.22 rifle with a ringed barrel

[fatelk]

I was cleaning up an old rifle for a friend, Winchester pump .22LR. It's been in his family for generations, and has obviously seen some hard use over the decades.

The one issue that I can't fix is a "ring" in the bore, about an inch or so past the chamber. I'm assuming that someone at some time lodged a bullet or some obstruction in the bore, then shot another round behind it. It's not the worst one I've seen, and is not bulged on the outside, but it is most definitely ringed inside.

How safe is this to shoot? Many thousand rounds have likely been down that barrel since it happened (who knows?). If it was a larger caliber, I would definitely recommend against it, but I'm still a little hesitant to tell him to go ahead and shoot it.

A new barrel is really not an option, due to cost. If it's not safe to fire occasionally, it's just a wallhanger.

 

[Jim Watson]

I'd give it a try.

 

[rcmodel]

The ring will have no impact on safety with a .22.

It may reduce power slightly due to gas blow-by while the bullet passes through the ringed section.

Since it is so far back in the barrel, I doubt it will effect accuracy at all.

It could increase the chance of another stuck bullet when using very low power ammo, due to gas blow-by further decreasing power.
I would avoid CB caps and standard velocity Shorts or Longs until I did some testing to make sure they will get out of the barrel every time.

rc

 

[fatelk]

Excellent! Thank you for the info.