Anybody bend a TC barrel?

[crankshaft]

Years ago I saw a vid of CF rifle making at the Savage plant. A guy took each rifle bbl off the line and eyeball down it, tapped it a little with a small hammer, rechecked.
There are threads with bending smoothie bbls in a tree fork.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I solved the problem of the gun shooting high. Going through the drawer full of long ago discarded M/L parts (we all have one) I found an newer TC Hawken rear sight. This sight sits about 1/8" lower bottomed out than the ancient one that was on my gun. It only has one mounting screw where my old one had two but this was a good thing because I could use the existing forward hole and move my sight forward about 1 1/2", better for these old eyes.

Bottomed out I hit about 1" low and actually had to raise my rear sight a little to be on.

Checking after all the good advice I found I indeed have runout on this barrel. Measuring with my digital calipers I have .012+ thicker walls on the bottom flat opposed to the top.

 

[Le Loup]

I built an old TC kit gun my dad had in a closet for 35+ years, it came out really nice.

View attachment 840

I was going to leave it pristine but decided a closet queen wasn't my thing and sighted it in yesterday. I had to run the back sight all the way to the left to center the group. With the rear sight bottomed out the gun shot 5" high at 25 yards with 70gr of 2F, a 490 ball and a .018 denim patch, it shot just about through the same hole but high. With a 235gr maxie it was a couple inches high but I prefer a round ball, never liked maxies much or their punishing recoil in a TC.

It looks like I could buy a taller front sight or bend the barrel, Anybody bend one of these short(hawkens)barrels. I am a tinkerer and like a challenge. Oh, the crown looks really good, no damage or irregularities.

I had the same problem with the first TC that I purchased, the bore was off center. I had the rear sight on one side of the barrel & the front sight on the other side & still it would not shoot straight. Complain the TC & ask for a new barrel. Doesn't matter if the warranty is out of date, the product is faulty. Return it to the makers.
Keith.

 

[Eric Krewson]

Smith and Wesson doesn't honor any of the former TC warranties and my barrel is pre-warning, very old. I am happy with the way is shoots now with the new rear sight.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I may have it wrong but I understand the bending is very slight, just a few thousands.

OK, mebbe it can be done. Never encountered it with rifles. Go ahead but not in public. Just the idea of bending a rifle barrel gives me the puckers.