Smokeless powder percussion barrel

T

The_Cook

Inactive
Okay... Been like for ever.

Ummm the question is. Not why? But how would u?

Cause kinda really want a 5 1/2ft long 12ga smoothbore percussion rifle that i can literally just dump what ever the heck powder i find and anything i want to use as ammo. And just blast at what ever and not have to worry about ever running out of stuff.

What do i just need a better steel? stronger hammer and spring?
Ports drill to relieve pressure on hammer so it does not get blown off? What?

Does anyone know of anyone making a percussion barrel rated for smokeless?

Seriously.. Be the ugliest thing but usefull. Oh look stash of model rockets...
 
Somebody's fishin' here.
A 66" barrel is roughly 30" too long for use with smokeless powder. There is a point of diminishing return where the powder is completely burned and no further velocity will be added. Friction will slow the projectile, even a handful of stones, bits of glass or nails, though.
Percussion is the method of ignition. Usually of BP. Isn't about the barrel. A regular brass cartridge uses percussion to ignite the powder. You can't have a smoothbore rifle either.
 
A 66" barrel is roughly 30" too long for use with smokeless powder.
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He didn't say "66 inch barrel"

Cause kinda really want a 5 1/2ft long 12ga smoothbore percussion rifle
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That sounds like the OAL to me.
Early PA and KY rifles were often that long.

A rule of thumb used by some gunsmiths was to make the rifle no longer than the height of a customer's chin because of the necessity of seeing the muzzle while loading. The longer barrel also allowed for finer sighting. By the 1750s it was common to see frontiersmen carrying the new and distinctive style of rifle
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Is it possible? Probably. But something tells me it's not smart for somebody without a very good understanding of pressure dynamics. When you talk about dumping "whatever" smokeless powder in there, that's a dangerous proposition - and likely fruitless even if you managed it safely.

I recall seeing a video where a muzzleloader stuffed with its barrel literally full of black powder survived. Proof loads in old muzzle loaders were often 4 or 5 times what the expected load would be. On the other hand, a volumetric equivalent of smokeless pistol powder in the video I saw completely destroyed the muzzleloader which survived many times its intended black powder load.

Obviously, most anything can be done with the right knowledge of metalworking and engineering. It might just not take the form you're looking for.
 
The Savage 10ML-II uses smokeless powder and a shotgun primer for the percussion cap. However, it is also rifled and uses sabot's to seal the breech and uses conventional bullets in the sabots and only works with certain powders. Dumping rocks down it would ruin the barrel in short order, and it might never shoot them or it might blow up. Unlike black powder, smokeless, powder must be well sealed or it never develops much pressure, and you have to have the right amount of the right burn rate range for the weight of the projectile. Just dumping in anything with any type of powder won't shoot a lot of the time and is in danger of blowing up at others.

I think if you want to be able to try and frequently fail just shoot any old thing, you want something like a steel cannon with a very small-for-barrel-thickness bore.
 
Yes i know better than to dump smokless powder into a musket not designed for it.

And yes essentially we are talking about a 12ga Steel man portable shoulder fired cannon.

I am just wondering why I can not find a company that sells a 12ga/.50cal smokeless powder percussion smoothbore rifle.

Is it like a just cause no one bothered?
Or we talking a steel barrel so thick and heavy it just not worth it? 10-15lbs is acceptable.

$150 u get a barrel stock hammer and trigger u can toss what ever powder into it. Dump what ever .50cal ball...sabot.. 00buck... Wad. Tamp it. Then stick a cap on and fire at stuff.

Poor man's gun fo sure. But sounds fun as hell to me. Goto what ever store. Get a load book for the rifle. Use what ever cheap powder. Goto bank.. Exchange 20 bucks for pennies. Go squirrel hunting with angry bees for days
 
The main problem is that most smokeless powder won't be properly ignited by a percussion primer, so you need to use a standard primer adapter to ignite smokeless powder. If you want to use any kind of high pressure, you also need to either keep pressures low or make the hammer/firing pin so won't blow back.

Frankly, the idea of "dumping in" any old powder in any old quantity sounds like a neat way to end up picking pieces of stuff out of your eyes, head, etc.

Jim
 
I'm really not trying to pee in your cornflakes or put you down but this is a looney tunes idea that should be forgotten.
 
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