doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Barrel Maker ... what is your suggestion ?

I have spent hours pouring through websites from Douglas, Green Mountain, Krieger, etc considering which barrel maker would be best overall in providing a high quality 40 caliber barrel cut to my dimensions (straight taper) and deliver within a reasonable time.

It seems that this is a personal question for many shooters and everyone has a favorite. What questions should I be asking? ... and what delivery times should I expect? Any other makers I left out on top?

Nothing wrong with any of those three makers. If they will all make the twist you want then I'd say that they are all about the same. And I have rifles with barrels from each one. Krieger is probably the most expensive of the bunch - and probably the longest turn around time.

When I want a barrel, I look for one of these three, find which ever is available as a blank somewhere in the twist I want and have a smith cut it to shape. The exception being for octagons, in which case, I try to find it premilled.

As far as quality, there are no wrong answers here.

What sort of rifle and profile do you need a .40 for?

I usually use Krieger and have been happy with the quality and delivery times. I almost always have them cut a custom profile.

hey Brent ... I have a new production Sharps Borchardt action that I would like to chamber is .40-50 Sharps Straight -or- 40-70 Sharps Straight

... and here is where I get confused and cautious ...I looked at bore and groove diamteres of modern blanks and I am betting that modern groove diameters offered by Douglas (0.400 / 0.410) or Krieger (0.400 / 0.409) are bigger than original. I saw case brass, forming and reloading dies listed at MidwayUSA in both 403 and 408.

I am sure there is a reason or all of this but not sure what that reason is ... yet. Any help straightening this out is appreciated.

... Joe

Joe,
Now you are into the technical realm of the .40s and I've never been there. I have heard of issues like that, but I do not have answers for you. I would call Shiloh Sharps or post on their website to get knowledgeable answers on this. I think the .40s of yesteryear and the .40s of today are different, and I don't know how.

.40-70 is a good looking cartridge. I've seen those shot well by others.

Brent

I started out in BPCR with a 40-70SS. I like the cartridge a lot. Stick with the modern bore diameters such as .400-408" as there are more bullets and reloading equipment choices available.
I think it's easier today to get the 40-70SS shooting well by using the Hornady .405 brass trimmed back to 2.5" although I don't know that from experience. I started with stretched Krag brass and neck thickness was not consistant. If you're going to have the work done in Alaska, I would order a reamer designed to use the Hornady brass.
The 40-50 bottleneck is cute cartridge but limited for use. My shooting pard has one but cases are a pain to make and have to be neck turned as well.
As far as barrels go, like Brent said, you can't go wrong with any of them. I don't think that GM will do a custom profile like Douglas or Krieger. It took 4 mos. for me to get a custom .45 cal Krieger barrel with 17 twist.

Joe
I'm guessing you are likely wanting a full octagon barrel. Unless I'm mistaken (and I am frequently according to my wife) with all the makers except Green Mountain, that will be an extra expense to get octagon from a round barrel. I have several Green Mountain barrels in use and I've always been please with their performance.

I would do as Bob Saathoff recommends and stick with the modern bore diamters to eliminate all the problems associated with finding molds, etc. As far as brass is concerned, Rocky Mountain Cartridge makes both 40-50 SS and 40-70 SS although they are kinda pricey.

Phil

I would call Norm Johnson at High Plains Reboring. He can probably answer all your questions and make what you need as well. He's done a lot of the black powder cartridge barrels.

I've gotten the best customer service from Krieger on pure custom orders. An odd custom order is often where customer service and delivery goes all to pieces but Krieger just makes it happen smoothly.