Heavy pitting on outside of barrel - safe to shoot?
- Thread starter Power Pill
- Start date
"...How can I tell if its safe to shoot?..." Check the headspace. Like Claven says, the pitting would have to be extremely deep. Mind you, if there's pitting on the outside, there likely is on the inside too. However, pitting alone doesn't mean it's unsafe to shoot. Some of 'em with serious pitting will still shoot fairly well.
And if you don't have $100 worth of Approved Headspace Gauges, just slip an O-ring or a pony-tail tie around the base of your cartridge. Centralizes the casing in the chamber AND holds it back AGAINST the bolt-face, obviating any necessity for swapping bolt-heads or whatever.
AND it leaves your brass nicely fire-formed for reloading for THAT rifle, so it lasts MUCH longer.
Verily I say unto Thee, Aargh!
AND it leaves your brass nicely fire-formed for reloading for THAT rifle, so it lasts MUCH longer.
Verily I say unto Thee, Aargh!
Those old barrels are a lot tougher than most people think.
I have one here, a 1917 or 1918, which the Inspectors MISSED. It has a visible SEAM in the forward portion of the barrel. This is from the rolling process, as the barrels were purchased as 8-inch stubs and heated and rolled to length in the rifle factories. You can see it plainly for about 4 inches.
That barrel served through TWO World Wars, then was beaten about mercilessly after it was sold as surplus. I got it in a batch of reject junk parts from a gunsmith who had no use for half a dozen stripped SMLEs.
Bore isn't all that bad......
Think I just might rebuild that one.....
I have one here, a 1917 or 1918, which the Inspectors MISSED. It has a visible SEAM in the forward portion of the barrel. This is from the rolling process, as the barrels were purchased as 8-inch stubs and heated and rolled to length in the rifle factories. You can see it plainly for about 4 inches.
That barrel served through TWO World Wars, then was beaten about mercilessly after it was sold as surplus. I got it in a batch of reject junk parts from a gunsmith who had no use for half a dozen stripped SMLEs.
Bore isn't all that bad......
Think I just might rebuild that one.....
