Well I got the Smoothbore, but now...

[French Colonial]

Please tell me you did not bang it against a tree or something similar.

 

[Travis186]

Dents!! How you getting dents?

I can see this barrel looking like a monkeys tale soon

Easy thunder, they're likely not even dents. They look like mottling in the browning under the woodline and can't be felt in the bore with a jag. Could be where the leather I put between the soft jaws of my vice rubbed the browning. The only thing that's going to look like a monkeys tail is my attitude with assumptions about what I'm doing to the barrel of this smoothbore.

Please tell me you did not bang it against a tree or something similar.

One of the top rifle builders in the country Randy Selby straightens bent barrels that way, so maybe I should have went that route instead of over complication.

 

[French Colonial]

I don't care how a "top builder in the country" does it, slamming it against a tree is wrong. Good to know though, Randy Selby has just been added to the list of gunsmiths I will never trust.

Call up Pedersoli and Anschutz and tell them they should stop what they are doing and start whacking their barrels against trees, that should get a good laugh

 

[Travis186]

I don't care how a "top builder in the country" does it, slamming it against a tree is wrong. Good to know though, Randy Selby has just been added to the list of gunsmiths I will never trust.

Call up Pedersoli and Anschutz and tell them they should stop what they are doing and start whacking their barrels against trees, that should get a good laugh

I grew up around the aerospace industry and my family owned a company that manufactured helicopter masts. We straightened them very similar to how pedersoli does rifle barrels, except with a hydraulic press and dial indicators. Those barrels are out of straight from the heat treating process the barrels are put thru and the stresses from broach rifling. At the end of the day, the man straightening the barrels in their video is still doing it by eye sight, and there is no "precision" involved. It's the same as tapping the barrel on a log, up against a tree, or putting it in a soft jawed vise until the desired effect is achieved and there are no longer shadows in the bore from the barrel favoring one direction or the other.

While bending (adjusting?) a smoothbore barrel is still a new concept to me, precision working of metal is not. Would I adjust one of my douglas or badger barrels in this manner? No.

 

[Britsmoothy]

The only thing that's going to look like a monkeys tail is my attitude with assumptions about what I'm doing to the barrel of this smoothbore.

Hey tiger, you mentioned dents first my friend, what were you expecting people to assume?

Anyway I'm glad your happy.

 

[Travis186]

Hey tiger, you mentioned dents first my friend, what were you expecting people to assume?

Anyway I'm glad your happy.

I'm being honest about the process and how it's going, for posterity, not assumptions. If there was no ill intent in your statement then I apologize for getting "bent" out of shape with you.

Pulled out the gauge and dent removal kit and pulled the breech plug. There was something there, moved the needle about .003. It's gone now, and since I had the breech plug out I assessed the bore and it appears to be perfectly straight at this point, exterior, and interior. The bore on this fusil was perfect to begin with, but since I had the breech plug out I decided to lap it a little and it's so shiny it hurts the eyes now... fouling should have a hard time sticking. As stated, I'll report back, maybe today.

 

[Woody Morgan]

What did you shine it up with?

wm

 

[Travis186]

What did you shine it up with?

wm

Going with the theme of the thread, I REALLY want to say 80 grit emery cloth, but just good ol' Iosso paste and a lot of elbow grease.

Spent a good 3.5 hours at the range today, and shot this thing over all about 50 times. The last adjustment session didn't do much for POI, it's still about 2" right at 25 yards, and about 4" high, so instead I just focused on load development. I settled on a charge of 85gr of Olde Eynsford 2F, with a .600 pure lead round ball stuffed right on top of it, with a heavily mink oiled, tight fitting ball of tow right on top of the ball to hold it in place. This yielded consistent groups, dirty, or squeaky clean, of about 2.5" at 25 yards, and surprisingly, the same results at 50 yards except it hits perfect point of aim. My deer and pig load is officially worked up and I'm happy.

Now for what makes me not happy, I still can't get this thing to shoot #6 shot well. I've tried various charges and wad combinations but it still seems to shoot high and right with shot. I have one load that shoots well enough at 25 yards, but I feel like it could be better. I'm going to try making some paper shot cups and see how that works out. I could be expecting too much from a cylinder bore smoothie.

 

[barracudadave67]

Sounds like your making progess. Do what ever works.

Dave

 

[Travis186]

Well it took time, but it appears the barrel has memory and moved back over time. We're back to shooting about 7" right and high now. Shot is fine. I've got some solder on the way from TOTW, and brownells. Guess it's time to move the front sight.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Just file the muzzle, if it doesn't work you've lost nothing.
Never ceases to amaze me how people will physically bend a barrel but touch the muzzle! Paganism, sorcery, black magic, sacrilegious

 

[Brokennock]

Just file the muzzle, if it doesn't work you've lost nothing.
Never ceases to amaze me how people will physically bend a barrel but touch the muzzle! Paganism, sorcery, black magic, sacrilegious

It's way to easy to file the muzzle square again if the adjustment isn't quite right. So why do that when you can thump you chest and say, "oh just haul on that barrel and bend it," (insert Tim Allen grunting.) Then if you've gone too far,,, bend it again? Keep doing that until your barrel looks like a slalom ski course.

 

[William Lincoln]

Wonder if Hoyt could correct it better than a forked tree?

 

[Travis186]

Just file the muzzle, if it doesn't work you've lost nothing.
Never ceases to amaze me how people will physically bend a barrel but touch the muzzle! Paganism, sorcery, black magic, sacrilegious

I'm 100% comfortable with recrowning a rifle barrel, and have done it multiple times and possess the tools to do so. I am not familiar with filing a smoothbore barrel to impart a POI shift. If you know how, please inform me if you don't mind. I genuinely want to know, as I will try it.

It's way to easy to file the muzzle square again if the adjustment isn't quite right. So why do that when you can thump you chest and say, "oh just haul on that barrel and bend it," (insert Tim Allen grunting.) Then if you've gone too far,,, bend it again? Keep doing that until your barrel looks like a slalom ski course.

But who doesn't want their smoothbore barrel to look like a Georgia road map? That's the historical way!

Wonder if Hoyt could correct it better than a forked tree?

This is what I will do after deer/squirrel season most likely.

 

[Brokennock]

I'm 100% comfortable with recrowning a rifle barrel, and have done it multiple times and possess the tools to do so. I am not familiar with filing a smoothbore barrel to impart a POI shift. If you know how, please inform me if you don't mind. I genuinely want to know, as I will try it.

But who doesn't want their smoothbore barrel to look like a Georgia road map? That's the historical way!

This is what I will do after deer/squirrel season most likely.

@Britsmoothy is your "go to" guy on this one. He has done it and has explained it before. He can definitely explain it better than I can.

Please don't misunderstand. I am not flat out against bending a barrel,,,,, as a last resort,,,,,, with a very controlled process,,,,, as a last resort.
What bothers me about these conversations, and really blows my mind, is, as Britsmoothy mentioned,,, the way so many people flip out over the idea of filling the muzzle. The amount filed is so small, and risks no other damage. It is easily corrected right back to where one started. But, people freak out and the very mention of it. Basically put their fingers in their ears, stomp their feet, saying, "la la la la la, I can't hear you, it can't work, it's heresy and witchraft."

 

[Britsmoothy]

I'm 100% comfortable with recrowning a rifle barrel, and have done it multiple times and possess the tools to do so. I am not familiar with filing a smoothbore barrel to impart a POI shift. If you know how, please inform me if you don't mind. I genuinely want to know, as I will try it.

Just vent a portion of the muzzle via bevelling or filling a cresent on the OPPOSITE side you wish to move the impact.
The change in direction will be away from the early venting gasses.

 

[stikshooter]

How do I make it shoot straight? As you can see, the gun shoots great, but for me, it shoots high and right, even with shot. I was able to play with my sight picture a little bit and bring this bad boy down to zero, but whose to say in the "heat of the moment" I'll be able to to maintain that sight picture? The gun in question is a Centermark Fusil.

I flung that shot closest to the black, but this is the load. 90gr of Olde Eynsford 2f, .600 roundball dropped onto the powder, held in place by a wad of flax tow at 25 yards. This is repeatable, tested this more than once, same results until I started playing with different sight pictures, so I'm not asking for load ideas here.

View attachment 99738

So with all that being said here, what should I do? Install a rear sight? I can't do anything with the front sight as it's soldered. Just keep using the sight picture that brings it down to zero, and stop pole vaulting over a mouse turd?

I would try different charges/wads before anything else ,for me it changes POA/Ed

 

[Travis186]

Just vent a portion of the muzzle via bevelling or filling a cresent on the OPPOSITE side you wish to move the impact.
The change in direction will be away from the early venting gasses.

I'm assuming the "crown" or inner bevel of the bore and not the outside correct? I imagine this would be very subtle filing as well? Half round file?

I would try different charges/wads before anything else ,for me it changes POA/Ed

After burning 2lbs of now extinct Olde Eynsford, I'm confident there is nothing I can do via load at this point to move that round ball 7".

 

[Britsmoothy]

I'm assuming the "crown" or inner bevel of the bore and not the outside correct? I imagine this would be very subtle filing as well? Half round file?

Yes sir. Dremmel, half round file, round file for bevelling or a flat file for going across the muzzle bias more to the appropriate side of the muzzle ( best on thin walled muzzles. )
Once happy with the results polish it all up.
If it does not work as hoped return it to your satisfaction, nothing lost.

 

[Travis186]

Yes sir. Dremmel, half round file, round file for bevelling or a flat file for going across the muzzle bias more to the appropriate side of the muzzle ( best on thin walled muzzles. )
Once happy with the results polish it all up.
If it does not work as hoped return it to your satisfaction, nothing lost.

Excellent. Much appreciated and I will give it a shot. You know, the muzzle does look a little thicker on one side, but I figured it was my eye sight/glasses throwing it off. Maybe this will finally give me the fix I needed. Makes sense too, because if looking down the bore it's appears thicker at the muzzle where current POI is, so if filing a muzzle is like adjusting a front sight, then that means this will work.

EDIT: I do want to make sure, this will work for round ball correct?