Phathead

Another Question towards ML purchase

I just did a "barrel length" search and didn't see anything that helped. I did read somewhere that a 150 gr charge will not burn completly out of a 28 or shorter barrel. Not sure where. Got the Bass pro catalog and noticed 24" on the wolf 26-28" on most and 29" on one of the CVA's. Is the an accuracy advantage to length regardless of brand?

I am aware that after I purchace one it will take plenty of time to find the right load combo for that paticular gun.

Just curious if anyone has noticed a trend leaning to longer better or longer no differance.

frontier gander

I like the longer barrel simply because i feel that it have a chance to burn the powder longer and also give the bullet a chance to be a little more stable. I have 32" barrels on two of my muzzleloaders and a 33 1/2" barrel on the other. The shorter barrels like i have on my bobcat, 24" is nice in thick brush, but i dont hunt in the thick stuff so i prefer the longer barrel for open area, long distance shots.

In my deer creek manual it states that it takes a 32" barrel to completely burn 110 grains "weighed" powder.

cayugad

I shoot barrels from 21" to 32" and out to 100 yards there is really no difference in accuracy that I can detect. I would guess that even further the difference would not be that great. I would worry more about shooter's skill levels then the barrel length. There are people that shoot a 22" barrel and are pulling off 150 yard shots. That to me is more the skill of the shooter and the quality of the rifle then the length of the barrel.

Now granted, the barrel length does effect the amount of powder that a barrel can efficiently burn before blowing it out the end of the barrel. But again, most people shoot around 100 grains of powder. Even a 22" barrel will handle that. If you want to shoot magnum 150 grain loads, then at least a 26" barrel would be as short as I would go. The powder finally reaches a point of diminished returns. That means no matter how much more powder you pack under that bullet the amount of velocity you achieve from the added powder gets less and less. After a point for the little you gain, there is no need to put more powder under the projectile. That is diminished returns.

Don't get all hung up on magnum muzzleloader charges. For instance, people are shooting deer and elk at some hard to believe distances, and still blowing through or at least coming close,with as little as 80 grains of powder. 100 grains of powder is a good strong load. 110 grains of the right powder IMO I consider a magnum load. In pellets 120 grain I consider a magnum load.

Phathead

Thanks for the input and I am definately not hung up on mag loads (they hurt to much) I just spent 40mins on ganders pb thread and noticed the trend 100+yrds still around 100gr more or less. Good info on the bullet by the way. I am just looking for input from current shooters and trends. I do dread the $$$ spent finding the load when I buy a ML. But pratice will payoff and by the way cayugadI am one of the acurate deprived people so I need all the advantage I can get.

sabotloader

Phathead

I echoCayugad input - think it was right one the mark with what I have found...

The only thing I would add/subtract which ever way you want to look at it is, the longer the berrel the longer it will take you to get on the target.2nd I really prefer the shorter barrel for most of the hunting that I do because I hunt in a lot of covered timber stands andbrush. It is much easier to wheel and work a short barrel in those circumstances. If you were a tree stand hunter i believe the advantage there would also go to the shorter barrel...

Amoung the ML's that I have, I do have 2 Remington's one is the shorter, and older,24" model and the other is the 26" model - they shoot identically. I do NOT shoot the 150 grain loads... 110 grains of T7-2f.

Keep asking questions - you will get a variety of answers that you will make a decision - hopefully it will be an informed decision though...

lemoyne

Perhaps a bit of info will help, for certain things long barrels are better, PRB, and real black powder need a reasonable length of barrel,I gethered all the info I could when I was building Hawken rifles and came to the conclusion that more than 35 inches was just extra weight; now if youuse iron sights that extra length will give you the capability of aiming finer.
Now the other side of the story; with a sabot gun you have a choice of weights of bulletsand faster burning powder; the heavier the bullet the more powder you can burn effectively in a shorter barrel length you can use 777 or Pyrodex P fairly effectively in a 24 inch barrel and the most effecent length with a 250 or 300gr bullet is around 26 but a bit more or less wont hurt or help much.
As far as accuracy is concerned it should not make any differance except that for extreme range with heavy loads it will show in the flatness of the trajectory. Lee

Triple Se7en

That barrel length on the Wolf will be fine for 200 yard shots. There's really no need to exceed 110 grains loose powder with any load - 130 grains pellet powder. Sometimes the best accuracy comes with 80-105 grains.

Mossie

Well; I guess I will put in my .02 cents worth. When shooting patched roundballs barrel lengths of 32" is about ideal for offhand shooting and powder consumption with heavy loads. Shorter barrels justwon't get it done with patched roundballs.Longer barrels do burn powder better with patched balls but they still have power and wind drift issues that can't be fixed unless you go to a bigger ball.If you shoot patched roundball use the longest barrel you are comfortable with; I like mine; which is 32", but would go to 36" if I were to build a roundball rifle. A slim, long rifle is actually pretty handy. Barrels can be octagon to round or swamped to get the balance right and weight can be added to the butt stock to balance a straight octagon. I still think roundball guns are 80 yard guns.

Faster twist barrels shooting heavier bullets burn powder better so barrels of 24" or so are ok. My 28" barreled rifle actually feels short and would prefer it to be 32". I would go with 3f powders for the currently available fast twist barrel lengths and keep the charges under 110 grains even if your barrel is rated for more.

I used to be a big fan of shorter carbine length barrels but time and age has changed that. I have began to truly appreciate barrel lengths of 32-36". I think 32" is the best for openwoods and mixed brush. If you hunt in brush where 60 yards is a long shot then shorter barrels are more than enough.