Optimum barrel length 45/70

[at72]

Hi all
I am getting my barrel profiled and cut to length this week. I was just wondering what everybody thinks is an ideal trade off for a full time hunting barrel length come part time target shooting. As I said it will be a hunting rifle first so I would like to keep the overall weight as light as possible. I will be shooting solely cast boolits with ADI2206H , Trail Boss and some black powder substitutes for my hunting and black powder for target shooting. Most rolling blocks that I have seen out there seem to have a minimum length of 28" and out to 36". Yet I see a lot of people here are shooting marlin lever guns with barrels at 22" and still getting good ballistics. I was thinking of starting at 26" and working my way down from there depending on the accuracy, weight and obvious balance and feel of the rifle.
It was originally an 8 x 56r as far as I could work out.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Great forum by the way!!
A wealth of information.

[725]

Can't really give a good, learnered opinion for you. Lots depends on what you want out of it. If you plan to burn the holy black, keep it long. Smokeless and you can shorten it up. Your 26" would probably work well.

[country gent]

I would start at 28" and work down from there. Also keep in mind barrel length also affects sight radious and a few inches there can make a big diffrence in shootability. What sights are going to be on this rifle? Tang and globe, Barrel mounted and post/ blade, or a scope. Rolling blocks were short light actions so you can normally go about 4" extra barrel and have the same overall length as a bolt action. My ruger number 1 has a 26" barrel and is about the same overall length as a rem 700 with 22" barrel. Barrel contor can and will affect wieght as much or more than length. What countor are you Looking at. Im in the proccess of building a roller in 38-55 I have a green mountain 1 - 12 twist #3 taperd octagon contour that I will finish at 34" length. A windage adjustable front globe and soule long range Tang sight. wood is from treebone. Rollove cheek piece stock and schnable forend. No to get time to get on the lathe and mill.

[oldgeezershooter]

My Ruger #1 in 45-70 has a 22" barrel and I get 2600fps with 300gr. J Bullets and around 1900 with 405gr. boolits.
My Quigley with 34" barrel gets around 17-1800fps. w/405 gr. boolits.

[Lead Fred]

Ask any woman, longer is better :oops:

There were two loads for the 45/70 the carbine load, and the rifle load.

I had a single shot 45/70, with a 22 inch barrel, it shot best with a 405gr @ 1700fps.
Anything more and your arm wont like you.
When I steped up to a 30 inch barrel, I slowed my speed down to 1500fps, and a RD 425gr pill.
Happy times are here again, I sold the carbine.

[at72]

It will be wearing a scope most of the time, i am getting the gunsmith to install a set of ghost ring sights that I had left over from my marlin 44 mag. He is going to machine the rear sight into the picatini rail and raise the front sight accordingly. I would like to get nice tang ghost ring that is more adjustable latter on. Tang sights are expensive and hard to get down hear in New Zealand, I am planing on getting some from the states when finances allow. As to which ones, I'm still on the fence about that.
Being an old girl that she is I was not planning on trying to throw anything out of the barrel too fast, most of my hunting is well under two hundred yards if not a hundred most of the time, I have a lee mold that throws 420 grain boolits out at .458 which is perfect! No need to size. I am using an ounce of solder 50/50 lead tin alloy per 8 pounds of lead, should be in the vicinity of about one in thirty so they are quite soft but hopefully hard enough to engage the rifling and be as accurate as possible. As with everything it will be trial and error for awhile, but that is what keeps most of us going. If it was too easy it wouldn't be as much fun!
Will be using the ghost ring sights for mainly my round balls, whacking over the odd rabbit, wallaby and for those nights when your walking back from a hunt and the possums are out and about. Now round ball sounds like it could be a tad of an interesting reloading session to get them to group well. I have searched the web left right and centre for different loads and have not really had much luck with the trail boss powder that I want to use, everybody seems to use pistol or shotgun powder, the odd FFF black powder which I will definitely try, just a little worried about foreign objects getting down on top of the ball when it is seated on top of the powder. Anyway im rambling.
Cheers for the replies, keep them coming

[NickSS]

I have hunted with 45-70s with barrels of between 18" and 30 inches in length. I also have a sharps target rifle with a 36 inch barrel. With an old Rolling block action I would keep my loads down to around 26000 psi Max which means around 1300 to 1450 fps with most powders I have used with a 420 gr bullet. You can get those velocities with just about any barrel length from 22 to 36 inches. Personally for a single shot rifle a 26 to 28 inch barrel makes for a fine balanced weapon and is really close in length to a lever action with a 24 inch barrel (I know because I have a Model 1886 Winchester with a 24 inch barrel and a C Sharps 1885 with a 28 inch barrel and they are the same overall length and the sharps ballences better.

[Doc Highwall]

Years ago I had a Browning 78 in 45-70 and it had a 24" barrel if I recall correctly that I hunted with and I installed a Lyman 17A sight on it.

[cajun shooter]

You know that you may always cut more off but it can't be added back on. Everyone is different in this type of choice and it makes it hard to give a solid answer that will be perfect.
The biggest reason for error is type of hunting you will do. If walking all the way in and out then weight will bear a bigger factor. You may be using horse, 4 wheeler or truck which will allow for a longer barrel.
The longer the barrel on any hunting rifle will lead to better accuracy especially if you are shooting real black powder. A longer barrel will not be as effected by a small sighting error like a 16 inch carbine will. Later David
Start out at your longest choice and use it for a hunting season. If you feel you will be better off with a even shorter barrel then that maybe done. I feel the 26-28inch area is best for an all around GP rifle. Later David

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Lots of thoughts above, and all valid for that poster. Soooooo

Being an Ol'Coot with a few miles behind and an unknown number ahead, I'll go with the shorter barrel.

My RUGER #1S with the 22" barrel is just a delight to carry, when compaired to longer and heavier rifles. Oooooh so very nice!

And with the 465gr WFN non-expanding cast boolit I send out the barrel at 1650fps it is awesome on critters. 4 total deer (one with a ligher and much too fast bullet) and 2 elk with results which would take care of any North American critter, anyware.

Love that short barrel!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[at72]

Thanks all for your input. It is always good to get others opinions, make for a more informed decision. I am going to go with a 26" barrel and mad see how it balances and of coarse shoots. Most of the hunting will be lots and lots of walking so I am wanting it as light as possible without sacrificing balance and pointability.
The loads I described earlier are only doing around the 1300 fps with the 420 grain boolit with the ADI 2206 H. Less with the black powder.
Thanks again for all the help and I will post some more when it is up and running.
Am looking forward to pulling the trigger for sure!
Adam

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

at72,

As was said, you can always make it shorter if you start on the long side.

I have a weak left wing, and the extra weight of the longer barrel would be a negative.

With the RUGER's falling block action, my rifle with the 22" barrel is just so light and lively in my hands, as said earlier it is a joy to carry.

Balance is oh so nice!

Keep us posted as to how things work out!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[tacklebury]

I like my 32" for bench shooting at targets. Gets a little heavy if carrying around with you all day. I have a 22" I use for stalking/hunting now. If you are doing bp loads the extra barrel length is nice. ;)

[nanuk]

Ask any woman, longer is better :oops:


the Only Women who say that are the ones who have never met a man that knows how to handle his "Rifle" and shoot it properly:lol:

[Doc Highwall]

I have heard that sex is like snow, you never now how much you are going to get or how long it will last.

[Texantothecore]

28", If I remember correctly, is the optimum length for a barrel and I would go with that. Just calculate the difference in barrel weight for the difference in the various lengths and make that decision.

28" should also shoot black powder fairly well.

[CLAYPOOL]

I have a lot of posts on this board and most of them start out with stomper loads, BUT the there is a reduction as the experanced guys says that normal to mild loads will kill most of every thing inon the planet..makes sence to me..

[CLAYPOOL]

More brain fart spelling problems.. I hope I'm not the only one starting to drift away..