Decent accuracy from worn muzzles ?

[geo57]

The muzzle on my 03A3 will swallow the bullet from an M2 round ( bullet test ) clear to the case mouth ( but not quite on a .308 soft point ) , yet shoot fairly accurately. We have all heard that rifles with worn muzzles won't shoot well, but have you experienced acceptable accuracy with muzzles such as mine ? Say 4 inch 100 yard groups ? Thanks

 

[scubie02]

I had an old savage 222 that I bought used as a kid with very worn rifling that'd literally shoot dime sized groups. I've seen some guns bought with pitted barrels shoot amazingly well. All depends on the rifle.

 

[Ifishsum]

I have an 1898 model Krag sporter with a sewer pipe bore and worn muzzle, and she would shoot 3 inchers @100 with an old 1950s era weaver scope. Go figure. Fouls horribly though.

 

[Ghost Walker]

'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!' 4" @ 100 yards is not my personal idea of, 'good' accuracy. I'd find that to be annoying! It doesn't take much to restore the crown on a worn muzzle. I've read posts from guys who've made these repairs with emery paper, a golf ball, cold blue, and (sometimes) a power drill.

One of the joys of owning an old rifle like this is to contact a company like Brownell's and teach yourself how to re:stock or glass-bed the action. I've done this to several old mil-surps. All of them ended up shooting better than 2 1/2" @ 100 yards.

(By the way if you're using typical, 'economy' ammo maybe all you need to improve accuracy is to get some good old fashioned Remington or Federal ammunition.)


http://www.brownells.com/Default.aspx

 

[wanderinwalker]

I agree with the comment of 4" @ 100 yards being annoying! I can hold about 1.5 MOA from a slung-up prone, so the rifle had better be capable of better than that!

Anyway, though not muzzle related, I've played with a 1903A3 Springfield that has a "dark" bore. The thing will do 1.5" at 100 yards for 5 shots, with good reloads. My personal deer rifle, a .260 Remington in the 700 Mountain Rifle, has a bore that looks like it got cut with a dull cutter. It fouls wicked, but it will plunk 3 rounds into 1/2" at 100 yards without much fanfare. With accuracy like that, I'll spend a little more time scrubbing if need be.