Slugging a barrel

mwjones

mwjones

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Tried to slug my enfield barrel today, without success.

Made sure the bore was clean, and tried to push a 312 round ball (mic'd at .3127) through from the chamber end, and it wouldn't even start. Kept measuring until i found one that was .3105, and i PUSHED on that rod, but no dice. So would it be safe to assume that i can use .311 bullets if a 311-313 won't even start to travel down the bore?
 
Slugging an odd numbered land barrel is a pain to measure properly. Five groove etc...................Harold
 
Try using lead egg fishing weights (can't remember the exact size).

Give 'em a smack with a dead blow hammer to slightly flatten them out to fill up the space req'd.
 
The nominal bore diameter (rifling is wider to the bottom of the grooves) for the LE is .303. Inspection standards for in-service rifles required that a .301 diameter plug run the length of the bore w/o interference ("go" measurement) and that a .307 diameter plug ("no-go"/reject measurement) not run.

Bullets for the .303 British run in the range of .310-.312 diameter and are safe to use in a bore that meets the minimum .301 diameter. Bullets and your .3127 and .310 diameter slugs are always wider than the bore so that they will fully engage the rifling to the bottom of the grooves.
 
I use a dowel that is just a loose fit in the bore, then a hammer to tap it down. brass rod works well. once it swages down it gets easier.
 
There are guides online, google is your friend.

Use soft lead fishing weights that are *bigger* than your bore. Before you begin, lube up the bore and weight with ample amounts of lube/grease. Once you start the weight with a mallet (rubber faced) at the muzzle end, drive it down the bore with .25 inch dowel segments, no more than 5 or 6 inches long, until you reach the end.
 
slugging an Enfield bore

I thought that you started from the crown end not the chamber end, anyone?
Peter


mwjones said:
Tried to slug my enfield barrel today, without success.

Made sure the bore was clean, and tried to push a 312 round ball (mic'd at .3127) through from the chamber end, and it wouldn't even start. Kept measuring until i found one that was .3105, and i PUSHED on that rod, but no dice. So would it be safe to assume that i can use .311 bullets if a 311-313 won't even start to travel down the bore?
Click to expand...
 
Still no luck...where do you get a lead fishing weight from? There was definitely some marks on the ball from the rifling, but it was a little stuck and I had to put my rod through from the muzzle end to knock it back out. the best grease i had was normal white lithium grease for lube, but that ball would not go down that barrel!

Maybe before i worry, i should just get some bullets and load up a few rounds and see how it shoots before i worry about getting a PERFECTly fitted bullet....
 
mwjones said:
Still no luck...where do you get a lead fishing weight from? There was definitely some marks on the ball from the rifling, but it was a little stuck and I had to put my rod through from the muzzle end to knock it back out. the best grease i had was normal white lithium grease for lube, but that ball would not go down that barrel!

Maybe before i worry, i should just get some bullets and load up a few rounds and see how it shoots before i worry about getting a PERFECTly fitted bullet....
Click to expand...

If it is a standard LE barrel which is clean and in sound condition, that's a pretty good way to go.
 
You can also crack open a shell of 00 buck or buy some 00 buck pellets (they're handy if you want to load your own buckshot for cheap), the pellets are soft lead (don't do this with copper plated, it's a waste of good pellets) and .33 caliber. Take a wood, plastic or brass headed mallet and be sure to never hit the crown, EVER. Tap the pellet down and use short lengths of wooden dowel until it pops out the other end.

Use a good micrometer and make sure it's zeroed, measure it gently and many times. Just did it for a Mosin 91/30 and it mic'ed at .311 pretty much on the dot, and the rifling was 10 thou deep exactly, man it has a nice barrel.
 
You must clean and then oil the bore, use only DEAD SOFT(PURE LEAD) for this, egg sinkers(with the hole in the middle) are usually the best and avail. at proper fishing stores. Make sure that they are soft enough for a finger nail to put a good gouge in the lead...Ben
 
Really not rocket science.

Get a soft lead object that will make good contact with the bore. Use a soft non-marring mallet and tap it down until a ring of lead has been shaved off all the way around. Use the first portion of hardwood dowel (softwood dowel isn't worth the time cutting them into segments) to start it down the barrel. Tap tap tap away. Catch the lead slug before it hits anything hard when it drops free and you're done.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/reloading/slug/index.asp
 
Bore slugging is a worthwhile exercise, but the best way to find out your rifle's bullet preferences is to experiment with a number of different bullet weights, diameters and shapes. Flat based bullets tend to do better at shorter ranges. They also tend to "slug up" to fit the rifling a bit better. Some people like to shoot cast bullets in their LEs for this reason.

Some folks will even try .308 diameter bullets in a .303. I have one very tight barrel, just a tad over .301 bore diameter, that I've always wanted to try with .308s. Similarily I have a M27 Finnish Nagant that shoots .308s with excellent results.

The Nagants have a nominal bore diameter of .300, but groove diameter most commonly found is .311, which suits them for this size of bullet. A number of the Finnish models, incl the M27, have a groove diameter of .3095. For this reason I avoid using the .311-312 bullets in this particular rifle.

Used MILSURPs, or any used barrel for that matter, will show some degree of throat erosion which progressively enlarges the bore forward down the barrel. US Army inspection standards for the .30-06 M1903 Springfield with a bore diameter of .300 would consider the barrel servicable until the bore erosion gauge, basically a tapered rod from .300 to .308 diameter, could be inserted far enough into the chamber end to show a bore diameter of .308 some distance down the barrel. I have one that is eroded to the .307 point that will still shoot a 3 inch group.
 
"...tried to push..." Put the rifle in a padded vise and hammer it through with a 1/4" brass rod and a plastic mallet. No wooden dowels. They break and get stuck too easily.
Mind you, your round ball may be too hard. Isn't likely though. A cast .30 calibre bullet or the soft lead fishing sinker will be better. Either will give you a larger surface to measure too.
 
Tried some lead sinkers from CT, the teardrop one, and it didn't work very well. I think the hold through the middle was too big. The sinker i used measured .332. Started it with a wood mallet (like a muzzleloader) and then used a 1/4inch dowel to get it down the bore. Used a piece of .0075 brass shim wrapped around the slug and measured around it, and it came to .304...impossible, right? Tried it again same result.

So i went and got a different pack of sinkers from wally world, with a brass eye thingy in them, and much smaller hole. Cut and removed it, and tried again. tried measuring the slug itself, rotatign it, and it came out anywhere from .305 to .313. Used the same piece of brass shim, and it measured .327. so i figured that minus the shim (.0015) is .312? Can this be correct? Am i good to use .312 cast bullets?
 
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