.574 Barrel in JRA Zouave?

[oscarlovel]

Well, curiousity got the better of me, so I dug out my pin guages and checked the bore on my JRA Zouave. To my surprise, a 0.574 pin guage barely fits. Definitely a no-go on a 0.575. I checked the pin guages with two micrometers (one digital and one analog) and the pin guages are properly sized. I've had problems getting a decent group out of this rifle. Figured it was particular about load, moreso than the first generation P-H 1858 Enfield I used to shoot and the Whitacre barreled Zouave I used to have. Raises all kinds of questions in my mind about bullet sizing, mold etc. Any ideas? Am I worrying needlessly? This is a hoyt rifled barrel.

[George Gompf]

Clint,
I have a hoyt barrel on my skirmish musket and it has shot great for years now. I shoot a sized .575 wad cutter in it and a moderate 45 grains of powder. I have several of Bobby's barrels and have had no problems with any of them. I have found then to kill clays, tiles, deer and caribou all with equal ability. If you need a mold for a 315 wad cutter, let me know. I have some double cavity molds available that are just right to size to .574.

George Gompf
FEC

[ms3635v]

Clint,

I had a Yeck 1863 Springfield that had a .574 bore. I had a .573 sizer made and I shot a Rapine .575 old style minie that I sized to .573 and used 40 grains of 3F. That combination worked and served me well for a long time before I switched to a Zoli Zouave.

[ken chrestman]

Check with Bobby but, it is my understanding he only rifles the blanks for JRA. The barrels I got right from Bobby all shot well, no lapping or tight spots in the bores, etc.

Ken Chrestman,7147V
FEC, Tennessee, The real Forrest Escort

[John Holland]

That would be past tense, since there are no more blank barrels available for JRA to send to Hoyt to be rifled. If anyone has a JRA with a Hoyt rifled barrel they had better hang on to it as there will be no more.

JDH

[Charlie Hahn]

Hi Clint,I would suggest you do a little more checking. Pull the breech and check the bore from back to front. ThIs might be a little challenging but might answer a few questions. I have worked on several of these barrels, and they are much harder than others, there could be a chance that the bore is small at the front, or might have a raised area due to a bad crown. This would be different than a choke, which is a good thing. If the bore is small for an inch or so without a taper if can cause the bullet to trip over the last bit of barrel. I would expect bor to be .576 behind this area.Let me know what you findCharlie HahnEtb9601@gmail.com