TC 26 inch barrel or 28 inch

[buck hunter]

Hellow to all you muzzleloaders out there, I am wondering what are the pros and cons between a 26 inch barrel, and a 28 inch, I would like to purchase a Tompson center muzzle loader, and while lookinf on the internet, noticed they have models in two different barrel lengths, in your guys opinions which would be the one to pick? will you have better accurracy at longer ranges with a 28 inch barrel, or is it that a 26 inch barrel is lighter and easier to pack around. I dont know all the answers to this so if you guys can help me out I sure would appreciate it, thanks in advance

 

[2fas2c]

Theory (fact?) is the longer the projectile is in the barrel, the more the rifling imparts spin on said bullet, giving it better down-range accuracy. It also gives the powder a chance to fully ignite in the barrel. Don't know if it's that noticable, but if you don't have that far to your stands, i'd opt for longer barrels. My .02!

 

[RAF]

With the longer barrel you might gain a little velocity but don't think you'll an improvement in accuracy unless you're using iron sights. The 26 inch might be a little easier to handle in tight spots and be a little lighter if you're going to be carrying at lot.

 

[choc-dog]

I have an origional Encore .50 and a pro hunter in .50. The newer pro hunter in .50 with the extra 2 inches of barrel and the "FLUTES" has far better balance than by older Encore.

The origional .50 ML barrels just due to their barrel diameter feel "like clubs" as compared to the pro hunter 28 inch length. The extra 2 inches certainly helps the powder burn more cleanly.

Chocdog

 

[Les Staley]

"barrel length?"

The old out-dated Encore 209-50 with a old-fashioned threaded breech plug should yield about 25" of useable rifled bore, minus the QL muzzle. The Pro-hunter with 28" barrel and a three to four inch Speed breech should yield about the same length of useable rifled bore.. Choc-Dog, why don't you give us an acutual report by measureing how much cleaning rod each barrel swallows.. ?? thanks Les

 

[buck hunter]

Thanks les for the reply. If I understand you correctly, you are telling me that there isnt much difference, because the pro hunter has a longer breech plug in it, then the encore, which would mean that it has the same amount of room to burn the powder, please correct me if I am wrong thanks.

 

[Les Staley]

Yep!

That's the way I see it... waiting with baited breath for Choc-Dog to confirm.. Les

 

[DMWood]

I have an Omega Z5 but it should be very close to the same. I measure 26 5/8" from the face of the breech plug to the end of barrel and the QLA is 3/4" long. This gives me 25 7/8" of rifiling in my 28" barrel. The new breach plugs have a deep dish as apposed to the old ones with a flat face. This will allow some powder down in the breech plug to get your bullet to seat slightly deeper than with the old breech plug.

This is all I can offer without having the exact rifle.

 

[oldwun]

IMHO barrel lenghth has little to do with accuracy. I shoot a lot of 22 cal stuff in competition. I see no difference in my 18 barrel vs my 24 inch ones. The lenghth can effect your velocity. If all of the powder is not burned up then you loose velocity. Balance ca become a factor to some folks. If the rifle handles and feels better in one length then I would choose that one. If you loose a little speed you just compensate.