patches and a dodgy barrel

[Vairochana]

Gday- I was pondering a bit today and one of the things that crossed my mind was the question- can you make up for a dodgy barrel(ie pitted or worn) with the patches you choose, that is if you use a thicker patch (for example) will it grip the grooves better and make up some for the deficit?

Cheers

V

 

[MikeChapin]

I don't think it makes a heck of a lot of difference. I know quite a few people that have cleaned up second hand rifles and they shoot fine. Some they never could get to shoot but I don't know what they were before. Cleaning was a bigger pain than normal because the pitting would hold the crud better than a smooth barrel.

My wifes old CVA Kentucky had a barrel that was rough as a cob. It came from the factory that way. It shot fine but was a pain to clean.

 

[playfarmers]

I have a Lyman Deerstalker with a rough barrel strait from the factory. It is very fussy on what patch and lube I use, and is a brute to clean, but it will shoot very well. I have no problem keeping the groups inside of 2 1/2" at 80 yards. I can't see well enough past 80.

 

[renovato]

I've restored several rust pitted bores by heavy lapping. It didn't get out all of the pits, but it smoothed their sharp edges enough that they shot fine afterwards. You'll need to experiment with patches to fine the best load anyway, so I don't know if a particular patch thickness is needed to compensate. Perhaps a thicker patch would help make up for the slight metal removal that heavy lapping causes.

 

[arcticap]

I'm guessing that using a generous amount of a higher viscosity patch lube (like Wonderlube), or one with better lubricating properties, might help the PRB glide down the barrel better and with less friction. :hmm: