Need help on Whitacre m1842 smoothbore barrels.

[Rich Foster]

I am building a 36" 42' springfield cutdown smoothbore for a skirmisher. I have built numerous 42" smoothbores barrels made by Hoyt and they all perform exactly alike with the same tolerance in ball and powder charge. Does not work with this Whitacre 36" 42' smoothbore barrel. Not a rookie at this but this is my first Whitacre smoothbore barrel and any help would be nice from somebody that shoots one. Rich

[david eye 10882]

Hi Rich I shoot a 42 3 bander with the whitacre barrel and it is a shooter I use a .676 ball if the ball is bigger than .680 it will not work . Wrasp the ball a little I do ,but it don't shoot anybetter. 47 gr 3FFF swiss and lube I double broiler the lube roll balls and let dry . mold I got my mold from Jeff Tanner it works his molds is smaller than what they are I order a .678 and throws balls .676 .LET ME KNOW IF I CAN HELP OUT aLLEN

[tmont]

I shoot one of Dan's barrels on my 3-band '42 and have had pretty good success with it...it has won me several events. I would not consider trading it period.

I did visit Dan and have him bend the barrel a bit to raise the strike and he did a great job for me. Shot in his backyard to ensure we got it right, which he did on the first attempt.

I shoot balls cast from a Jeff Tanner .678 mould roughed up with a farrier's file and then rolled around in Alox and allowed to dry overnight.

My load has been 55 gr 2F Swiss for 25 and 60 gr for 50. Based on a tip from a very good smoothbore competitor I am currently experimenting with 45 gr 3F Swiss and Len's Lube. So far the new load/lube is shooting well enough to consider the change and lighter recoil is always welcomed.

Hope this is helpful as a starting place for you.