Well... looks like the gold nugget had a lot of Pyrite in it...

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Riomouse911

Riomouse911

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Man, every once in a while I hit a home run... other times I foul out. This time I think I popped it up with two on, two out.

Like a beauty queen that is stunning on the outside but has a dark personality you only find out about later, it looks like the amazingly nice Model 14 that I gushed about in the previous thread had a flaw that I missed. o_O

I took it to the range and fired several groups using my usual accuracy loads; 2.7 gr Bullseye under a 148 gr lead DEWC and 3.0 gr Bullseye under a 148 gr plated HBWC, and a mid range load of a coated 158 gr SWC over 4.1 gr HP-38.

Every SA shot at 12 yards with the wadcutters was at least 3” low, and scattered in groups about 2”x 2” wide. Man, I was disappointed.

7D7A55AB-76D5-43E3-8DDC-399681BE0910.jpeg
#1 was center hold, #2 and #3 was at the top of the oval, #4 and # 5 at the top of the orange oval. The 158 gr load was no better. I will say the trigger pull wasn’t great, I think the innards need some old oil cleaned up and maybe some new Wolff lower powered springs.

My Model 15 cleaned up, I was shooting rapid fire DA at 12 yards and shooting similar groups as the 8 3/8” gun shot SA.

15DFA1D6-3727-4C3A-987C-7238F2AA75AB.jpeg A4F905BB-11EE-4393-8BA1-9179E485439B.jpeg

This gun shoots a tad right for me, I need to adjust the rear sight a bit.

Soooo, I head home a bit demoralized about the performance of the new gun. Then, during a wipe down I find the ultimate wart.

A BULGE IN THE BARREL!! :cuss:

I didn’t notice it when I brought it home, but during cleaning I noticed about an inch and a half from the muzzle is a slight bulge. Clearly the prior owner shot a round after a squib load and it bulged the barrel. I found it with a tight fitting patch; it starts snug, then slips when it hits the bulge, then fits tight again. I then pinched the barrel with my fingers and ran the oil rag along the barrel to confirm it was bulged.

AF87A613-FC7F-4400-9507-D6384B08AD0B.jpeg

This makes it look worse than it is on the outside, but it’s right above the pipe cleaner.

The damn thing isn’t accurate at all and it is useless as is, Man, I’m bummed.

DD5F2D41-78BC-4E05-9D6F-154979680B78.jpeg

Looking at the muzzle-front shot I posted in my original thread, sure enough the bulge is visible so it was there before I shot it. I just never noticed it until I put a patch down the bore.:(

I sent the seller a message, but I’m going to assume it’s a no-return item. No one I’ve checked has a pinned 8 3/8” barrel for sale, I already have 6” and 4” K-frame .38’s so I am not sure I want to drop $350 to get it cut and recrowned.

If I do, maybe I’ll cut it to 5”.

Grrrrrrr! The hazards of on line buying finally hit me good. :fire:

Stay safe.
 
Sorry to hear. My late mentor barrel maker (Hal Sharon) taught me long ago to both run fingers down barrel to feel for defects and examine them for same. Squibs and those inclined to press muzzle against something and pull trigger often the cause. I used to rebarrel revolvers enough to know its easy with right tools and often a disaster without. Setting/indexing frame to barrel and setting Cyl gap is tricky Sometimes adding something exotic can help ease the pain. Once added a 10" octagon to a minty NM Blackhawk (200th year) with "Held to tree" bulge!! Actually made it into real neat and rifle accurate shooter.
 
Yup, just last week I was getting ready to mount a 10/22 heavy barrel on my receiver. Being a used barrel, I decided to clean it first and there it was. A huge bulge about 2/3 down the tube. Damn was I disappointed. I purchased it from a local gunsmith and luckily he took it back. Now looking for another heavy 10/22 barrel. Who would have thought a lowly 22lr could bulge a .920 bar of steel?
 
vintovka said:
Sorry to hear. My late mentor barrel maker (Hal Sharon) taught me long ago to both run fingers down barrel to feel for defects and examine them for same. Squibs and those inclined to press muzzle against something and pull trigger often the cause. I used to rebarrel revolvers enough to know its easy with right tools and often a disaster without. Setting/indexing frame to barrel and setting Cyl gap is tricky Sometimes adding something exotic can help ease the pain. Once added a 10" octagon to a minty NM Blackhawk (200th year) with "Held to tree" bulge!! Actually made it into real neat and rifle accurate shooter.
Click to expand...

If I had pinched the barrel and run my fingers down the length I probably would’ve notice something wasn’t right, but without running the patch I couldn’t have been sure. The patch was 100 pct confirmation the bore was damaged, and certainly explained why the gun was shooting like a .410 shotgun rather than a .38.


Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll look about to see what’s out there to work with. I am not too thrilled that it’ll cost another 300-500 bucks to make this thing useful again, but at least I have a decent foundation to build upon. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
Howdy

Somewhere in my collection is an older K frame 38 Special with a slight bulge in the barrel.

I don't recall exactly which one it is right now, but I don't recall being disappointed with that revolver's accuracy.

Also, I have a Model 65 (Stainless 357 Magnum K frame) that has a pretty bad gouge somewhere down the barrel. Not a bulge, a gouge in the rifling. Don't recall an accuracy problem with that one either.

You may be trying to get more precise accuracy out of your 'Long Tom' than I was, but I never had a problem with either of these revolvers.

Question: Were you shooting off hand or did you bench the revolver. If shooting off hand you might want to try repeating the test with the revolver benched, to remove the human element.

Lastly, if the bulge is fairly near the muzzle, you don't necessarily have to cut the barrel to cut away the bulge.

One of my friends in CAS had a revolver with a bulge near the muzzle, sorry don't remember exactly which revolver but it would have been a single action.

Anyway, he had a smith bore the bore slightly oversized to just past the bulge. Essentially he had a long barrel with a shorter rifled bore inside. I don't recall exactly what diameter he bored the larger section, but the problem of the bulge was eliminated and accuracy returned.

You might consider trying this.
 
Driftwood Johnson said:
Howdy

Somewhere in my collection is an older K frame 38 Special with a slight bulge in the barrel.

I don't recall exactly which one it is right now, but I don't recall being disappointed with that revolver's accuracy.

Also, I have a Model 65 (Stainless 357 Magnum K frame) that has a pretty bad gouge somewhere down the barrel. Not a bulge, a gouge in the rifling. Don't recall an accuracy problem with that one either.

You may be trying to get more precise accuracy out of your 'Long Tom' than I was, but I never had a problem with either of these revolvers.

Question: Were you shooting off hand or did you bench the revolver. If shooting off hand you might want to try repeating the test with the revolver benched, to remove the human element.

Lastly, if the bulge is fairly near the muzzle, you don't necessarily have to cut the barrel to cut away the bulge.

One of my friends in CAS had a revolver with a bulge near the muzzle, sorry don't remember exactly which revolver but it would have been a single action.

Anyway, he had a smith bore the bore slightly oversized to just past the bulge. Essentially he had a long barrel with a shorter rifled bore inside. I don't recall exactly what diameter he bored the larger section, but the problem of the bulge was eliminated and accuracy returned.

You might consider trying this.
Click to expand...
Thats a great idea!

You would retain the look, balance, and sight radius of the 8" and 5-6" of rifling is still plenty to stabilize the bullet.

Plus it would be the cheapest option, and be a cool conversation piece for anyone who looks down the bore, lol.

Worst case, if accuracy doesn't improve, youre no worse off than when you started.
 
@Driftwood Johnson thanks for this recommendation/ idea. I will definitely keep this in mind.


@Riomouse911 I have only purchased a few used revolvers in my time. Saying “ Thank you” for the learning experiences reading this thread just doesn’t seem appropriate, but I have definitely learned a few things from your unfortunate experience.
I am very leery of used gun purchases and thought I knew what to look for when doing so, but this thread has shown me that there is one thing I never really considered. For some reason I thought bulged barrels would be blatantly obvious. On that I was mistaken.



Here is a site that appears to have reasonable pricing on shortening your barrel. $250 to shorten and recontour barrel and add sight block. I have no experience with these folks.
https://pinnaclehighperformance.com/services/
 
Pat Riot said:
I am very leery of used gun purchases and thought I knew what to look for when doing so, but this thread has shown me that there is one thing I never really considered. For some reason I thought bulged barrels would be blatantly obvious. On that I was mistaken.
Click to expand...

Most of my revolvers were bought used. Some of them are very old. I never buy a firearm without being able to inspect it in person. Over the years, one learns many things to look for in buying used (old) revolvers, but there is always more to learn.
 
As I recall, the old 38 with the bulge in the barrel has the bulge pretty near the frame. So perhaps as the bullet continued down the bore the rifling was able to 'restabalize' it. After all, the bulge is probably less than the length of a bullet. Maybe with a bulge near the frame it was just a bit of a 'hiccup' as the bullet went down the bore. Perhaps a bulge near the muzzle 'destabalizes' the bullet as it leaves the muzzle.

Oh yeah. My 44-40 1860 Henry has a slight bulge, or ring, in the bore right near the chamber. Don't ask how it happened, that is my little secret. But that rifle has never suffered from inaccuracy before or after I put the bulge there.
 
If you can find a take off cheap i would give it a try but beware. . Problem is, sites like epay have gotten beyond ridiculous in price. Its so bad i stopped looking for parts there altogether. The added problem is many try to unload damaged stuff (like barrels) on those sites so you may be back to square "minus" one. As for barrel thickness being "bulge Insurance" forget it. I have a clark marked custom bull barrel with a nasty bulge in it. Theres whats left of a bullet jacket embedded into the barrel to confirm it. Shooter prolly shot it unaware for a long time. Theres also net site selling no barrel pistols cheap and replacement barrels are vanishing as a possible consequence. I have seen these being rebarreled with surplus UK WW2 barrels and being sold as covert lendlease. The Gunparts barrel seems most cost effective and may fit up with minor work.
 
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