Bent barrel....

[Scooter22]

I came across a complete matching s/n M96 Swedish Mauser in very nice shape missing the stock. The barrel had a very slight bend to the left. I picked it up as a parts gun. The barrel got bent when the stock was broke. I only paid 20 bucks at a garage sale. It's been sitting around and I remembered seeing a old pic of Mauser employees hand straightening barrels on a jig that had a big wheel on top. So I thought what the heck. I secured the rifle in a press and straightened it out. Now when I look down the bore it's concentric. Before you could see the hole in the muzzle was slightly off. So now I thought about just getting a stock and trying it out. I've seen them around for 50-60 bucks. Any concerns? I can still use it for parts but a nice Swede for under 100 bucks would be nice.

 

[BBBBill]

Hard to say. Opinions will vary. If it was actually kinked, it is toast. There might still be some irregularity in the bore at the point of the bend. Best way to know is to use a range rod. They are precision turned to a set of diameters for a particular bore size. You attach it to a long handle (similar to a cleaning rod) and pass it down the bore to feel for tight spots. If it hits a spot and will not pass, the barrel would be rejected. How tight is too tight? I've seen plenty of factory barrels that have a spot that's a little tight and creates a bit of drag, but still allows the rod to pass. They seem to shoot reasonably well, but are not what you would want on a match gun for sure.
I sure do like Shillen barrels on my Swedes.

 

[Scooter22]

The barrel/bore isn't kinked. It was more of a curve then a sharp angle bend. When I first got it I cleaned the bore just for the heck of it and it's in great shaped. I didn't feel any tight spots then. After I straightened it I lubed a tight patch and pushed it through several times with a one piece Dewy rod. Nice and smooth with no tight or loose spots. Only problem I though of would be the sights might not adj if the POI is off. If it shoots like a typical milsurp Swede I'd be happy.

 

[rcmodel]

You are completely correct that new barrels are straightened as you mentioned.

This from Springfield armory museum.
Savage still does the same thing today with new barrels.



By looking through it, you can see concentric rings of reflections in a shiny bore.
If they are not concentric rings, the barrel is still bent.

The eye is way more accurate then any range rod of other method of determining if it is straight or not.

If it wasn't kinked, it wasn't damaged enough to compromise safety.

Shoot it and see what it does.

rc

 

[Scooter22]

I'll look for a stock and give it a try. If it doesn't shoot well I can still part it out. Heck the bolts go for close to 100 bucks plus the other parts. But I hope I can save it as a shooter. Thanks for the input.

 

[NCsmitty]

It's certainly worth a try to see how it shoots. There's a few Swede stocks reasonably priced on ebay right now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/original-sw...461?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53f7cbc62d


NCsmitty