In all sincerity how roughly machined it looks why not obtain a suitable handrail and over a week or so, an hour here an hour there. Polish the spot down and generally polish the bore. Nothing to lose.
Bump/raised spot in smoothbore pistol bore
- Thread starter zneufeld
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I'll give that a try at some point soon. Would it also be possible to hone it by hand (with 1001 strokes, haha)?
I checked the spot where the rear lug is inside the bore, and it is smooth as far as I can tell. No catch or bumps. It seems strange that one would be much worse than the other...perhaps the front one was repaired at some point?
When I do end up shooting it, I plan on relatively light loads anyway...this gun will simply be for occasional plinking. I know one of the recent owners shot it.
Forgive my ignorance...what is a handrail?
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I would line it if I was you to make sure it won't come apart on you. About the only exceptable barrel weld I'm aware of is tig welding the crown of a liner job so the joint won't show. Folks get away with it in rifle barrels because it is at the other end of the pressure pulse when it is lowest just before bullet exit. I don't even care for that as the steel structure and harndness is changed from the rest of the barrel.
The problem with this is it almost always makes a hard spot at the weld which cannot expand the same as the rest of the barrel under hoop stress load of burning powder pressure so it tends to crack away from the parent metal at the joint. It may never come apart or can let go at any time, you just never know. I've made some TIG and MIG welds of low carbon steel that would make a file skip when cleaning it up at the weld.
Just because the previous owner got away with it does not mean it is safe to shoot and you will. The only way to insure safety is to use a liner of barrel steel that has not been compromised in strength.
I think you maybe overthinking it. That is just my opinion so please, is there any case studies or tests done with a similar muzzleloader that confirms your concerns?
Thanks for the advice and concern. Where might I find some instructions/info on the barrel lining process?
May I suggest you simply package the barrel and mail it to Hoyt along with a letter. Leave the solution entirely to him. He will do whatever is necessary and return it. His work is absolutely the best and the barrel will be both safe and dimensionally correct. The cost will be more than reasonable and if it were mine I wouldn't even bother to call and find out how much. Usually I just hand him a barrel and say "this is what I have and this is what I would like but do whatever you have to do to make it shoot and be safe" and pay the bill when I get it back.
R. A. (Bobby) Hoyt
Freischutz Shop
2379 Mt. Hope Rd.
Fairfield, PA 17320-9756
(717) 642-6696
R. A. (Bobby) Hoyt
Freischutz Shop
2379 Mt. Hope Rd.
Fairfield, PA 17320-9756
(717) 642-6696
Thanks for that info, hawkeye. I'll consider that, but I also have an email out to TRS (they requested to see it when I asked them about drawings of their Sea Service kit), and if it would work, another option would be to get a replacement barrel from them. They cost $150...not sure how that would compare with Hoyt's price to fix it.
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Lining needs to be done professionally or at least by someone who has experience and the machinery and tooling for it. Hoyt is an excellent choice.
Get the protrusion out first and see what happened. proceed based on that.
Robby
Robby
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I’m with Zonie on this one. It’s easy to overthink unfamiliar (potentially explosive) things.
Shortly after I joined a BP club to learn how to shoot my first ML build I ran across an old revolver a buddy gave me decades earlier.
It was a rusty mess with a dog-knot (bulge) in the barrel. My buddy in his exuberant youth decided to shoot out a stuck ball. We both figured it for a paperweight. (you had to point it down or the cylinder wouldn’t advance. Broken hand spring, easy fix) Not so easy was replacing the nipples, that took around 2 months of every penetrating oil on the market- save your money, all you need is Kroil and a blue wrench.
When I finally got that Armi San Marco paperweight cleaned up (never even considered shooting it!) I took it to the range to see if anyone had papers they needed held down. They looked at it and said “put 15 grains in it, see what it’ll do... here’s some .454” balls”
It shot such a nice group one of the guys said “I’m thinking of putting a bulge in mine, it’s never shot that well”
Sorry to threadjack, what made me think of that old ASM is the factory installed front sight was drilled and tapped all the way thru the barrel, there was still a bump where the sight protruded when my bud gave it to me.
Shortly after I joined a BP club to learn how to shoot my first ML build I ran across an old revolver a buddy gave me decades earlier.
It was a rusty mess with a dog-knot (bulge) in the barrel. My buddy in his exuberant youth decided to shoot out a stuck ball. We both figured it for a paperweight. (you had to point it down or the cylinder wouldn’t advance. Broken hand spring, easy fix) Not so easy was replacing the nipples, that took around 2 months of every penetrating oil on the market- save your money, all you need is Kroil and a blue wrench.
When I finally got that Armi San Marco paperweight cleaned up (never even considered shooting it!) I took it to the range to see if anyone had papers they needed held down. They looked at it and said “put 15 grains in it, see what it’ll do... here’s some .454” balls”
It shot such a nice group one of the guys said “I’m thinking of putting a bulge in mine, it’s never shot that well”
Sorry to threadjack, what made me think of that old ASM is the factory installed front sight was drilled and tapped all the way thru the barrel, there was still a bump where the sight protruded when my bud gave it to me.
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Many a bulged barrel shot better after becoming bulged.
Update for this thread: finally sent the barrel to Mr. Hoyt a couple weeks ago, with a letter explaining the situation. I'll let y'all know how it works out!
Woody Morgan
62 Cal.
That bore sure looks pretty. Day and night difference!
Bobby Hoyt to the rescue.
wm
Bobby Hoyt to the rescue.
wm
