300 Win Mag, Pitted barrel - accuracy OK.

[nitro-express]

Got this one in a trade, and after some test firing, a very pitted barrel was revealed. The pitting initially appeared to be only right at the muzzle, after firing, the pitting was visible further down. The former owner had "polished" the bore with something.

This is looking towards the muzzle. Sorry for the poor quality picture, but what do you want from a 15 $ bore camera, from China. The original muzzle was bad, this picture is after about an inch of barrel was eliminated and re-crowned.

This is the original muzzle.

This is app midway.

This is looking towards the throat.


That is the bad, the good is that it still shoots accurately, with a WEE bit of fowling.

- the barrel was shortened by an inch and re-crowned.
- 15, NOS, weight sorted brass were loaded with 208 gr Hornady ELD match bullets.
- 3 shots were used for sighting in at 100 yards.
- 3 shots were fired at 200 to check accuracy.
- windage was good, came up 1 1/2 moa for a 200 yd zero.
- shot the 300 yard gong twice, it fell off the chains, so #3 shot was used to hit the 250 yd gong.

The intention was to sell the beast, but the poor looking bore probably means it's a keeper.

The Farmers Almanac tells me it's going to be a long winter, I'm thinking that I'll refinish the stock.

My question, is how bad does a bore have to look before it really won't shoot?

All things considered, I was expecting a bigger group.

2018/11/25: retest load, switch primer, reduce powder a grain.

 

[Markus]

I had a Remington vls in 243 that still show about MOA but when I had it rebarrelled I decided the cut the barrel in half to see what the rifling was like. No real pitting but the rifling was eroded away all the way to 14 inches past the chamber that you could barely feel it anymore. Still shot pretty decent though.

 

[brybenn]

I have a muzzleloader that looks absolutely horrendous yet it shoots the best of my 4 frontstuffers

 

[mbogo3]

I have a Win 95 /28" barrel in .303 British with a dark bore that cut .770" 3 shot group at 100 yards with irons.

 

[Don_Parsons]

Looks like the rifle is shooting good, I wouldn't worry about it since it will still reach out there to bring home the game.

My plan is to shoot out my 30/06 heavy barrel till I end up with 5 to 6" groups at 600 meters,,, then re-barrel.

Just past the 7200 rounds as its holding in there.

I'm not keen at having a 7" to 10" OAS,,, Over All Spread. This is based on a 10 shot group.

Just my take of what works for me

 

[nitro-express]

Looks like the rifle is shooting good, I wouldn't worry about it since it will still reach out there to bring home the game.

...........................

Yes, bottom line is it will reach out and bring home game, thanks.

 

[Leeper]

When I was at Guncraft, years ago, Gunther Kautsky had a 375 H&H, a Model 70 with a Shilen barrel, which shot extremely well but which had a bore which not really pitted but was definitely blemished. He had never noticed this and had been cheerfully shooting sub-moa groups for quite some time. Then he contracted a case of ACOD (Acquired Cleaning Obsession Disorder) after which he discovered the flaw in the barrel. Still shot sub-moa, mind you, but he just couldn't live with the knowledge of the imperfect bore. I replaced the barrel with a carefully selected Shilen; straight as a string, smooth as glass, and shiny from end to end. It shot just fine but never did match the old barrel.
I notice that barrel is a left-hand twist with five grooves. Is it, by any chance, a re-chambered M17 Enfield? I had a pitted P14 which shot groups of 3/4 inch or less pretty regularly. I won money with that rifle in contests with some pretty expensive stuff.

 

[Ganderite]

Looks like you have a truck rifle - bad weather rifle - that shoots well.

 

[buffdog]

.
The Postal Code you give is for southern Manitoba. The .300 Winchester Magnum is really a hunting calibre. While three shots are not really an indication of what a rifle will really do, they seem to have landed in about a two inch group at 200 yards, according to your target.

As GANDERITE says, you have a truck-bad weather rifle that shoots well. How big is a Moose or Deer?

 

[Evanguy]

Personally i dont worry about the bore. I worry about how its shoots. That barrel looks mint compaired to a 44-40 i have but it shoots 3" group at 100m so that works for me. I also have a 43 mauser that makes that barrel look brand new that also shoots well.

 

[cody c]

Personally i dont worry about the bore. I worry about how its shoots. That barrel looks mint compaired to a 44-40 i have but it shoots 3" group at 100m so that works for me. I also have a 43 mauser that makes that barrel look brand new that also shoots well.

I don't really have any centerfires with worn bores like that, but I agree with you. I'm concerned with performance for hunting accuracy, not about the cosmetics interior of the barrel. As long as it puts meat in the freezer well, then it looks great to me.

 

[nitro-express]

Looks like you have a truck rifle - bad weather rifle - that shoots well.

That's sorta my thought on it. Good loaner as well, hard to beat up any further.

I'm in the process of sanding off the hard varnish like finish and cleaning up the checkering. I'm not going show quality, no skills for that, just shooting for that "pretty nice truck gun" look. The wood is not very hard, not like some of the old walnut I've worked on. It's a challenge to sharpen the checkering, lots of sawdust. I decided to sand instead of chemical strip. May regret that choice. I'm not going to stain, just Tru-Oil.

My son just resurrected this 22, a gunshow rescue, painted stock, and a stock extension held on with deck screws, complete with holes drilled through the stock, (to attach a boot lace for a sling I suppose). I helped with the barrel shortening and the file work required for dovetailing in the front sight. I can't go too rat on mine, can't have the boy show up his dad.

 

[Leeper]

I was curious about the left-hand twist and wondered if it was an Enfield. I see from the stock, it is a BSA.

 

[Northman999]

How it shoot is how it shoots. I stopped assuming a huge correlation between a nice looking bore and an accurate rifle long ago. I have an Enfield in .303 Brit with a bore that literally looks like an orange peel with rifling, and it shoots in the top 10% of any Enfield I have shot, and that's dozens of rifles.

 

[nitro-express]

I was curious about the left-hand twist and wondered if it was an Enfield. I see from the stock, it is a BSA.

BSA, CF2 I believe. Left-Hand twist, exactly like an Enfield. Barrel is even marked as having been proofed at 19 tons, 300 Win Mag 2.62". Probably stamped by an older chap that assembled 303 Br rifles during the big one. 19 tons isn't much of a load for the 300.

 

[nitro-express]

Together again:

Upgrades to stock:
• Reinforce wrist of stock.
• Sleeve rear mounting hole.
• Cross reinforce stock; (recoil lug and trigger/magazine bridge).
• Sharpen checkering.
• Strip old coating and prep stock. Refinish with Tru-Oil.
• Modify sling mounts for removable sling swivels.

Reminds me of the lyrics; "A three dressed up like a nine"

The wood was a bit softer than most of the walnut I've worked on. Therefore, I oiled the checkering, to give it a fighting change. The old checkering was pretty much gone in places, just a faint dark line to follow.

Many thanks to Larry Potterfield, for the videos on working on the stock.