Barrel Bulge

[cwood3]

I was given a Stevens Favorite 22LR by my eldest uncle on my mom's side. It was purchased by my grandfather when he was a kid. I had shot that rifle a few times when I was around 12 or 13 when my grandfather still had it. I'm 63 years old now. When my uncle gave it to me (at my mom's 82nd birthday party...bless her) he told me he had loaned it to one of my aunts and her husband to go do some "plinking". Unfortunately, at some point during that session, they had let the muzzle get plugged with mud or dirt. They had apparently fired the rifle afterwards (unknowingly) and the result was a very slight "bulge" about midway down the 22" octagonal barrel. That little rifle has a fairly heavy barrel for a 22LR compared to today's standards....but it is a sweet gun, with sentimental value. I guess my main question is about the feasibility of repairing s "slight bulge" to make it "shootable". I intend to keep it in the family and it would be nice to be able to introduce some of our newer family members to firearms, safely, in these days when it looks like gun laws may be changing. (I live in Texas). I have been keeping my eyes open for a replacement barrel but they seem to be pretty scarce for a full octagonal. I thought that I had heard somewhere that such a repair may, indeed, be possible. Any advice???

Thanks all.

 

[MEHavey]

Have you in fact shot it? (assuming you've checked the barrel is clear)
(A 22 having a slight bulge doesn't make it unshootable)

 

[shoobe01]

Midway down bulges should the result of a squib, and is the point where the live followon round smacked into the stuck squbbed bullet.

I have fired numerous guns, centerfire and rimfire, with such a bulge. Usually, it is not known until it wears oddly at the high point, some machine work is done and it becomes clear the barrel is not straight anymore, or someone borescopes it.

[Not my fault if you blow yourself up but] unless there's some clear reason to suspect the gun is dangerous, slight bulges are unimportant, and likely won't even impact accuracy.

Repairing it? Cannot imagine a way. Be interested to see if anyone else has anything to say along these lines though.

 

[243winxb]

A barrel liner should work. https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...-caliber-rimfire-barrel-liners-prod10974.aspx

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Yup, shoot it first. If it hits roughly where you're aiming, dont worry about it.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

At a black powder match, a friend asked me to push a cleaning rod with a tight patch down the barrel of his 1888 Gewehr Commision Rifle.
There musta been 5 or 6 inches 2/3rds down the barrel with no resistence at all, like the rifling had been eroded away completely,
It still shot well (with his black powder handloads).

Barrel bulges are not good, but they are not the complete death of practical accuracy. You may lose some muzzle velocity and energy.

 

[AJC1]

They make new barrels of every kind, octagon included. I like functional rifles that are safe... unless there is some huge value just have the barrel replaced. If your worried they can and will send the old one back.

 

[Zygodactyl]

My Dad had given me a 22/410 that had a slight bulge. The bulge was half way down. The thing was a literal tack driver. I used to stick spent cases into a tree and drive them in with the bullet. As a kid I would buy a can of 250 BB caps and shoot in my Grandfathers back yard. It was so quiet it never disturbed the neighbors.

 

[Johnm1]

Check out this thread.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...pe-of-a-barrel-first-stevens-favorite.902687/

Same gun, same condition. Although a barrel liner, if done right, will fix the inside I don't know of a way to fix the bulge on the outside. Mine shoots great and as long as it continues to shoot well it won't get fixed.

 

[Johnm1]

And welcome to the forum.

Pictures are a must by the way. We all live vicariously through others and their photographs.

 

[Rick Kr]

A barrel liner should work. https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...-caliber-rimfire-barrel-liners-prod10974.aspx

Barrel liner is what I had done to a 1893 Marlin lever action octagon barrel. It is a hand-me-down from a grandfather so has sentimental value, but was in no way a collector's piece. Don't shoot it much, but it is nice to play with.

 

[usaral63]

It IS possible to swage that bbl back to its original form.........but you need some smith with the know how. I recall an article on that very issue wherein the repair was done via finding an automotive socket of the same dimensions as the damaged bbl and forcing it over the damaged area......the results were impressive.

Could be wrong but I believe the article appeared in Rifle magazine.................quite a while back and I don't know if that publication has a searchable data base.................anyway, if that was my gun and it held sentimental value that is the direction I'd go.

 

[Kp321]

If the bulge is not near the muzzle, the accuracy should not be effected. Safety is not an issue with a rimfire rifle like it would be with a higher pressure rifle. A friend has a Winchester pump 22 with numerous bulges, 4 or 5, that still shoots well.

 

[cwood3]

I want to thank for all the replies. You cannot visually see the bulge, it's a "feel". I think I will shoot it and see where it hits. If I can get a decent POI/POA that's good enough. You guys' input is priceless.

Thank you.

 

[doubleh]

I want to thank for all the replies. You cannot visually see the bulge, it's a "feel". I think I will shoot it and see where it hits. If I can get a decent POI/POA that's good enough. You guys' input is priceless.

Thank you.

That is exactly what I would do. If it doesn't preform to suit you then I would look into relining it to preserve it's originality. I think you will be pleasantly surprised especially if you remember these weren't target rifles.