fixing a bulged shotgun barrel?

jethunter

jethunter

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Super GunNutz
Rating - 100%
356   0   0
Location
Central AB
I have found a SxS vintage european shotgun that I want to buy, but there's a catch. One of the barrels has a bulge on the last 1 to 1.5 inches.

I have questions for a gunsmith - Is it possible to fix the stretched metal or is bobbing the barrel the only solution?

Could the bulge be fixed by heating/shrinking, or maybe swaging? Would heat sufficient to shrink the metal also release the silver solder that is likely holding the rib and 2 barrels in one piece?

This shotgun is quite desireable to me as a collector, but does not have a lot of actual monetary value, roughly $500-$600 if it was in good shape.
 
Last edited:
streching steel is very easy, shrinking steel on the other hand is quite tricky, and requires the steel to be foldedhard to do with a shotgun barrel. only way i have seen a gunsmith fix a bulged bbl is by cutting it off before the bulge.
 
I'd suggest if you plan to "collect" it, don't fix it , it adds character.
If you plan to shoot with it, walk away and buy one that isn't damaged, who knows if the damage is limited to where you see the bulge.
Could be dangerous to you and others near by.

M.
 
Saw a write up in a periodical a while back. Double Gun Journal, perhaps.

The fix was to take the barrel off the lump, place a mandrel inside, and work the area down to the mandrel with assorted heat and hammers. Then was the refinishing of the tube, inside and out, then the re-assembly.

Skilled work, and not gonna be cheap to do, if you can find someone to do it.

Bobbing off the barrels would clear off some, if not all, of the choke, if there is any.

Either way, you lose out, either function or cost.

If it were 100K worth of Best Quality bespoke gun, I could see the effort being worth while.

You are probably not all that interested in installing choke tubes, eh? :D

Cheers
Trev
 
jethunter said:
I have found a SxS vintage european shotgun that I want to buy, but there's a catch. One of the barrels has a bulge on the last 1 to 1.5 inches.

I have questions for a gunsmith - Is it possible to fix the stretched metal or is bobbing the barrel the only solution?

Could the bulge be fixed by heating/shrinking, or maybe swaging? Would heat sufficient to shrink the metal also release the silver solder that is likely holding the rib and 2 barrels in one piece?
Click to expand...

I think it would be extremely difficult to remove the bulge. About your only hope would be to put a bore sized mandril in the barrel and try to hammer the bulge out and I would expect your success to be limited at best. Heating enough to do make the metal more workable would also melt the solder and unless the gun is belgian, the solder is more likely to be lead solder. To a large extent removing the bulge means lengthening the barrel (by working the metal forward) and that means separating the barrels, removing the bulge and then refastening.
Bottom line is that I think that the bulge would reduce the value of a 5-600 dollar gun to about 200.
Just my opinion anyhow

cheers mooncoon
 
There is a fellow on the Sunshine Coast (Stuart Newby I believe is his name) who has removed bulges in SxS shotguns. I have seen the work and it is excellent.
 
"...Could the bulge be fixed..." Nope. No matter what is done, there'll still be a weak spot. Check the barrels to make sure they're not damascus barrels first. Mind you, they usually burst before they bulge. Look for swirls in the bore. There are lots of Belgian made shotguns with damascus barrels.
 
You never said what brand of shot gun, 5-600.oo in good shape??
If that is the case , I would say 200.oo now, if it was english, that
is different of a high grade side lock from spain, Or?
The work could be done, but I don't think in the choke it would hold.
I have seen this done in the middle of berrels and worked O.K.
Tell us more about the shot gun if you can.
Marshall
 
Husqvarna, made in Sweden, about early 1940s vintage. Box lock, greener crossbolt, fluid steel barrels. A well made gun that compares quite favourably with the "best" guns in handling and balance.

Unortunately it's probably not even good for parts as they were individually built and hand fit during assembly, so interchangeability of parts is not guaranteed.
 
Last edited:
If you really want it and you plan on keeping it and using it kill 2 birds with one stone. With a bulged barrel you should be able to buy it for a couple hundred bux. Any quality SXS shotgun is going to cost you $1500.00 so ………….. spend a couple hundred on the gun and send the barrels and $1000.00 to Briley and have the bores bobbed and tubes installed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom