shot out barrels

[nost]

I have a enfield no1 mk3 and i saw another thread about a guy who had one with a shot out barrel...besides it being inaccuarate..how could you tell if your barrel is shot out?

when it comes to the rifling how can you tell if the barrel is good or bad?

 

[9mm-Suppository]

the above image, aside from looking frosted is basically as sharp a military bore you will find. Usually rifles will shoot pretty good up until theres about 20-30% of that left..ymmv, im sure theres bores with almost no rifling that still shoot well but as a rule of thumb try to look for a nice sharp and dark contrast between lands and groove and you should be fine.

 

[Plinker]

It may not actually be "shot out" - it could be the muzzle-end of the bore has been destroyed by improper or careless cleaning. I have such a Lee Enfield - it has sharp rifling until the last two inches, where the rifling simply vanishes into a pitted mess. One day I may have it counter-bored, to see if it restores accuracy.

 

[Dantforth]

One side of each "land" takes all of the wear when the bullet is fired and must be spun by the rifling. I can see it more pronounced in the Snider Enfieldwith its shallow rifling. One side of each land will be worn....sometimes worn smooth. Enfield rifling is no different but is deeper and made of a better quality steel than the old ones. So, if you look closely at a worn Lee Enfield bore you will note this wear to the driving side of each land. I agree with Plinker, that many suffer from muzzle wear from improper cleaning. The other wear point on most LE's is the throat area which takes much abuse from the repeated firing and will show erosion quicker than the rest of the bore. Normally if not sever, this erosion will not have much affect on accuracy. Last comment....most worn out barrels will still shoot OK but may need tinkering with cast bullets or one of the larger diameter bullets. Dave