mushroomed muzzle?

Ok here goes. This particular mauser is a model 93, labeled as a model 95. A Chilean rifle from the serial number of the C4000, which means it was a south African republic Boer war rifle that was blockaded and redirected to Chile by the Brits. The action was re-barreled by Chile with a SIG barrel chambered in 7mm mauser. The muzzle end has been belled... See pictures. This looks like an intentional modification and not a over pressure or obstructed bore. There are no bulges in the barrel or other signs that the barrel had been obstructed and caused this mushrooming at the muzzle. The Rifling is decent while the barrel is frosted, typical of a barrel that has shot plenty of corrosive ammo and not been cleaned properly. The crown as you can imagine is non-exsistant. I have not fired this rifle yet, not due to concern but due to limited ammo and limited time. Just curious if anyone would know if this would have been done by Chile military armor and if so why? Has anyone else seen this? My only guess would be they were attempting to prevent a bayonet from being attached. Maybe the rifle was put out of military service and was slated for sale to civilian or police work?

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Originally Posted by hwystitch

Just curious if anyone would know if this would have been

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It's from a plug at the muzzle, mud or snow and it's common. I've seen lots. M1 rifles, 1903 Springfield, 92 Winchester, Model 12 Winchester shotgun...I can go on. I had a Krag rifle with a bulge at the muzzle like that and didn't detect it because the bore was dark. It shot 3ft high to 11 O'clock at 100 yds. Right at the very crown... A friend had a Husqvarna sporter in .308 with a bulge at the crown from probably snow since he lived in the east, he swore it shot tiny tight groups.

Only thing to do if it's off it counter bore. You could turn the muzzle down to take a bayonet too. Just a simple obstruction bulge.

thanks,first time I saw a bulge at the end like that. But that does make sense, I have seen obstruction bugles in the center of barrels but never at the very end. I will take it out and shoot to see how it groups, if all else fails I will counterbore like you suggest and turn the end down to accept a bayonet.

If you want a shooter, lop off part of that barrel and have it recrowned. If it's not a shooter, leave it alone.

Impressive how the foresight base appears to have contained the expansion without splitting or cracking!

Like browningautorifle, I've also seen many. If they are close enough to the muzzle, the ring is not easy to see. In the military it's so common that some pass undetected until the order is given to "Fix bayonets!" Then the squaddie fumbling with the bayonet takes the brunt of his sergeant's wrath.

M

Certainly appears to be bulged. We had pilot gauges that were affixed onto our crowning tools. This kept the crowning tool centered to the bore. We used the most snug crowning tool to fit that bore. .001" difference between the gauges. I'd test it with those to confirm that it's bulged such that it shouldn't be shot.

If it's sporterized, I'd lop off the end of the barrel and recrown.