.40 caliber GM IBS Barrel questions

[Ironwood]

I'm thinking about buying the Green Mountain drop in barrel for my TC Pennsylvania Hunter.  If you have had some experience with this barrel I would appreciate some help on deciding which barrel to get. 

How about the 38" barrel over the 32"?  Does the 38" barrel make the rifle way to nose heavy?

Does the 38" barrel look good in the half stock rifle?

I already cast balls for my .50 caliber so I'm thinking about buying a Lee mould.  What size ball works best for your barrel, .375, .390, or .495?

Did the barrel just "drop in" or did you have to do a little work to get it to fit?

Lastly how was the accuracy with your barrel?  Everything I've read about the GM barrels has been good.  What load/patch/lube/ball worked best for you?

[roundball]

I got a GM .40cal Flint drop-in barrel for a TC Hawken stock...this one dropped right in but on a couple of other barrels, due to slight variations in TC stocks, I've had to remove the under rib and file off 1/16" of the end just in front of the brass nose cap so it would clear it...10 minute job.

That tiny bore in a 15/16" barrel makes it heavy...I got the .32" and am glad I did...IMO the .38" would have been way too heavy for still hunting, and possibly even extended range shooting.

CAUTION:
GM has been struggling with the after effects of a new and poor quality drilling & tapping process they implemented a couple years ago...had a big barrel recall...ran out of good replacement breech plugs and tried to "fix" the defective ones by first installing a "helicoil" then screwing in the nipple or vent.

IMO, I'd refuse to accept a barrel with a helicoil...call Kerry Smith at GM, ext #18, and tell her...their party line is that it's "even stronger" but in the end they always agree to replace it for you no charge.

[captchee]

 I  agree with RB .
as to what  is  causing   GM barrels problems i cant say.
 Their quality has dropped to the point i have stopped  offering them on the rifles I build.  Hopefully they will get the issues resolved and get back on track . However to date I see no real interest from GM in doing so . nor do I feel it will happen any time soon . As long as the  vast majority of barrels being produced  by them  are for folks like” Knight “ , then that’s what will be taken care of first IMO

[Ironwood]

Roundball, Captchee  thanks for the input.  Now I'm really confused.   Catchee are you suggesting that I should not buy the barrel?  Has the accuracy gone to pot in the GM barrels?

[captchee]

Catchee are you suggesting that I should not buy the barrel?  Has the accuracy gone to pot in the GM barrels?
 

 
what am i suggesting ?,,, im not suggesting anything , lol . You can  do as you like .
 Has the accuracy gone ? I hope not . However myself I cannot afford to have customers ask why  their 1200.00 rifle has a heli coil  or why the writing is backwards .
 That leaves me with no choice but to  spend more time on a piece that im already  making next to nothing on  but  fixing bad threads , replacing breech plugs or rolling the barrel to hide a manufactures  name   which  someday will get seen and the questioned anyway  .


 There are other barrel makers out there  that can provide me with good reasonable barrels .
 For a few bucks  more , much better barrels .
 Like  Oregon barrels , Shiloh barrels,  Getz , Rice or Long hammock      just  to name a few .
 Lets also not forget  many of them will cut the rifling specifically to your request just like Montana barrels used to do before they became GM  and give a quality product for their labor . Just like GM used to do before  it was bought out by the same Corporation that  also owns the modern muzzleloading  weapons company known as ,Knight and whom GM makes  the largest % of their barrels for
 .
 If you asking me what  company to use  for a new barrel ? Any of the above .
If you asking do I purchase from GM , the answer is I did but I don’t now .
I offer  Oregon barrels  and anything else is a custom order  .

 I just feel that if im purchasing a new barrel , it should be correct .  don’t get me wrong here , accidents happen . However selling barrels with bad breech threads or replacing crossed threads with a helical  or  and then trying to pass it of to non suspecting folks at 100% new cost ,is no accident .
 they can blaim it on whom or what ever they like , however i submit  that in order for a heli coil to get  in the bolster , someone had to know there was a problem  and not care enough to  keep the defective and IMO improperly repaired  item from being sent out .thats not quality in my book
 anyway  thats my 2 cent

 Call these folks , tell them what you want . most likly they can you up .
http://www.thegunworks.com/.

 If your willing to pay alittle more  and can do the work yourself  or can pay  to have the work done so the barrel is a drop in then I would call Barbie chambers down at buckeye barrels 
http://www.buckeyebarrels.com/home.htm

[Ironwood]

Thanks for you input Captchee,  I can't see putting a custom barrel in a TC PA Hunter stock and lock.  The complete rifle only cost me $200.00.  All I want is a small caliber barrel that will shoot accurately at a reasonable price.  The .40 caliber GM drop in 32" barrel is listed on there website at $178.50.  My 70 year old eyes can't do all that much tack driving anyway.

Roundball thanks for the input on the long barrel.  I know the 32" .50 caliber barrel is a little nose heavy to start with.  Like you said, I was thinking the smaller bore would make it even worse.  Thanks for the heads up on the Heli-Coil patch work.

[roundball]

Roundball, Captchee  thanks for the input.  Now I'm really confused.   Catchee are you suggesting that I should not buy the barrel?  Has the accuracy gone to pot in the GM barrels?

I have the following GM drop-in barrels:

.40cal Flint rifled bore
.54cal Flint smooth bore
.58cal Flint rifled bore
.62cal Flint smooth bore
.62cal Flint rifled bore

Every one of them is an excellent barrel...the three rifled barrels are exceedingly accurate...nothing wrong with them what-so-ever.
The only thing that's happened is the issue of the helicoil repair that's cropped up is all...and I simply won't have one with a helicoil in it.
Get your GM barrel...without a helicoil...and you'll be fine.

[Ironwood]

I finally got around to ordering the GM barrel today.  Lucked out too, because Track of the Wolf has a special on today.  Free shipping for orders over $100.    Looks like the only barrels available have the Heli-Coil fix.   What the heck, I'll just have to see how it shoots.  There's still about 4 weeks left on our spring squirrel season.  I may get a chance to see how well it works for squirrels.

Just wondering if about 30 grains of FFFG Goex would be a pretty hot load for the .40 with a patched roundball?