revolver rifling damaged, need suggestion

[Revolver Ocelot]

I have an sp101 that got a squib load at the range, I was alarmed at first of course but I was fortunate enough to have a friend that knew what to do, or so I thought. He hammered it out with some combination of a steel cleaning rod and a punch I believe, I thanked him and went home and put the revolver in the safe.

Now 6 months later I take my gun to the range and the groups are crap, I unloaded it and looked at the muzzle and the damage that has been don't to it.

It is far enough down that I would most likely have to have the barrel cut and re-crowned, But I rather not have to cut the barrel any shorter. The gun has been customized enough that I can't send it back to ruger, and finding a barrel isn't an option either.

I'm now wondering if it would be possible to remove the barrel, drill it out and re sleeve the barrel or something of the sort? I've heard of this being done before but don't know where to look.

 

[Old Fuff]

Relining the barrel is an option, but it wouldn't be cheap. Exactly how far down in the barrel with this damage?

 

[788Ham]

First off, why can't you send it back to Ruger? Customization shouldn't have any bearing on the barrel. Give them a call and ask about it, better to call than having to go to someone else that might do more damage. Obvious your friend isn't a gunsmith either!

 

[BBBBill]

First off, why can't you send it back to Ruger? Customization shouldn't have any bearing on the barrel....

Ruger will examine and replace ALL parts that are not up to factory original specs, even the ones you don't want replaced. Your nice trigger job will be history.

...finding a barrel isn't an option either...

I see them for sale at least once every couple months on GunBroker as parts kits from police destroyed guns. Not sure what length you want, but here's one for sale right now -
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=382311145
Are you equipped to correctly remove/install barrels, and set cylinder to barrel gap? It's not rocket surgery, but it does require the correct tooling and knowledge to get it right.

 

[243winxb]

If the damage is down the barrel, polish with a lapping compound. As said below

you may only have to polish the top of the lands to remove the deformation and not have to do anything to the grooved area of the rifling.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Can it be recrowned?

BTW, you friend should have used a brass rod, not a steel rod. The only steel rod I use is a coated Dewey one piece rod.

 

[rcmodel]

some combination of a steel cleaning rod and a punch I believe

A near bore size polished steel rod would have been fine.

A steel punch?
Not so much!!

rc

 

[LAGS]

My sugestion would be to first, Slug the Bore, and see what kind of deformities are on the slug.
Second is to do a Barrel casting to see if you can pinpoint the extent of the defomation and the effect on the casting.
Then mandrel the bore and see if the lands are doing the deformation.

Once you know what you are dealing with, then you will have a better idea of the method of repair needed.
IE : you may only have to polish the top of the lands to remove the deformation and not have to do anything to the grooved area of the rifling.

 

[45_auto]

You can get a .357 SP101 barrel on Gunbroker right now for $75.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Pistol-Barrels/BI.aspx?Keywords=sp101+barrel

If it's a .38 Special (or you don't care what your .357 says on the barrel), Numrich has them for $78.

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Products/1404800.htm

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

I need a 3" barrel, I'm not sure if it'd be repairable or not, some of the lands are "mushroomed" and the damage goes alittle over 1/8" down the barrel. I'm going to have it re crowned to see if that fixes it because that would be a cheaper solution.

As far as sending it to ruger, I know they'd fix it but the cost to get all of the work they undo redone would probably end up more costly then relining the barrel (I'm assuming this wouldn't exceed 400ish dollars)

 

[rcmodel]

Re-Crowning will not fix it if it's damaged 1/8" down inside the muzzle.

You could counter-bore it past the damage though and come out smelling like a slightly wilted rose..

rc

 

[Jim K]

Lining a barrel (at least as the term is usually meant) might be pretty iffy in a .357 Magnum. When a barrel is reamed out, the interior surface is not even. So the liner must be strong enough to contain the pressure by itself. If it doesn't, the liner is forced into any oversize areas of the barrel and the bulges inside make the bore uneven and inaccurate. If you can find a heavy liner (like the Dan Wesson internal barrel) things might be OK, but I think I would talk pretty seriously with anyone who will take on the job.

IMHO, I would send it to Ruger and bite the bullet on any other changes they might make. Maybe your friend would be willing to pick up part of the tab, since he was the cause of the damage.

Jim

 

[LAGS]

I would have to actually see the extent of the damage to tell you what would be best.
But the cheapest fixes and Best fixes would be.
If the damage is less than 1/2" down the bore, then just have the barrel counterbored.
If the damage is deeper than 1/2" down the bore, Just have the barrel replaced.
If you reline the barrel, it will function fine, but you will never be comfortable with the fix or really trust the gun with full house loads again.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

I've actually considered calling up bowen and see if they can make me a custom barrel with the same profile and just get it re bead blasted, more costly but less risky and it may end up being a better quality barrel.

 

[Jim Watson]

I don't see a price for an SP barrel at BCA but a plain round barrel for a Blackhawk is $495.

I think I would have the marred one counterbored a bit.
And watch the ads for a takeoff 3".

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

seems to me for the cost of lining the barrel or having a barrel made I could buy a 3", steal the barrel off of it and sell the parts to off set the cost.

 

[CraigC]

I'm sure Bowen is not getting $500 for a new round barrel on a single action. That's what other makers charge for an octagon, or double what they charge for a round barrel. Either way, a new barrel for an SP will be expensive because it's a one-off kind of operation. Plenty of gunsmiths routinely install round, octagon, bull or ovate barrels on single actions but it's not common at all for the SP. Before I went that route, I'd buy another SP with the barrel I wanted, have the two swapped, have the damaged one shortened (or replaced with the takeoff barrel mentioned above) and then sell it off.

Relining shouldn't be much more than $150.

 

[Jim Watson]

Craig,

Just so you don't think I make stuff up:

From the BCA www catalog:

"No. B320 (*) Fabricate/fit custom round barrel Made from premium-quality barrel stock and supplied in a variety of calibers. Standard features include an 11 degree forcing cone, factory-style crown, custom front sight (No. B310) and rebluing. Barrel-to-cylinder gap set at .003 – .004; please note: in some cases, cylinder endfloat may require adjustment prior to rebarreling.

Please Specify the following:


· Contour: factory or untapered
· Length: up to 7 ½ inches
· Blade shape: ramp, Baughman ramp or Patridge

B320 $495.00"

 

[CraigC]

Then that also includes a front sight and finish work. So not quite double what others charge but still high, as is most of Bowen's work. Either way, it's not really relevant as a custom barrel for the SP would be a high dollar one-off endeavor. I would expect at least $500-$600 even if you can find someone willing to tackle it.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

If re crowning it does not work I will buy another gun, swap the barrel and either sell the parts or fix it up as a second sp101, in the end I think that is the easiest option and the one least damaging to my wallet.

as for relining the barrel, I got a quote yesterday, the shop I found wanted 300 for a 3" barrel to be relined.

 

[beag_nut]

Several people have mentioned counterboring. Why do you keep saying crowning? Do you not understand what counterboring is?

 

[LAGS]

@ Beag Nut
Counterboring is where you drill out or Mill Cut out a section of the rifling Lands back to where there is good rifling.
Then where the counterbore stops, that creates an internal Crown at the end of the rifling.
Basicly if you start of with say a 3" barrel, and you counterbore it 1/2" to remove damaged rifling, you when have a 2 1/2" barrel that is still 3" long on the outside.
It saves cutting off the original barrel and front sight, and having the end of the barrel recrowned.
Counterboring wont effect accuracy, but it can restore accuracy lost because of a worn or damaged muzzle on a gun from improper cleaning, or like in this case some abuse in a repair attempt.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

Several people have mentioned counterboring. Why do you keep saying crowning? Do you not understand what counterboring is?

I am aware of what it is, I would rather not have less than 3" of barrel (I know the barrel would still be there, but the rifling would not). I realize this option would make my revolver accurate again, and be less expensive than other options, I just don't want to give up the little bit of extra velocity to do it.

I say re crowning because redoing the muzzle crown will remove some of the burrs caused by the steel punch and may restore enough of the accuracy that I can live with it.

 

[LAGS]

@ Revolver Ocelot
At MOST you are talking about maybe loosing 50 FPS.
You dont get full volocity out of a barrel that is less than 6 inches anyway.
If it was my gun, I would have it counterboared, and still look for a deal on a replacement barrel down the road.
With patients, you will find a better deal, and eventually be back in the black.
Then take the counterbored barrel and have it threaded for a supressor someday.???
Just my thoughts, it is your gun.
But counterbored, it is sellable, but it really isn't in the present condition.
Not in all fairness.
But have you had the barrel looked at by a professional ?
You may be able to save what you have.
I have to Hone or Lap many of the antique barrels on my rebuilt guns, and the bores are pretty well damaged when I get them.
Slug the bore and see what is really going on before you totally condem what you have.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

Lags, surprising as it seems there aren't a lot of options in Fairbanks for barrel work, I plan on making one more range trip tomorrow to get a group on paper (can't find any from my last trip) so I can have it as something compare once I get any work done. I'll bring it by a couple of the in town gunsmiths to see what can be done to salvage my current barrel. I'm just trying to get an idea as to my options should push come to shove.