Japanese Matchlock Barrel

[rickystl]

Originally Posted by asomotif

Dear Rick,

Interesting. Black powder shooting with an oriental touch.
Is it a discipline int he US ?
Will the steel liner make it more accurate ?
And how accurate is such a weapon ?

Best regards,
Willem

Hello Willem. Black powder muzzleloading shooting is just one of many shooting disciplines in the U.S. In Japan they actually have annual competition shooting these original (or custom made copies) matchlocks. While I shoot many different black powder guns, I've never shot an original Japanese matchlock. Should be fun.
The old iron barrels are usually rough inside. The barrel on this gun was actually good enough where just burnishing would be OK. But the steel liner makes it very smooth and adds a larger degree of safety. These smooth bore barrels are accurate out to about 50-60 yards. After that, the ball starts to veer sideways due to the lack of rifling. Rick.