target crowning milsurps ?
- Thread starter oldguner
- Start date
I have recrowned my MN and M41 Carcano only because they really needed it done ( steel cleaning rods wear).
Other rifles I'm not touching A because they don't need it B shooting with Iron Sights only C I have much better ways to spend my $ (primers,powder etc)
Other rifles I'm not touching A because they don't need it B shooting with Iron Sights only C I have much better ways to spend my $ (primers,powder etc)
Sometimes recrowning is the only way to make it safe to shoot for example; I've had a Mosin and a Kar98 that was more than ten feet out at a 100 yards.
Would you modify or correct a trigger or bolt that was faulty or unsafe to shoot?
I like my stuff as close to original issue as possible, but if its unsafe I will correct it, including a crown.
Would you modify or correct a trigger or bolt that was faulty or unsafe to shoot?
I like my stuff as close to original issue as possible, but if its unsafe I will correct it, including a crown.
At the risk of breaking wind in church I often clean up the muzzles on my MILSURPs to remove cuts, gouges and puckers which detract from accuracy. It's pretty non-intrusive though and couldn't be called a re-crowning job. I simply use a brass headed machine screw loaded with valve grinding compound with a variable speed drill on a low RPM.
- Location
- In lalaland, that is Ottawa.
Me too.
I have touched up the crown on a few of my Milsurp rifles. To me, much of my decision depends on the type of rifle, how collectable it is, and the type of crown. Some types of crowning can be touched up with no real tell tale signs of having been done, while others are quite obvious.
Counter boring was often done for a different reason...that is bell mouthing the muzzle from improper cleaning with steel cleaning rods. I've seen this condition more on Enfield's and Mosin's than any other rifles, although I sometimes find it on U.S. Military rifles. Enfield's in particular, really need careful scrutiny and the "bullet in the muzzle test" before purchase. Same goes for P14's.
Counter boring was often done for a different reason...that is bell mouthing the muzzle from improper cleaning with steel cleaning rods. I've seen this condition more on Enfield's and Mosin's than any other rifles, although I sometimes find it on U.S. Military rifles. Enfield's in particular, really need careful scrutiny and the "bullet in the muzzle test" before purchase. Same goes for P14's.
Me three.
I've done this on a few collectable items, and with one application of cold blue, you can't even tell it was done.
I swear, some people will even b*tch if you apply linseed oil.... "But that's French dirt!!!!1"
When I was over in France this spring I saw a No4 which had been dredged up from the sea bottom off Juno beach as well as several Enfield MkIIIs, Mausers, etc which had been dug up on various WW1 battlefields. I wouldn't do anything to them of course, but cleaning, dirt removal, rust mitigation and other preventative/conservation measures on a MILSURP are a wise move. Folks can get a bit obsessed with this though. Several yrs ago a guy on one of the US forums had convinced himself that he had pieces of human scalp embedded around the buttplate of his Garand as a result of it having been used to buttstroke a Chinaman in Korea.
I've found rifles with pine needles, sand, and various pieces of dirt and crud inside and was always quick to remove them, even though someone might have wanted to believe that they were picked up on the beaches of Iwo Jima or in the Reichswald Forest.I mentioned counter boring because it often is just more than a dented crown. The method John describes works like a charm for minor issues and IMHO does a lot of good for even muzzles that look OK. I took a brand new barrel for a No4 that was in the white. It came out of a tray with ten barrels all nicely wrapped in some sort of wax cocoon. They were lovely. They were also all two groove and of course had been produced during stressful times. The bores were all slightly off center and the muzzles were all cut off square to the axis of the bore. They all needed to be redone. Purple's method wouldn't have worked with any of them unless you really worked at it and it would have been extremely obvious. With the proper equipment duplicating the muzzle profile on a No 4 is pretty simple. The big thing is chucking it up so that it is cut concentric to the axis of the bore.
Counterboring is done with a drill. Obviously most of them are not piloted. Amazingly a lot of those rifles shoot exceptionally well even with the really sloppy cuts.
Counterboring is done with a drill. Obviously most of them are not piloted. Amazingly a lot of those rifles shoot exceptionally well even with the really sloppy cuts.
Neither of those are worth anything, so no harm no foul.
