Opinion on Yeck Barrel

[SHARPS4953]

I completed a Richmond 2band last year and now that warm weather is hopefully here to stay im heading to the range and see how it shoots. I found a used Yeck barrel for it, the rifling looks good. My question is, does anyone know about these barrelsor have an opinion on them, are they considered competition or good shooters? Just wondering if I should get it sleeved or not.

Thanks Scott Fisher
1st Maine HA

[John Holland]

In my experience, Yeck barrels were very accurate shooters.

[Bruce Cobb 1723V]

In my experience, Yeck barrels were very accurate shooters.
The barrels are the best for wad cutter style bullets and are forgiving with other mediem wght bullets. They are also good because most shoot .574 to .575 dia bullets which are the most common moulds available.

[ms3635v]

My first 3 band Springfield was a Yeck. I had to size the minies to .574". The musket was a great shooter and was extremely well-made...I still have it and I wouldn't hesitate to use it in an emergency!

[Southron Sr.]

I was with my friend and fellow Skirmisher, the late Guy Owen, when his replica '63 Springfield's barrel "blew out" behind the bolster. The blow out caused the wood behind the "fence" of the bolster to be blown out. Fortunately Guy was wearing eyeglasses at the time or would have probably lost an eye.

The problem is that the Yeck barrels had the breech/bolster section attached by silver soldering. This joint was "re-enforced" by the breech screw being screwed directly into the rear of the barrel.

The problem was the joint between the barrel and the breech section, WHERE THE FLASH CHANNEL WAS DRILLED THROUGH INTO THE BREECH.

Every time the gun was fired, a bit of the silver solder was softened and possibly liquefied by the hot gases of the shot. Finally, the "tunnel" went all the way through the solder and the hot gases blew out.

HOW TO FIX THIS PROBLEM:

Around 20 years ago I carried my Yeck Barrel to a gunsmith.

[1] He removed the nipple and then drilled out the flash channel into the barrel.

[2] He then threaded the hole in the drilled out flash channel and installed a stainless steel, headless screw into it.

[3] He then re-drilled the flash channel hole in the stainless steel screw.

Hence the threaded, stainless steel "liner" protects the silver solder from being acted on by the hot gases produced when the gun is fired.

My son owns that gun with the Yeck barrel and has fired thousands of rounds through it with no problem. He is one of the best shots on our team.

So, IF you own a Yeck barrel, I highly recommend you do this modification.

[Curt]

Hallo!

It may be a matter of when your particular barrel was made in Mike's production run.

Towards the end, Mike's barrels and guns (M1861, Richmond, and M1863) suffered from quality control issues.
For example, a member of the Bodyguard was having all kinds of problems getting a group out of a M1861 not matter what he did. Upon examining the bore with a light, it could be seen that the rifling cutter machine had gone a bit crazy.
Mike, being the kind of guy he was, took it back with no question and handed John a new one.

It would not group. Same problem. Same Mike Yeck customer service.

It would not group. Same problem. Same Mike Yeck customer service.

The fourth was fine.

Back in those daze, I was just starting out building customs, and when Mike folded, several of us bought up spare parts, including barrels. Me and two pards built over a dozen guns using Mike's barrel without problem or incident.
For my main shooter, I modified one of his M1861's to be a M1855 barrel on my custom built, and won a 50 yard gold medal with it in a competition I had not entered. I was showing a newcomer how to shoot "individuals" and left my target up. Later that night, we were wandering the range, I saw that someone had pulled it and turned it in.

Oh, 36 grains FFF, 325 grain SWC, sized .577. Beeswax/Crisco "lube."

:)

[Curt]

Hallo!

Also, there are barrels that look like Yeck barrels, because of the Yeck marked breech sections.

Fro example my pard Steve Jensco used to make barrels up using the Yeck breech sections but using other makers' unbreeched barrels. For example, he favored Orion barrels that were octagonal but he shaped them down. One quick way for some of Steve's barrels is he often went with varied twist multiple groove rifling such as six.

Curt