inherited a 1917 with a pitted barrel from my dad

[jmoore]

any reason not to use boat tails? better seal of the charge?

Possibly, but also possible increase in bearing length as well, which isn't all that long with 150gr bullets in .30 caliber.

[frankenstein]

shot it today, and at 25 yds it grouped about 6 inches. a portion of that is me being unfamiliar with this rifle, however, I was hitting the x in the bull with my Garand on the same range a week ago.

the trigger is pretty soft on it. I'm making a list of what I want to do with it. Barrel. Trigger. Maybe a parkerizing job. All I really need is a pile o' cash.

[NRA]

at 25 yards that is a large grouping

[frankenstein]

quite. my brother has a Lithgow no1mk3 from ww2, that used to have a filthy barrel. pre-cleaning, it shot about 2" at 100 yds. after a thorough cleaning, that opened up to 5" at 100 yds.

I'm getting flak from him about cleaning the accuracy out of the rifle.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Flat-base bullets provide better bullet guidance and less gas blow-by in worn throats. The longer the cylindrical section (= bearing surface) the better. And longer cylinders ride better over pits. The lower downrange BC of boattails is of no value if the bullet doesn't even exit the muzzle in a straight line!

[frankenstein]

Patrick - what you describe makes sense. I'll see what I can find. Have you had great results with a particular round?

[Oscarflytyer]

Dif rifle, similar potential problem... VZ24 7mm Brazilian. Lands very worn. Last 1- 1 1/2" of muzzle ends up looking almost like it has been counter-bored. But before that - there was serious rust in that last 1 1 1/2" of muzzle!

I stuffed it w/ Kroil soaked patches for about 10 days (didn't intend to do it that long, but...!) Then soaked an oversized brass brush in Kroil and used a drill to spin it in the muzzle end of bore. Figured I couldn't make it any worse! DID clean out the rust, and not a lot of pitting, so that's good. But as mentioned above - nearly a smooth bore at the muzzle!

Waiting to see how it will shoot. If I get 4-5" groups at 100 yds (and my old eyes) I will be ok. Time will tell.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Have you had great results with a particular round?

Yes, the Hornady round-nose flat-base Interlock bullets are my first choice for dodgy milsurp barrels - they have a very long cylindrical portion. They have worked in barrels where boat-tails were hitting the target sideways - or even not at all!

[Oscarflytyer]

Yes, the Hornady round-nose flat-base Interlock bullets are my first choice for dodgy milsurp barrels - they have a very long cylindrical portion. They have worked in barrels where boat-tails were hitting the target sideways - or even not at all!

Never had to resort to them, but I have also been advised over the years that the heaviest, albeit longest bullets for caliber will do better in a worn out milsurp bbl. And yes, that is typically the heaviest RN FB you can get. BTW - this is what a lot of the calibers were originally designed/loaded with...

[frankenstein]

I have had absolutely great results using Hornady ammunition. I just wish it wasn't SO pricey. You do get what you pay for, I just don't get it in bulk.