Indian Made Fusil de Chasse

[aaalexander]

I have an Indian-made fusil de chasse. I bought it used and have shot it both live and during reenactments for around 5 years. All of the hardware had been browned but I cleaned it all up and got it back to the white. Afterwords, while rubbing down the barrel with a wax/oil mix, I noticed a very slight bulge in the barrel 24 inches from the breech. I confirmed that it was a bulge and not a dent with a straight edge and mic. It is raised about 1mm. Now I am afraid to shoot it.
I am thinking about chopping the barrel and stock down and making a large pistol out of it just for fun. I didn't pay a whole lot for it and I have another, better flintlock.

 

[hawkeye2]

Before cutting up the barrel confirm if there is a corresponding bulge inside the barrel. I was given a mint '63 Springfield replacement barrel made by Numrich because of a bulge about half way down. I unbreeched it and handed to a friend who makes replacement barrels for Maynards to check. He checked and verivfied the bore did not have a bulge inside then turned & polished the bulge off for me. I don't hold Indian guns in high esteem and wouldn't be supprised if it was just a bad job of turning the exterior of the barrel.

 

[PluggedNickel]

Can you feel the jag or ball get loose at that spot when you load it? Can you see that spot getting dirty when you swab it out, and the rest of the bore is clean? 1mm doesn't seem like a lot, but it is in fact .039" give or take a few ten thousands of an inch. That is significant. I would not trust it for live fire either. It would be OK for reenacting though. Still, you say you have been shooting it for 5 years with no troubles. Does the bulge go all the way around the barrel? Or is it just like a bump on one area? I have wondered if you couldn't cause a bump like that shooting tight lead balls with a sprue in a smooth bore? I'm interested to see what others will have to say. Chopping it down would sure get rid of it. Since you don't have much invested in it ,retiring it, or just using it for reenacting ONLY are other options. Like you, I would not trust it for live fire, without further advice from people in the know. You sure can't sell it in that shape, so maybe cutting it down is the best plan after all. I have heard you can't get parts for the Indian made guns. That would make it difficult to re-barrel. I know you can remove dents from shotgun barrels safely, and continue shooting them. But, a bulge is a whole nutter critter to deal with. Always best to err on the side of safety for sure!
Hopefully someone else will reply. Folks don't like to reply to questions like this without some kind of legal disclaimer, such as "I am not a certified gunsmith, information or advice given is opinion only, your safety and the safety of others is solely your responsibility, blah, blah, blah.

 

[PluggedNickel]

Before cutting up the barrel confirm if there is a corresponding bulge inside the barrel. I was given a mint '63 Springfield replacement barrel made by Numrich because of a bulge about half way down. I unbreeched it and handed to a friend who makes replacement barrels for Maynards to check. He checked and verivfied the bore did not have a bulge inside then turned & polished the bulge off for me. I don't hold Indian guns in high esteem and wouldn't be supprised if it was just a bad job of turning the exterior of the barrel.

Before cutting up the barrel confirm if there is a corresponding bulge inside the barrel. I was given a mint '63 Springfield replacement barrel made by Numrich because of a bulge about half way down. I unbreeched it and handed to a friend who makes replacement barrels for Maynards to check. He checked and verivfied the bore did not have a bulge inside then turned & polished the bulge off for me. I don't hold Indian guns in high esteem and wouldn't be supprised if it was just a bad job of turning the exterior of the barrel.

Ha, you posted just before me. Kind of thinking along the same lines.

 

[hawkeye2]

You know that saying about great minds.

 

[Britsmoothy]

My money is on if it is indeed an internal bulge it happened during reanactment !

Many a gun has a rippled barrel with what appears to be bulges and as already mentioned the bore is fine.

 

[Leadball loader]

I have an Indian-made fusil de chasse. I bought it used and have shot it both live and during reenactments for around 5 years. All of the hardware had been browned but I cleaned it all up and got it back to the white. Afterwords, while rubbing down the barrel with a wax/oil mix, I noticed a very slight bulge in the barrel 24 inches from the breech. I confirmed that it was a bulge and not a dent with a straight edge and mic. It is raised about 1mm. Now I am afraid to shoot it.
I am thinking about chopping the barrel and stock down and making a large pistol out of it just for fun. I didn't pay a whole lot for it and I have another, better flintlock.

I own several India muskets that have some appearance of slight bulging on the surface the barrel. They came that way and I believe it is the result of the sizing reamer being forced or bound during manufacture or improper finishing on barrel surface.
The there is no change in the barrels after many round ball discharges. There is no noticeable loosening of a ball being forced down on loading.
I believe the the modern steel construction of these barrels is a
More than adequate for the use intended and the issue is a cosmetic more than safety issue.
Old original guns were not always cosmetically perfect and metal quality much more likely to be questionable.

 

[tenngun]

Have you miched the barrel before? Do you mich often? It may have been a thing there for a long time????

 

[Feltwad]

If it is a bulge a good gun smith would be able to knock it back and lap out the bore . If the bore is ok and the bulge on the outside means the barrel has not been stuck off properly it can be common on repros .
Feltwad

 

[PluggedNickel]

My money is on if it is indeed an internal bulge it happened during reanactment !

Many a gun has a rippled barrel with what appears to be bulges and as already mentioned the bore is fine.

That makes sense as well. 5 years of shooting it makes me think it is extrenal, but getting a gunsmith to take a look seems like good advice at this point.

 

[Grumpa]

Shoot it. If you are worried, start with a lighter charge, and work up to whatever you would normally shoot. But, you shot it before. It's not going to blow up... it didn't blow up when it was ringed -IF, as pointed out, the bulge isn't actually just a surface imperfection and no harm to the bore. If accuracy is not affected, use it. Otherwise, "dispose" of it as above. Or, use it as a loaner to new re-enactors in your group who may not have a firearm yet. (It just has to look "real", and make smoke and noise.)

And, welcome to the Forum.

Richard/Grumpa

 

[Straekat]

For peace of mind, and for safety sake, take it to a gunsmith and have them check it out. It won't be free, but at least you will know for certain whether there is a problem or not.

Legally, loaning or selling a firearm you suspect might be unsafe or risky to use, is problematical and could cause you problems in the future if someone was hurt using it. Even if the fusil is only used to shoot blanks, your knowing or thinking it absolves you of a court case, is best avoided by having a gunsmith or even a machine shop that can magnaflux it for stress lines, check it. That's far cheaper than running the risk of legal bills.

 

[aaalexander]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've done a couple of more things. First I ran a tight cleaning patch down but I did not feel any change in resistance as I passed that area. Second, I have a cheapo endoscope that shows the video on my phone. I ran that down and didn't notice any anomalies either. I guess my next step is taking it to a smith and see what he has to say about it.
A side note, it is pretty cool to look down the barrel all the way to the breech with the endoscope.
Here is the breech (toothpick inserted for scale):

 

[Britsmoothy]

Nothing wrong with it, stop worrying. You done as much as a Smith would.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I doubt you'll find any gunsmith that knows anything about muzzleloaders. I had to show our leading local gunsmith how double set triggers work.

 

[Feltwad]

For piece of mind you can mike the wall thickness but I would say the bore is ok but the outside has not been struck of properly .A good gunsmith should know about all types of muzzle loaders makes one wonder are they apprentice trained gun smiths or just jobbers not meaning any offence.
Feltwad

 

[Straekat]

Complete peace of mind is better than running any risk of having a piece of your mind missing.

 

[hawkeye2]

I doubt you'll find any gunsmith that knows anything about muzzleloaders. I had to show our leading local gunsmith how double set triggers work.

That's bad as cartridge guns have double set triggers too and single set triggers also. Are you sure he isn't a scope installer?

 

[Sicilian Hunter]

Does this mean that India guns are considered tolerable weapons!?

 

[Grenadier1758]

Some of the India made guns are tolerable and some are not. Some are made with out the touch hole drilled to skirt the firearms laws. Some have wood that just doesn't seem right for the firearm.

I have two guns from Loyalist Arms. They were made in India and while I sometimes point out that the Long Land Pattern King's Musket is too heavy, it is a well built musket and performs well for reenactment and shooting of musket ball and occasionally shot. The second is an officer's grade musket being much lighter than the Long Land Pattern is a joy to carry and fun to shoot.

The India made guns should have personal inspection before purchase. The inspection should determine that the parts are sound and important features such as touch holes are drilled in the proper location, the frizzen is hardened and provides a shower of sparks, the bayonet fits to the barrel, and the bore is reasonably straight with no internal bulges.