Did this last week, mid barrel, ended up with 20 thou. that took. Rifle was uncorrectable with sights, 6” R at 45 yds. Too cold here to shoot it to see effect. This is a safe, controlled way to bend a barrel.
Gun don't shoot
- Thread starter Rawhide67
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Yes, it fires. i guess I saw a difference in the word shoot as opposed to fire. Should have chosen a title like, “ groups ok but just off the target.”
Old sorta gunsmith in Lohman, Missouri showed me how to determine if a barrel was bent on a single-barrelled shotgun. He had a long stick with a string. Tied string to one end of the stick, ran the string through the barrel. Bent the stick like a bow, which made the string taut inside the barrel which was clamped in his bench vise.
With a light shining from the breech, when you look through the muzzle, the taut string showed if the barrel was bent and where. Piece of chalk marked the spot on the outside of the barrel. He also showed me a simple test - rest the barrel on a solid, straight surface (shop table top) and roll it. That was an old break-action, round barrelled gun. A flatsided octagonal barrel'd be simple. Swamped barrel - don't know.
I had to leave before he straightened that old barrel, so I don't know how he intended to fix it, or if it even worked. He drank a lot of beer and sometimes the truth was not in him. Wrecked his big Honda motorcycle in Alaska in his 70's, never quite the same after that. His "specialty" was altering shotguns for "card shooting" matches (meat shoots) where the tightest chokes and accuracy were paramount. Anyway ..it worked.
With a light shining from the breech, when you look through the muzzle, the taut string showed if the barrel was bent and where. Piece of chalk marked the spot on the outside of the barrel. He also showed me a simple test - rest the barrel on a solid, straight surface (shop table top) and roll it. That was an old break-action, round barrelled gun. A flatsided octagonal barrel'd be simple. Swamped barrel - don't know.
I had to leave before he straightened that old barrel, so I don't know how he intended to fix it, or if it even worked. He drank a lot of beer and sometimes the truth was not in him. Wrecked his big Honda motorcycle in Alaska in his 70's, never quite the same after that. His "specialty" was altering shotguns for "card shooting" matches (meat shoots) where the tightest chokes and accuracy were paramount. Anyway ..it worked.
The string might work in checking the bore. I don't have any idea how to check the outside, dont even know if you could. I assume it's draw filed by hand and that probably introduces alot of inconsistency.
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Ultimately, it's the bore that needs to be straight, not the outside flats
Is the barrel swamped or straight?
Lay a straight edge along each flat…
If the barrel is swamped in my opinion… it could have been damaged/ slightly warped before being installed on the gun..
Lay a straight edge along each flat…
If the barrel is swamped in my opinion… it could have been damaged/ slightly warped before being installed on the gun..
I had a good discussion with Rice just now. We should regard barrel bending as an action of last resort. First remedial steps suggested are to elongate the pin holes in the under lugs to allow for stock flexing with changes in temperature and humidity. Second, remove the lock and mount the gun on a bench from the breech end, remove the forward most pin and observe for any relaxation movement in the barrel or stock. This would indicate a high spot in the barrel channel that is causing distortion and tension when the pin is in place. Repeat this with the other pins in sequence from front to back. Eliminate any high spots identified.
I will wait for the snow to melt so I can get to the bench for evaluation of any alterations I make.
I will wait for the snow to melt so I can get to the bench for evaluation of any alterations I make.
Owner called a little bit ago to say that he was just off the phone with Colerain. They said to send the barrel back for inspection. That may be where this is headed. I will update this post with any input from Colerain.
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