Best way to straighten a bent barrel?

[Aragorn243]

On a semi-related note, can you get a ring out of an octagon barrel? Never fired it so I don't know if it affects the accuracy or not and it isn't a milsurp but an 1886 Winchester in 45-90. Not seriously considering doing anything about it but am curious.

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[vintage hunter]

I really don't know Aragorn. I've always avoided guns with bore damage until lately, but I would think that once it's there it's there to stay. I do know a 'smith who claims to be able to get a bulge out of a round barrel by way of a roller but have not seen him do it with my own eyes. As far as effecting accuracy is concerned I imagine there would be some negative effects, but as long as the ring or bulge is'nt longer that the projo it might still shoot reasonably well. I bought the Roller with the intentions of cutting it down to carbine length or better yet rebarreling it to something where ammo does'nt cost $6 a round.

[topaz]

Boy after this story I need a drink

[Aragorn243]

I've had a few people look at it for safety purposes and the consensus was that due to it's location and size which is small, it probably wouldn't affect the accuracy. I've just simply never had a strong desire to test it and ammo was an issue for a while but I recently picked up two boxes very reasonably. $30 for a 20 round box. New production ammo.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Never fired it so I don't know if it affects the accuracy or not and it isn't a milsurp but an 1886 Winchester in 45-90.

It depends on the length and depth of the ring, and where it is. IF you use black powder with plenty of lube, and do not clean between shots (as if for a military BP competition) then, after the first shot, the BP crud will tend to fill the dent and the bullet will pass over the gap without major distortion or gas blow-by*. The further the ring is from the muzzle, the better. Give it a try!

If the results are OK, then try with cleaning between shots. But stick to BP.

Patrick


*For those unaccustomed to BPCRs: A BPCR bullet should be softish-to-medium-hard lead (Brinell approx. 10 is my preference) and when it is fired over a good wad of lube it is in effect sitting on a hydraulic seal all the way up the bore. And if you are in a military competition (no cleaning between shots) your supposed bore-riding bullet nose is actually a crud-riding nose! (think of journal bearings) Gas blow-by? Leading? - Forget it!