Who makes the best mz barrels

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The only barrels I have used for a muzzleloader were green mountain and they were great, I thinking of a 32 or 36 barrel for my underhammer maybe a 45 to. For some reason I don't see any 32 on the gm site.

So what are the other barrels out there you guys use and how do they compare to a green mountain.
 
Green Mountain was the bare basic rifle barrel back in the day, and they came out with innovated drop-in regarding TC sidelock rifles. THEN they got government contract work and dried up as far as ML barrels went. Now they are back to making good ML barrels.

Getz, Rice, Colerain continued and continue to make ML barrels. Colerain has a nice variety of barrels including swamped barrels, as well as smoothbore barrels. Rice also makes swamped barrels. Rice and Getz are considered the top of the pile when it comes to barrel performance, but it appears that Getz is no longer making barrels...at least as of July 2018 ?? Rice for example polishes the bores of their barrels at the factory.

Generally, GM, Colerain, Rice, and Getz will out perform the needs of most rifle shooters, who like to punch some paper and to hunt a bit.

As far as "best" is concerned, that can be subjective. Sometimes what the rifle shooter wants is only made by one of the barrel makers, so they are "the best". IF the rifle shooter wants a specific type of rifle, a very accurate copy of an original that needs to be built, in the shortest possible time, then the availability of the caliber and style of barrel available, determines the "best", if price isn't a problem. If price is a problem, then the least expensive, but available barrel to meed the shooter's needs is the best.... IF the rifle shooter wants very little if any "break-in" time for the barrel and is interested in target match scoring, Rice is probably the best. Actually, you really don't get the full application (imho) of what the rifle barrel will do until you are in an artificial environment on the bench at the range. ;)

In real applications, I think (especially with flintlock) the lock and the trigger are amazingly important, before the barrel comes into play. Think about a low quality flint lock or a poorly installed drum with perhaps a poorly installed nipple and placement...causing less than dependable ignition...the barrel means very little in such a case. So just about any of the well established barrel makers out there will give you a very good barrel. The choice of the lock and the assembled rifle will do more for the satisfaction of the shooter, I think, than the barrel alone. :thumbup:

LD
 
Green Mountain was the bare basic rifle barrel back in the day, and they came out with innovated drop-in regarding TC sidelock rifles. THEN they got government contract work and dried up as far as ML barrels went. Now they are back to making good ML barrels.

Getz, Rice, Colerain continued and continue to make ML barrels. Colerain has a nice variety of barrels including swamped barrels, as well as smoothbore barrels. Rice also makes swamped barrels. Rice and Getz are considered the top of the pile when it comes to barrel performance, but it appears that Getz is no longer making barrels...at least as of July 2018 ?? Rice for example polishes the bores of their barrels at the factory.

Generally, GM, Colerain, Rice, and Getz will out perform the needs of most rifle shooters, who like to punch some paper and to hunt a bit.

As far as "best" is concerned, that can be subjective. Sometimes what the rifle shooter wants is only made by one of the barrel makers, so they are "the best". IF the rifle shooter wants a specific type of rifle, a very accurate copy of an original that needs to be built, in the shortest possible time, then the availability of the caliber and style of barrel available, determines the "best", if price isn't a problem. If price is a problem, then the least expensive, but available barrel to meed the shooter's needs is the best.... IF the rifle shooter wants very little if any "break-in" time for the barrel and is interested in target match scoring, Rice is probably the best. Actually, you really don't get the full application (imho) of what the rifle barrel will do until you are in an artificial environment on the bench at the range. ;)

In real applications, I think (especially with flintlock) the lock and the trigger are amazingly important, before the barrel comes into play. Think about a low quality flint lock or a poorly installed barrel or poorly installed nipple placement...causing less than dependable, and prompt ignition...the barrel means very little in such a case. So just about any of the well established barrel makers out there will give you a very good barrel. The choice of the lock and the assembled rifle will do more for the satisfaction of the shooter, I think, than the barrel alone. :thumbup:

LD
Thanks for the info. I see gm does not have any 32 or 36 barrels, I my have to call and ask. I've used a bunch of the centerfire barrels and there great.

In my looking I stumbled on kibler gun kits I real like what they are doing there . Both guns look great and I could not decide witch to get it I got one.


But on the barrels I think a 36 would be best for me. I figure it's going to be $300 or more by time I get all the stuff to barrel the underhammer.
 
Both guns look great and I could not decide witch to get it I got one.

But on the barrels I think a 36 would be best for me. I figure it's going to be $300 or more by time I get all the stuff to barrel the underhammer
.

Understandable, so the answer is, Get One of Each Kit! Not right away, but do get both.....
.36 has basically two advantages over .32... ramrods when wood tend to be less prone to breaking, and a bit better in light wind.

LD
 
I have been very pleased with my green mountain barrel in my .45.
It is far more accurate than its operator.
I have shot 15 target woods walks without wiping the bore. It shoots clean, I'm not certain that has anything to do with the brand of barrel.....but I am pleased with my green mountain.
 

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Understandable, so the answer is, Get One of Each Kit! Not right away, but do get both.....
.36 has basically two advantages over .32... ramrods when wood tend to be less prone to breaking, and a bit better in light wind.

LD
I would have to sell a few guns to get one of kiblers kits lol. I really like the lock they made for the colonial, but no double trigger I don't know if it's historical for them but I like them, I So under what the pull is on the single trigger. Then there's what caliber to get and the 58 can be made in smoothbore.
 
I have been very pleased with my green mountain barrel in my .45.
It is far more accurate than its operator.
I have shot 15 target woods walks without wiping the bore. It shoots clean, I'm not certain that has anything to do with the brand of barrel.....but I am pleased with my green mountain.
Ya I never heard any bad things about them. Me and my buddy have debated taking a drive to check them out it's 3 or 4 hours from me, and I want to check offline ar-15 barrel they make I've been drooling over.
I like those fox targets on your bench and nice rifle.
 
the oregon rifle barrel co. has made several barrels for me. they will do depth of grooves and the twist you want. for muzzleloaders. they make their muzzleloader barrels out of leaded steel. that is a high quality steel with a tiny amount of lead in the steel. this prevents the bursting of a barrel if one forgets to put the ball all the way down on the powder. it will bulge but not blow out to hurt you. i know that all good shooters should load right but it still happens to the best of shooters. i was distracted by a low flying airplane once over my property while i was shooting and loading it. i bulged the barrel about 6 inches down the bore. i cut the barrel off just below the bulge and recrowned it and made a good shooting carbine out of it. consider the oregon rifle barrel for your next barrel.
 
I have the same predicament.
Im thinking 20 gauge Colerain octagonal to round with wedding band... but i'm just not sure. The nice thing about the Deer Creek actions is you can swap out the barrel with an Allen wrench.
 

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I'm not sure if you simply want to buy a barrel or have one custom fitted to your gun.

There's a fellow named John Taylor on the castboolits website that actually builds custom underhammers.
I'm pretty sure that he could custom fit a barrel for you if needed whether you supply the barrel or not.
Ii think that he's in Washington state.
You can located his posts in this thread and he posted as recently as yesterday.
See post #11 and more posts by him after that:--->>> http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?33307-Any-Underhammer-Makers

A well known reputable barrel maker is Bob Hoyt.
He rebarrels guns to your specifications and will suggest the right twist rate and type of rifling for the caliber, round vs. square bottom.
He is also one of the most affordable custom barrel makers, and remains quite busy at it.
He rebarrels and rebores a lot of TC guns plus much more.
The barrels are custom fit before the gun is returned and are 100% ready to shoot.

Bob Hoyt 2379 MT Hope Rd Fairfield PA 17320-9407
Phone 717-642-6696 Try to call 7-8:00 AM because he's often too busy to answer the phone when he's working.
 
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...Green Mountain was the bare basic rifle barrel back in the day

LD...

That made me smile. When I started building, Douglas was the factory standard by which others were judged. For custom barrels, we looked to Bill Large or Cecil Brooks.

Kevin
 
I only have experience with Green Mountain.
I really thought I wanted a 32 until I got a 45. It's much more versatile.
A 32 has it's draw though because you can order bags of buckshot to feed it.
 
I wonder why they are not very good anymore. All I need about them is there shotty and quality is way down. Don't know if they make muzzle loader barrels anymore. My 1909 custom Argentine has a air gauge Douglass and is a honest 1/4 moa rifle. But that gun was built in 2003 and the Smith had barrels that where older.
 
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