.................Some of the guys on the N-SSA board sport Large barrels on some of their muskets. One guy mentioned he had a rifle built by some re-enactor sage who refused to use anything other then a Bill Large barrel on his creations.

.................Buckshot

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.................Some of the guys on the N-SSA board sport Large barrels on some of their muskets. One guy mentioned he had a rifle built by some re-enactor sage who refused to use anything other then a Bill Large barrel on his creations..................Buckshot

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Rich,

This rifle is screaming at me to shoot it, but it really needs a new home. It was handed to me. I don't have an idea of it's actual worth or know where to go to find a buyer...some ML'er nut might find it appealing.

 Jumptrap, I have two of Bill Larges creations. A 1842 rifled musket  and a Austrian short rifle.Both in .69 cal. There is a guy in Pa.Bob Hoyt that can make that same musket barrel for about $ 325-350. He cuts his with a P&W  sine bar machine. Bill used a homemade rifleing machine. Bob work has been called as good as Bills.

 But the name is there. I would try to auction it on a site that his name and quality would be known. My guess is a 200-300 bucks over the gun regular price.

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I not only used Large barrels when I could get them, but i also have some of his tooling and stamps. I got them from Greg Roberts who bought them from Bill when he was setting up Green River Rifle Works. The problem with your bbl is about the same as a fellow I know who has a Griffin and Howe Sporter. They drilled and tapped for side and top mounts and changed the sights and sanded the stock... See where this is going. The barrel is at this point not desirable for a traditional rifle, like a gun with BOB SMITH carved into it,only someone who likes Bob Smith is going to buy it. In addition you don't know who or how it was breeched. A poor job here could mean a lot to a prospective buyer also. If the barrel is unpitted, properly breeched, and with sharp rifling it may bring $150.00. Un used in the wrap with no holes and u

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Allow me to expound a bit more about Mssr. Large.

Bill's shop was about 20 miles from here as the crow flies. My dad was personally acquainted with him and still has a Large .32 barrel in the white...one of those 'roundtoit's' that never got done. Dad said Bill was a canterous old fart..talkative one day and grumpy the next. Dad also has an original Leman that another old-timer from here named Kazee 'freshened out' for him. Now, this being said, I never met Bill and my dad long ago quit shooting BP. I also met Red Farris many years ago in his gunshop at Portsmouth, Ohio. Red and Bill were instrumental in founding the NMLRA.

Now as for this barrel being turned into a worthless POS because it has been D&T'd, I have seen more than one that was rottated 180 degrees and the holes hidden under the stock and the front sight holes hidden under the ramrod rib/ferrules, so I ain't buying that it is next to worthless as a jap rifle with FRED jackknifed into the stock. It also has been breeched properly and I'd just about bet my cojones that Bill installed the breech plug.

I was unaware that Bill used a homemade rifling machine, I was told he had an ancient P&W bought after the war.

Jumptrap There is a N-SSA shooter/gunsmith named Jerry Harmon.From Detroit area. He has been making up custom barrels for decades. He was buying rifled barrel blanks from Bill Large,Turning the profile and installing  breeches for C/W muskets They are marked  HARMOND/LARGE  The two I have are marked Bill Large only.So I assume that Bill did them himself.

 Jurry has been geting his blanks from a old guy in NW Ohio.Willams Co. I think.He cuts some nice rifleing in the same style as Mr Large. I have one of his barrels finnished by Jerry.

Jump

I didn't say worthless I said Worth Less than an un altered barrel.  I personaly couldn't turn out a custom gun with a barrel that was not in top notch condition.  I guess the old german "do it right or not at all" comes out.  Yes I have seen barrels on originals with holes and dovetails on the bottom.  I guess if it was all I had and I had to have a gun I would do it, but I would cringe.  I mentioned the breech as I see so many guns poorly breeched that I routinely check.  If I were to use the barrel I would fill and weld the holes and lightly draw file and rebrown and probably no one would ever know but me.  I would also stamp on the bottom R 05 DJ to show that the barrel had been altered.  This is just me.  I wouldn't put down the capabilities of any Large barrel,  My only point was that altered it won't bring top dollar.

I write this not to defame anyone but to add a note of caution; Personal experience with Bill Large barrel, 1964.

Bill Large barrels have become part of the folk lore of muzzleoading shooters. Bill made a lot of really good barrels. Towards the end of his career he farmed out some work and much of that was not up to his standard. Many of the CW musket barrels that he supposedly re-maunfactured in the early 60s were badly breeched. One of these let go and cost a friend an eye and thousands in medical bills and lost work. Apparently his sub-contracter was simply cutting the old barrel off about 3" in front of the breech plug, reaming it out,  then inserting the new barrel and gas-welding around the seam. There was no connection what ever between the new barrel and the breech plug threads. Black powder fouling made its way into the crack between old and new barrel and slowly reduced the friction that held it all together. One day, Ka-Blam, his "new" barrel exploded. That was in the old days before everyone sued over infected hang-nails. Bill never took any responsibility for the problem instead blamed the victim for "overloading" or not cleaning properly. Apparently this was not the only one that did this. Bill stopped advertising in Muzzle Blasts shortly afterward and stopped barrelmaking a few years later. A sad end to an otherwise fine career.