Replacing my barrel

[Dr5x]

RowdyJoe.
I am surprised that del cast balls didn't do better than the swaged balls.
I suggest that you get a scale that weighs in grains and start eliminating any and all light weightsKeep experimenting
A less than 1 inch group at 100 yards is pretty spectacular.
I quit experimenting when on wind less days I could get a group at 100 yards that I could cover with a quarter./

Dutch

 

[Dr5x]

Replacing Barrels
Back in the '70's when I first began blowing smoke and was getting shotgun patterns I came to believe that the problem had to be a defective barrel. Certainly not my loading procedure or any other personal shortcoming. I saw an ad in Muzzle Blasts and ordered a replacement tip in .45 barrel that was 2 or so inches longer than the original barrel that came with my kit built TC HawkenAfter an unusually long delay the new one arrived amazingly was able to recreate those same shotgun patterns instead of any kind of acceptable group. During the delay I had learned some new things to experiment and shortly the groups began to look more like "groups" and not scatter gun products. . I subsequently learned that I had purchased a replacement barrel from the same people who were producing the barrels supplied in the kits made by Thompson/Center
The extra length of the new barrel seemed to change the appearance of the rifle to where people thought it was an "old timer"

A barrel should be straight, with NOnarrow or wide spots, easily tested by running a fairly tight fitting jag with a few patches attached and slowly run down the barrel with just the weight of your arm being very sensitive about the smoothness of its decent. You can create wide spots by short starting and NOT seating the ball and patch all the way down on the powder charge. This ruins the barrel and That's when you strt looking for a replacement barrel.

 

[rowdyjoe]

Hi Dutch, thanks for the info.
I am weighing the cast RB and getting a variety of weights. My first group of about 140 balls produced 2 weight groups ...181 to 181.9 grain and 182 to 183. I have not shot any of the "light group" and the "heavy group" results are not quite as accurate as the swaged. The Hornady swaged RB are more consistent in weight and all are around 182.5 grains.
The second group of cast RB produced three weight groups. The heaviest is more than 183 grains and I'm almost afraid to use them due to the effort required to get them down the bore due to the larger diameter. I really don't want to use a hammer. The mid weight group is very close to 182.5 grain consistently and the lightest group is 181 to 181.9 grain.
The only difference between the casting sessions was a cooler pot temp. I don't have a thermometer but, the first batch was cast using a setting of around 8 on the Lee 10 lb. pot and the temp setting for the second batch was about 6.5. I am using a Lee .495 two ball mold.
As for the sub 1 inch group, it's a goal not a necessity but, I think my rifle will do it if I can.

 

[rowdyjoe]

I replaced my barrel because the one that came with this used rifle was so badly pitted it was tearing a hole in the patches regardless of the material or thickness or lube. I bought the current barrel new from Deer Creek and am very happy with it so far.
In the future, I may have the old barrel bored to a larger caliber. The current one is .50 cal.

 

[Dr5x]

You had a good reason to replace your ballel. I demonstrated a poor reason when I figured my wretched groups were the barrel\s fault. What I needed was slightly thicker patches.

A local gentleman purchased a used rifle that was quite fetching in appearance but could do nothing with it. . It was so bad I had him run a jag with 2 or 3 patches on it and had him slide this slowly down the barrel looking for a wide spot. He found three.
The previous owner had loaded but fully seated the patched ball on the powder. One time he fired with the patched ball about halfway down. This creates a wide spot and essentially ruined the barrel and the entire rifle
Befor buying any used rifle. Always run a tight fitting jag and patches down and if you find a wide spot, don't buy unless you want to replace the barrel.

Dutch

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have a Rice barrel with tight or loose spots in the barrel that always shot poorly. I did fire a short started (just had cut the patch and forgot to ram home) ball once that went "bloop" instead of bang.

The gun was a poor shooter before I fired the short round.

I used Rem oil in the bore and found the bore had rusted and pitted a little. Realizing the barrel was toast I attacked it with soft scrub and a scotch bright pad and could actually see metal coming out on the pad. A check with my bore camera showed rounded edges on the lands and the pitting minimized.

After the vicious scrubbing, I tried the gun out expecting it to be worse off than before. To my surprise it it now shot a cloverleaf at 50 yards where it had been shooting about a 4" group with occasional fliers that were off the chart.

The barrel still has tight or loose spots but sure does shoot well.

 

[rowdyjoe]

Great advice Dutch.
Not being the brightest bulb in the chandelier, I bought mine from an on-line auction site. So, I didn't have an opportunity to do a hands-on inspection. The seller said it had "some pitting near the muzzle". That's the longest dang muzzle I've ever seen. I should have known better.
However, I bought it at a decent price and the money I've spent replacing the lock assy, trigger assy, and barrel is less than the price of a new gun. Besides, I wouldn't have learned near as much about how these side locks work if I had bought a new one. So, this learning experience wasn't too bad (I've had worse ).
I'm still learning and having fun doing it. If I ever get groups at 100yds I can cover with a quarter, I'll quit too.

 

[rowdyjoe]

I'm amazed at what these barrels will do when their condition would indicate junk. You would not believe what the bore of my old barrel looks like. It is the very definition of "sewer pipe" but, it would shoot 2" groups at 50yds with the right combo of RB, patch, and lube. The spent patches all had a hole ripped right through the middle of them (every one, regardless of material or lube). I"m not sure it would be worthwhile boring it to a larger size but, I may let a gunsmith have a crack at it one day.
The new barrel is exactly the opposite of the old one and I'm very happy with it.

 

[Dr5x]

If you are getting 2 inch groups at 50 with your wretched over pitted barrel . I'm not certain that you should disregard ut..

A rifle is a barrel. Then there is the lock mechanism to make it fire and then the stock to hold it all together

TThe fact that you are getting ripped shooting patches is of little or no interest if you were getting worthwhile groups.


The dry patch System employing Ballistol is to prevent vertical strings of hits caused by varying degrees of lubrication. nothing more

I am glad you are happy and yes, it is fun to watch what the effect of controlling each variable has on you grouping.

When I was coaching at the range I was able to get some very good results from some Gawdawful beat up junk rifles people brought to the range.

It all depended on the barrel which is the soul of every rifle.

Dutch Schoultz