Unknown .36 rifle

[RevolvingGarbage]

I bought this rifle today on a whim, and I would like to get some info on it. The pictures show that it was made in Spain (EIC Eibar Spain), and the caliber as listed on the top of the barrel as 9mm. .350 round balls seem like they would be a good fit with a standard wad, and the barrel is rifled.

The barrel is fairly long, but it has an obvious downward bend to it. I am planning to shoot it a bit, and if its all over the place I'm thinking about cutting it down to just in front of the band in the middle of the forestock. If it seems to shoot straight I want to leave it full length and give it some kind of decent sights, since as of now it just has a little teeny bead.

Has anyone seen or handled a similar rifle? Ideas as to its age?

Lastly, what is a good load of FFg for a rifle of this caliber? Can i use conicals with a patch?

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

More pics

 

[Acorn Mush]

I suggest you try about 30 grains of 3fg to start with, it being faster burning than 2fg. There should be less fouling with the 3fg also.

There are ways to straighten your barrel too. You might want to give that a try before you you shorten it.

 

[pohill]

This chart says that the H1 code (on your rifle) designates 1962. But I wonder what the 92 means on your barrel?
http://www.cruffler.com/ProductionDataPages/Astra/AstraDatesOfProduction.html

Then there's this chart:
http://utting.org/site/aya-model-400-proof-marks/

"‘X’ in shield under plumed helmet = received at Eibar proof house"
The numbers after the H1 might be the proof pressures

 

[Patocazador]

Just make sure you wear shooting glasses. That nipple doesn't have much in the way of shielding for your eyes.

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

The 92 on the barrel has a decimal in the middle, so could it be an indication of the actual groove diameter, or maybe the proper size of ball to use?

Also thanks for the tip on using 3f. The only reason I asked about using 2f is that I have some laying around already I could use instead of spending a ton on more powder.

 

[bubba15301]

that is the bore diameter 9.2mm = .362 so you would need a .345 ball and a .015 patch

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

Hmm, well I got a bag of 100 .350 balls to use with the rifle. These should be fine to use with a slightly thinner patch, correct?

Is there any way I can straighten the barrel myself?

 

[rkite]

Are you sure its really bent. Looks like it may be a swamped barrel meaning it was machined from the out side to tapper it. I would have a gunsmith look at it. I would guess it is a slow twist barrel and is designed to shoot round balls not conicals.

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

When removed from the stock, looking down the barrel from either end it really appears to have a downward bend to it. It may be a swamped barrel as you say, that's one area where my knowledge base fails me. The surface of the barrel is a bit uneven (not a perfectly even octagonal shape down the whole length), might that indicate that it was swamped? The front bead is infact hidden from view by the bend when you aim down the rifle from the little tiny raised channel on the back of the receiver (rear sight?).

 

[Oldnamvet]

I have straightened a severely bent barrel (courtesy of the USPS) by putting the bend in the crotch of an old maple tree and pulling on it until I saw little white dots in front of my eyes. An hour or so of adjusting the position and pulling on it and it appeared straight. When I built up a long gun with it, my first shot was only 2 inches left of the bull at 25 yds. tweaking the sights brought me right on target so I must have gotten it straight enough.