Short barrels

[Rodderbeck]

What do you guys think of shorter barreled muzzleloaders like a carbine?. I know there has to be so much barrel there to burn all or most of the powder but them shorter guns are so much easier to move around and they really look good in my opinion..

 

[ElDiablo]

I’m a big fan of shorter lighter hunting rifles. For me, a 24” barreled Omega X7 is just about perfect.

Here’s a great read on barrel length for those who haven’t seen it:

https://namlhunt.com/ml-barrel-length-velocity.html

 

[Rodderbeck]

I read that earlier today. I'm not to worried about the velocity. I live and hunt in Indiana and some of the places are so thick and brushy that sometimes you can't see 25 yards. I'm wanting a brush gun. Maybe 75 yards tops would be the farthest I would shoot.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Ive cut my Omega down to 21”. It still shoots as well as i can(or maybe better). 23” smokeless ML that is so amazing at the bench but a little heavy to carry around hunting. And a sml conversion 45/70 that also has a 23” or 24” barrel, now that is a sweet little hunting gun and makes 200yd shooting seem easy.

 

[pacanis]

I recently bought a like new Traditions Tennessee (24") and from the little I've shot it I like it a lot.
A little more kick than my longer barreled guns, but just as accurate. It will be perfect for using it in a spot I was planting myself in last year. Where a long barreled gun could only be swung in one direction without a lot of body movement.

 

[snapbang]

I have a Knight LK-93 Stainless 50 that has 20" barrel. I love it. Very light gun. By all accounts its supposed to be a 22" barrel. Somebodys measuring tape wasn't working the day they made mine.

 

[deermanok]

I have an old CVA Mountain Stalker rifle. When I got it, the barrel was not in very good shape, rust and pitting.
Cleaned it up as best I could then I found a local machine shop. I had them cut off about 7 inches from the muzzle.
The barrel is now 19 inches and the gun weighs only a bit over 5 pounds.
That little gun is now one of my favorites.
It's pretty darn accurate out to 50 yards, I haven't tried any farther with it.
Handy little treestand gun.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I think i read that someone here shoots an Optima pistol(14” barrel) to 200yds.

 

[Nimrodder]

I would love a muzzleloader with a 20" barrel. Most deer I shoot are at 50 yards or less.

 

[Rodderbeck]

I have an optima pistol. I can keep a 4" group at 125 yards. I've never shot it any farther than that. It's a handful for sure

 

[Rodderbeck]

I'm really thinking of finding me an American knight or a mk-93, bighorn, something and shorten the barrel to around the 18" mark. Put a Boyds stock on it . I think it would be awesome.

 

[jt1200r]

I just got a Traditions St Louis Hawkins I’m thinking about cutting down to 18” or 20”. Now I have to really go thru with it.

 

[flounder]

I have 3 mk 85s left with 20 inch barrels. 2 54s and one 50. They are sweet rifles.

 

[GBG]

I'm in the short-range, heavy cover, hog hunting camp. I love the beauty of longrifles and fowlers but the older I get the more I like using shorter barrels, carbines and pistols.

My personal preference is that as the barrel gets shorter, the bore should get bigger and/or the projectile heavier (within the manufacturers recommended limits of course). You'd be surprised how much powder can be burned in a short barrel if there's a tight fitting 400 to 700 grain slug sitting on top of it.

If I really need all the power possible from a short barrel, I don't mind a little unburned powder spraying out the muzzle - if it ups the KE. To quote Elmer Keith when he was helping develop the 333 OKH "Efficiency be damned! We want results!"

 

[eekjellander]

What do you guys think of shorter barreled muzzleloaders like a carbine?. I know there has to be so much barrel there to burn all or most of the powder but them shorter guns are so much easier to move around and they really look good in my opinion..

I like my Optima V2 Pistol\carbine (addition of AR 15 stock) I had lying around . I shoot to 200 yds with a
2x7 Leupold and yup it's handy became my favorite woods/tree gun ! It is ugly but does the job in grand style ! You should try one for up to that yardage on a stationary target money well spent 50 cal /45/40 with sabots

 

[GM54-120]

Carbine, Sure no problem. A 330gr 50cal bullet at 1850ish fps is all kinds of nasty. Its basically a 50 Beowulf. Pretty common load for 54x50 sabots. You can easily do something similar with a 45cal or a 50cal. My Ulite barrel is 24" so just a bit longer but even in 20" you could get a 420gr into the 1300fps range. Thats a thumper without too much pain on the other end.

 

[Rodderbeck]

I have 3 mk 85s left with 20 inch barrels. 2 54s and one 50. They are sweet rifles.

Dang. Wish I had a group of muzzleloaders like that. Lucky

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I saw a sweet Knight HK94 for sale on GB yesterday. Way overpriced but it would make an awesome carbine too.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/973065960

 

[gle3105]

My go to walking / deer drive ml is my CVA MR. 25” bbl iirc but it handles like a carbine. Reason I added to this subject.Has Ace in the Hole picatinny mount with a peep. Really a pleasant all around hunting rifle.

I did make a 22” 700ml that was pretty sweet too.

 

[GBG]

One other factor that hasn't been mentioned is the type of action. An 18-20 inch barrel break action or percussion is noticeable shorter overall than a bolt or plunger action gun. For that reason, I like break actions a lot more than I used to.