowlers which helps with felt recoil. My usual load with either is 60gr of 3F and 1 or more oz. of shot and I use the same charge for the roundball loads as well.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

100 grains is a pretty stout load in a 28 bore. That's slightly more than 3½ dram, but if you're happy with it then don't change it. Heck at 50 yards with that load if you get a couple of deer standing next to each other you just might bag both.

LD

 

[Hanshi]

Don't you just love 'em? Mines not a "smoothrifle" but it's a treasure.

 

[4v50 Gary]

A classmate, Jerry Crawford, is selling his smooth rifle. I'll have to ask him what weight it is.