So, can i bend my shotgun barrel

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cdngunner

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I have recently aquired a fully rifled shot gun. Problem is that it shoots low. I have the back sight all the way up and it still shoots low. Set it up on my work bench in a vice and put my dial indicator on it to see if the muzzel moves as I adjust tension on the cap holding the barrel to the mtube magazine. When I really cranked it the muzzel moved about 0.005", so I dont think that is the problem.

The barrel looks straight, but who knows.

Can I use a press to "bend" the barrel so that it shoots where it should?

What is an easy way to see if the barrel is bent to begin with?
 
Pad the top of stock with weather striping and duck tape,moving you cheek high and then I think you will move the front up and shoot higher,I fixed a shot gun like that.
 
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Get a brownells catalog or search online. They sell a barrel bending tool, just for such as this.

You may not buy one, but you will know that the tool exists, and it's proper name, so you sound a little bit educated when you speak with a smith about the issue.

Or, you can look at the pictures, and make up a tool like it, out of, say, a 4x4 and some strapping, and some threaded rod. If you were so inclined.

Cheers
Trev
 
Get some new sights.

That said I have heard of quite a number of muzzle loader shooters - mostly smoothbore musket types- do some barrel adjustments using the nearest tree. Go careful as it doesn't take a huge amount of effort to put a curve in some barrels and any half sharp edge could give you a dent that would be very hard to remove.
 
So the next question is where do I purchase replacement sights for a Win 1300?
Midway has some interesting stuff but dont ship to Canada IIRC
 
Can I suggest a reciever mounted scope mount? They fit over the reciever and attatch with the trigger group pin. No messing around with bending a barrel and no messing around with iron sights. With a good scope youo'll have far more elevation adjustment then you think and you could leave everything original.
 
pharaoh2 said:
Can I suggest a reciever mounted scope mount? They fit over the reciever and attatch with the trigger group pin. No messing around with bending a barrel and no messing around with iron sights. With a good scope youo'll have far more elevation adjustment then you think and you could leave everything original.
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THERE'S a good idea!!!
 
pharaoh2 said:
Can I suggest a reciever mounted scope mount? They fit over the reciever and attatch with the trigger group pin. No messing around with bending a barrel and no messing around with iron sights. With a good scope youo'll have far more elevation adjustment then you think and you could leave everything original.
Click to expand...

I actually got one for my old 120/1200.

The black shadow(IIRC) has the reciever drilled and tapped. I want to avoid using a scope. We go out in some nasty wet weather and shots are generally under 75 yards. Was thinking or a holosight but do not have the monies right now. Was looking for a quick fix.

I think the main problem is that this gun was put together in the last days of Winchesters existance. I have had to tinker with a few parts to fit them properly. Compared to all the other Winnies I have owned this is a crappy gun. I am starting to think that they used whatever spare or non conforming parts they had left lying around just to finish off their last orders.

Anyway, it is becoming quite the project gun. Good learning experience if nothing else. Not bad considering I paid just over $200 for it new.

Does brownell still ship sights to Kanada???????
 
The barrel bending will work, but BE CAREFUL!

Even though the front sight also rises (when bending the barrel UP), in actuality what you are doing is RAISING the REAR sight by bending the barrel UP slightly.

You won't even need a readily visible bend, it is surprisingly effective. It is a tweak and try situation.

The most important thing is proper support for the barrel. Ever use a pipe bender? Same idea. If you just clamp between pieces of wood you may get lucky, especially if the wood is quite soft (use several layers of cotton t-shirt for padding, because even wood can mar the bluing).
Far better to cut a barrel diameter channel in the wood with a bit of a curve for support.

Any job worth doing is worth doing right, right?;)
 
cdngunner said:
I actually got one for my old 120/1200.

The black shadow(IIRC) has the reciever drilled and tapped. I want to avoid using a scope. We go out in some nasty wet weather and shots are generally under 75 yards. Was thinking or a holosight but do not have the monies right now. Was looking for a quick fix.
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I would never recommend a battery operated sight in good conscience to anybody. I would still suggest a scope for your situation. I can't imagine bending a barrel is a good thing, even if it is ever so slight. And you can buy new scopes like the Bushnell Elite series for fairly reasonable prices and they will work well in even the worst weather. I'm sure your season is almost up anyways, save your money over Winter and make the investment. Nobody has ever regreted investing in quality optics and it will probably work better then even the best iron sights in rain and snow. Sights can plug up very quickly with even a little bit of snow or even a rain drop. (ask me how I know:() While scopes offer greater surface area of viewing and good ones can provide better available light with a superiour field of view in all conditions. Whatever you decide, good luck. :)
 
pharaoh2 said:
I would never recommend a battery operated sight in good conscience to anybody. I would still suggest a scope for your situation. I can't imagine bending a barrel is a good thing, even if it is ever so slight. And you can buy new scopes like the Bushnell Elite series for fairly reasonable prices and they will work well in even the worst weather. I'm sure your season is almost up anyways, save your money over Winter and make the investment. Nobody has ever regreted investing in quality optics and it will probably work better then even the best iron sights in rain and snow. Sights can plug up very quickly with even a little bit of snow or even a rain drop. (ask me how I know:() While scopes offer greater surface area of viewing and good ones can provide better available light with a superiour field of view in all conditions. Whatever you decide, good luck. :)
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I hear you but in wet weather I already have to contend with wet glasses, add a wet scope to this and all I see is gray.
You can't eat gray........:D
 
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