Barrel Length

.257roberts

October 06, 2009 13:39

Just purchased a Thompson Center Endeaver .50 caliber muzzleloader and am going to order a 7mm Mag. barrel. They tell me the 7 Mag. barrel comes stock length of 28 inches but I can have it cut off if I want it different. My Winchester has a 26 inch barrel on it. Will the extra 2 inches make any difference other than extra weight? Thanks Robert

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  WarGames

  October 06, 2009 14:07

  About 60-80 fps more speed.
  
  WG

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  sandwarrior

  October 06, 2009 18:00

  .257roberts,
  
  It may not make much difference in weight but it might make a difference in how well it handles if you take it into thicker cover hunting.
  
  Like Wargames pointed out you will probably get more velocity as the longer barrel makes use of the large amount of hot gas that case can produce. One thing I've noticed is that when you go really long with a standard weight barrel it tends to allow harmonic vibration affect accuracy more. It'll probably take several load workups to get the load tuned just right. But, you can get long standard barrels to shoot right with the right load. With some barrels even 24" or 26" long the load needs to be tweaked just right.
  Bottom line: Velocity advantage vs. accuracy vs. how easy to handle in thicker cover. I personally would like the 28" barrel and the load workups.

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  .257roberts

  October 07, 2009 16:03

  Thanks for all the input. I probably will go with the 28" barrel and play with some loads for it, "I LOVE THIS STUFF". Thanks again, Robert

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