bbl.
Sir:
The "cut rifled" barrel in my opinion is, in my mind, as nice as a "buttoned" one. To my mind, there is nothing as nice as a "cut rifled" bore! Yea, I know, the buttoned is smoother, possibly longer wearing (?). But there is nothing like wondering the field with an old 30-06 with a "cut rifled" bbl.
Nostalgic, YEA! The idea of some old guy rifling a muzzle-loading bbl. and you carrying that muzzle-loader on a days hunt, or your favorite rifle with a "cut-rifled" bbl. is very pleasing and calming to me. But, I do use buttoned barrels in all but my muzzle-loaders!
There is absolutely, positively NOTHING wrong with the lengthwise stirations left in a cut rifled barrel - witness Pope barrels and those made by Brock, and the other great barrel makers of the past. It took more work and craftmanship to "cut-rifle" a bbl. than a buttoned one anyway. I remember a 30 cal. cut rifled bbl. in old Dave Taylors shop hanging in the rafters of his shop and upon my asking him about it, "Son, that's a cut rifled barrel and Charlie Shaner has been trying to get it for years - I made that barrel myself!"
His pipe, the blue smoke, the olfactory odors that exuded from that old shop - the line shaftiong, all that I carry with me to this very day. There is a romance to cut rifled barrels that is gone today, now I am old and now know how these old guys felt!
Yes, I'm aware of the ironing action of a button that probably makes a better bbl. and I use them but, "Boy! If I could just locate that old grey "cut rifled" 30 cal barrel today."
I visited Dave in the local rest home (a mistake). There he was strapped to his wheel-chair - barely remembered me but when he did he said, "Bonar, we're opening up the shop next week and we're going to make barrels again." I said, "Yea, dave = I'll be down." Damn!
Harry B.
Harry B.