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Noob question.
Picked this Eddystone 1917 up at the North store some years ago.
Lokinng it over, I see a "W" and bursting bomb on the bolt handle so close together.
Does that "W" indicate its a Winchester part?
I found pictures of the ordinance corps mark but not with the W so close.
Is it unusual?
Yes, Winchester component. Looks like the W was applied after the flaming bomb, as the leading stroke of the W has pushed in the outer ring of the bomb.
The borel looks scary. Muzzel is +1.
Looks like it needs a good clean and some shooting to show what it really is.
Nothing wrong with that bore. Big solid rifling...
What will all that roughness do Jim? Will it just foul?
No, the rifling is about perfect, is all I mean. Any minor pitting won't affect use. Most rust will shoot out and then come clean. I've shot far worse with good result.Quote:
Originally Posted by DustyRusty
Thank you Jim, thats exactly the answer I was hoping for. I have little ecperience with what should be shot, or not.
I have a Krag from CMP whos barrel was way too bad to shoot. I found a used Krag barrel on the web and had a smith replace it for me.
They will both see some shooting this spring. Thanks
On that...we've seen '94 Winchester rifles with almost nothing left shoot fine with jackets and Lee Enfields too. I've shot M1 rifles that had little left but jackets shot OK as long as not pushed too hard. It's hard to tell without shooting them. Now it's replaced though, it should be good. I had a Krag rifle with a dark bore shot fine but pattern 24" to eleven on the clock. Turned out it had a ring within an inch of the muzzle that was oblong, thus throwing the bullets. It still grouped fine, just off to eleven...Quote:
Originally Posted by DustyRusty
Dusty, you need to toughen up a little. Try some of my 200-350 year-old BP rifles, and you will learn the truth of the old saying “handsome is as handsome does”. That bore has plenty of substance, and I can only add to the chorus “shoot, clean, shoot, clean…”Quote:
Originally Posted by DustyRusty
However, a good photo of the muzzle crown would be interesting. Many ex-service rifles are unevenly worn at the muzzle - the main culprit being the good-old-English pull-through and its dubious descendant - the bore snake. In some (many?) cases an ever-so-slight recrowning - just enough to eliminate the one-sided wear from cleaning - will transform the grouping from “minute of barndoor” to something competitive.
It just so happens that today I made an ammo comparison test with my WIN94 in 32-40. This rifle was once inspected by an expert shooter with a professional endoscope (NOT a cheapo borescope). His verdict: the rifle was useless for shooting - bore heavily worn at front and back, and rough in the middle. “Put it in a display cabinet or sell it to a collector” was his recommendation.Quote:
Originally Posted by browningautorifle
Fortunately, my rifle does not understand German and was thus not offended. I continued to use it, and last year managed to win the BDMP national competition at 100 meters /seated (I cannot manage prone any more). This was (and has been for years) using Speer .321/170gn flat-nose jacketed bullets (Hot-Cor).
However, those bullets are pricey over here, and today I tried out some g-g lead bullets and some plastic-coated thin-copper jacketed bullets. (Yes, I confess - looking for a cheaper solution!)
The results: the Speer performed as expected, the g-g lead were all over the target, and the plastic-coated ones must still be under way, as they haven’t reached the target yet.
Conclusion: as Jim pointed out: an optically lousy barrel can still perform well with the right ammo!
Mr. Chadwick,
I have two questions: First; I have a Winchester 1894 in 32-40 and a Marlin 336 in .32 Special but .32-30? That's one I haven't heard of.
Second; I know that Speer makes a 170 gr. .321 diameter flat point bullet #2259. I have a box of them on the shelf. But I can't find any reference to a 180 gr. .321.
Can you elaborate?
Patrick, the crown shows no sign of 10,000 strokes with a segmented steel cleaning rod or snake bite.
I'll get her on paper when the range dries up a bit and see how she acts.
My oldest is the trapdoor and she kicks like an angry mules.
Take a sandbag to rest and then there's no messin' around. Nice and careful at 25 and 100. Very interested...Quote:
Originally Posted by DustyRusty
I would humbly submit that this is an Eddystone bolt. The 3 Enfield producers, R, W, E, stamped their initials on the underside of the bolt handle. In addition, Eddystone stamped a letter on the top side of the bolt. A to Z. I have seen all letters of the alphabet on Eddystone bolts. I have never found an explanation for why Eddystone did this. Kingsbury stamped the letter K on the underside of the bolt. USMC put their stamp on the top of the bolt.
Take a close look at the underside of your bolt. You may find an E. I have an Eddystone bolt that was very lightly struck. The E is hard to see without magnification.
Attachment 129845Attachment 129846Attachment 129847
I removed the bolt and Shazam, more markings.
And the "E" is an Eddystone...
Art, your questions have been answered - I corrected the typos!
Please describe the BDMP lever rifle shoot . What size target , how is it scored , how many shots , what size groups ?
Try this: Fire 5 rounds clean the bore with wet patch, repeat for a total of 20 rounds. Use nice flat base hunting bullets, they will run well. No idea if target boat tail bullets will run well or not. Try to shoot a Match with hunting bullets and try a Match with Sierra 168gr match bullets. Good luck.