Rifle shoots to one side

[Howard Pippin]

Someplace on here I seen some information about filing the end of the barrel to make a rifle shoot more on target. I have a 45 caliber percussion who shoots 6 inches to the right side out of the clean barrel at 50 yards. As soon as the barrel gets dirtied up, it shoots on target. The rifling is almost gone on The left side of the barrel on the tip. The gun must of been stored before I purchased it with the barrel down on something damp as it took the bluing off the end also. It's a Lyman from roughly 1973. If I removed most of the rifling on the right side, would that make a difference? Would appreciate any comments on this particular issue
. Squint

 

[Col. Batguano]

If you remove some rifling on the right side, the resulting "blow by" will push the ball to the left. What ever you try, make sure to go very very slowly. Shoot, file a little bit, swab and clean, shoot again.

 

[SDSmlf]

A coning tool may even up the rifling at muzzle enough to eliminate your issue. Maybe go a little bit further into the bore with coning than normal. Don’t see coning making things worse.

Have you considered shorting the barrel?

 

[Crow-Feather]

Someplace on here I seen some information about filing the end of the barrel to make a rifle shoot more on target. I have a 45 caliber percussion who shoots 6 inches to the right side out of the clean barrel at 50 yards. As soon as the barrel gets dirtied up, it shoots on target. The rifling is almost gone on The left side of the barrel on the tip. The gun must of been stored before I purchased it with the barrel down on something damp as it took the bluing off the end also. It's a Lyman from roughly 1973. If I removed most of the rifling on the right side, would that make a difference? Would appreciate any comments on this particular issue
. Squint

Well Squint, many rifles do not shoot on target until a fouling shot is made. Mine included. If my second to forever shots are on target, I shoot the first shot into the ground and then enjoy my range day. When the barrel dirties up, you're going to shoot 6 inches to the right.

 

[rich pierce]

For hunting, the first shot is what matters. And it must shoot very close to subsequent shots (within 2” at 50 yards). I’d lose the barrel.

 

[Howard Pippin]

Thanks for all comments, I did consider shortening the barrel as it is plenty long, about 30 inches, but I thought it would be fun to experiment with it first, and I think I will try removing a little rifling and see what that does. From other posts, I thought that was possible but I wasn't certain. I would think a plus side would be that it would make loading easier. I don't have much use for the rifle, but I would like to fix it. As you know I live in Montana and right now we have 3-4 inches of snow on the ground and it's about 18 above so some of this is going to have to wait. Muzzleloader's have taught me patience.

 

[andy52]

Cutting the barrel would be the simplest way to solve the issue.
Cutting a barrel is relatively easy, crowning it is a little harder with the right tools. You don't need a lathe to do a good job just a few simple hand tools. Here is a photo of what I use for that job.
The larger cutter squares the end of the barrel after cutting and the smaller one cuts a 45-degree angle on the interior. The tee handle I made is a piece of brass round stock and you'll need a pilot for the caliber you're working with.