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wanted to get some opinions or experience on building a .36 caliber roundball rifle. have some experience with .40's, and mostly .45's in my offhand guns. but, the thought has always crossed my mind. since 2/3-3/4 of the shootng is at 25 and 50yds, it would seem to make some sense........
will it hold up at 100yds? or, is it just to wind dependent (or lack thereof)?
thanks.
Jim
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Interesting! I just purchased a .36 barrel myself to build a offhand rifle this winter. Mainly for fun times when I want to go to the range and just get in some offhand practice at 25 and 50 yards and just because I want one. I'm new to the .40's and still learning that one, but a long time .45 shooter and I think that it is a great offhand rifle out to 100 yards. I don't have much faith in a .36 at 100 yards but will be giving it a work out when I get it together just because curious minds want to know?
RB
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I've got a rifle with a straight octagon .36 caliber, Douglas barrel that is 42" long and 13/16 across the flats. It has enough weight to hold pretty steady off hand. With the 1:66 twist rate Douglas used, it takes a stiff load (60 grains of 3fg Swiss) to produce a tight group, which it certainly will. Perhaps because of the extra velocity produced by the heavier load, it isn't any more prone to wind drift than a .40 caliber. If you already have a good performing .40 off hand rifle, I'm not sure what, if any, benefit you'd gain by building a .36 caliber off hand rifle. Of course with a lighter charge of powder, my .36 caliber doubles as a small game rifle.
Don R.
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Wow 60 grains of Swiss 3FFF are you getting any blow-by, burnt patches? I not really trying to build a super match rifle just a fun gun type thing. Cheap on powder and lead!
RB
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RB,
No blow-by or burnt patches. I use a bore size .360 ball, .023 tightly woven cotton canvas patches, and Mr. Flintlock or Lehigh Valley Patch lube. I use a wet patch for target shooting and never have to wipe between shots even if I shoot all day with that setup. The barrel is coned to allow easier starting of the patch and ball at the muzzle. After it goes down the first 3 inches or so it will slide right down the barrel.
With a faster twist rate more typical in a .36 caliber, a much lighter charge of powder would most likely do just fine. My understanding is that for some reason Douglas used a 1:66 twist rate in all their barrels. Works okay, but for the littler calibers you need a pretty good charge of powder to tighten the groups up. I've probably got in the neighborhood of 3,000 shots through that gun. Though that hot charge enlarges the hole in the touch hole liner enough after about 1,000 shots that it needs to be changed to maintain accuracy, I'm very happy with the way it shoots.
Don R.
Last edited by MoleEyes (11/09/2015 4:37 PM)
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