c sharps 1885

[Glen Ring]

Today we finally had the importunity to shoot Jeanne's new 1885 40-65.
We had ordered the heavy Octagon barrel in 30 inch and Jeanne didn't like the balance.
Steve Baldwin turned the barrel down and re-blued it...PERFECT !! He knew EXACTLY what the gun should balance like and his work , as usual, is TOP NOTCH.

Steve said the parts have very close tolerances.

The Range was cool, sunny, no wind and Jeanne shot such a small group at 500 meters I didn't want to even shoot after that.

The wood to metal fit is perfect and we could not be happier with the looks and the performance of this rifle.
Now if she'll only let me have one.

[Michael Johnson]

So it is now a half octagon/ half round? That would be like my 40-65 Hiwall which balances perfectly. Is the twist 1/16? Mine is and does better with 400 grain bullets than 420 grainers when shooting out past 400 yards. I am now experimenting with paper patch in that rifle.

[Glen Ring]

Yes the balance is perfect. The bullet is Lyman 410663 and with 20 to 1 is around 405 grains. The rifle REALLY likes it. Steve bald win knew exactly how much metal to remove and Jeanne thinks the balance is perfect.
Only now can I get the original 1885 in 40-65 back from Jeanne and put it in MY gun-safe.
Yep...we have his and hers gun safes.

[mdeland]

Glenn, having made half round barrels myself I think the practice pretty typically is to take them down till the flats disappear on straight or tapered barrels which leaves the transition radius as UN-abreviated as possible. I did some experimenting with this transition radius on a barrel and found less is almost always better as far as looks and barrel flex goes. Cutting a beauty ring or rings here also helps break up the transition appearance plus you don't want to cut enough to make a flex point as octagon is a stiffer shape than is round.

[Glen Ring]

Yep...I know if Steve Baldwin touches it it's going to be a good thing. I like the taper a LOT ...but what's most important is that Jeanne likes it.

[Michael Johnson]

Mike, my half octagon/ half round started out as a Krieger 1.5 inch round rifled 40 caliber blank. The gunsmith Ed Lapour profiled it on his milling machine to a #4 Half octagon/ half round according to the Winchester barrel dimensions listed in Campbell's text on the 1885 Highwall. The barrel is 30 inches long with a 1/16 twist. It is fitted to an original receiver with an original DST group. Ed Machined a Helm lever. Bob Enright stocked it on Extra Fancy Black Walnut. It likes 400 grain bullets. The 420 grain Paul Jones Creedmoor bullet starts to lose stability past 450 yards. It is simply too long for the 1/16 twist in less than great conditions.

[mdeland]

One more point of fact that may be of interest to some is that most oct to round barrels start the transition right in front of the forearm which often are in the 11 to 13 inch length so often times with a 32 inch barrel almost 2/3rds of it are round. Not much metal really comes off a barrel so profiled but when you take a look at the pile of shavings and chips that you turn off it looks like the whole barrel should be on the floor!