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Most of the well known barrel makers (Douglas, Shilen, etc) either don’t produce this twist or don’t make a .32/8mm barrel at all.

Doesn’t need to be octagon, could just be a blank….

Thank you in advance for any assistance. I failed to acknowledge all the great replies to my recent query regarding rimfire rolling blocks, for which I’m a bit embarrassed….

Otony

Actually, I would be quite happy with 30”, perhaps 32” maximum.

I will check with CPA tomorrow, thank you!

I used that Green Mountain example because it is more or less what I’m searching for.

I’m also going to give the fellows at PacNor a jingle tomorrow, as they advertise being open to creating barrels with twists other than what they typically stock. They are less than two hours from me, an easy drive along the coast!

I would definitely check with CPA to see what they have in stock.  They will also profile your barrel for you.

I've been happy with my Douglas barrels from CPA.  I wouldn't take a chance with Green Mountain.  I have a couple of them.  One is good, but holds a lot of fouling, and the other is really bad. Large defects in the rifling that you can feel with a tight patch. 

Chris.

Well, I ordered a barrel blank from Douglas. It is 31.5” and will finish out at 30”.

8mm, with a 0.315 bore and .0323 grooves. 14” twist

I can already hear folks saying “what?” 

I had referenced the Green Mountain barrel in my original post because it was “close” to what I wanted to accomplish. Not exact, but certainly usable if necessary.

You might wonder what I’m doing, and I can only say it is one of my usual flights of fancy. That means outside the norm, and I have very seldom ever been described as normal.

I have an extremely clean Husqvarna rolling block dated 1873, that I wish to use to build an 8.15x46R target rifle.

My intention is to make all my cases from the hundreds and hundreds of pieces of .30-30 brass I have here (obviously only a few will be needed, not hundreds and hundreds).

In all the years I’ve been reading about this cartridge, what I’ve seen reported for bore size, groove depth, bullet diameters, and throats has impressed me as an “anything goes” proposition. Even twist rates vary, although 14.7 seems to be at least fairly commonly reported.

I just needed to select a barrel and construct my cartridges to fit.

The GM barrel would have worked, as would the .32 Douglas that CPA has, but I had it in my mind to purchase a barrel that was an 8mm. Call it tradition, although I would hardly describe building a rolling block Schuetzen in 8.15x46R as anything remotely resembling traditional.

My thought is to have this blank turned to resemble the very pleasing style of the Swedish made 8x58R barrel the Husky currently wears, that is an octagonal breech that tapers to a round barrel. The round section will be of a bit heavier diameter, more similar to what one might see on a Germanic schuetzen.

I’ve had numerous full on custom bolt actions built, as well as a couple of single shot sporters built on Ruger action. Also quite a few flintlocks by Ron Scott and Steve Hughes. I was a regular at the Custom Gunmakers Guild shows for years, and sold quite a bit of walnut to many of the builders displaying there.

That is not to brag, I was pretty much always broke and scraping up the means to indulge myself in those days. What I mean to say now is that building a custom rifle won’t be my first rodeo. 

However it will be my first custom schuetzen, and I’ve gone ahead and picked a red-headed step child to please myself.

I need, please, some recommendations for a few things, but I see I’ve run out of space, so I shall continue this below.

Sounds like an interesting project.  I'm sure you'll be happy with that barrel.   

One other place I forgot to mention ( not that it matters now ) was the Borchardt Rifle Company.  This morning I was shooting a highwall that Steven Durren built for me using one of their barrels.  It's quite a good barrel.  It's accurate and cleans up very easily. 

Chris.

That is a very good suggestion!

I think it’s obvious I need all the help I can get! 

.22Hepburn wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2025 at 8:28pm:


I wanted one of their .22RF full round barrels in 1.21" diameter and 27" long. Out of stock, but I put in a back order in July and in September I got it. A whopping $92 at their Sept. sale too.