doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ring bulges

Here's one for you, though not a double.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=230201484

That's pretty graphic. Wonder if it could have been the result of an obstruction rather than the shot charge?

Looks more like an obstruction to me.

really early guns can have too soft steel to use modern plastic wads!! Ron Coleman, fine gunsmith in Dallas, now retired to Colorado, I believe once diagnosed that problem in a turn of the century drilling I once returned to seller. Said no one was at fault--gun was made for cardboard/felt wads, that's all. Steve

That Browning bbl bulge had to be a serious obstruction and likely more than just a stuck wad I'd say. A decent slug of snow maybe. I've seen a few minor bulges in the same area from stuck wads. They can generally be hammered out using a clean leather or small plastic hammer and a set of pin gages. You can't get the part between the ribs of course.

A "puddle" of oil (thick film) could act as an obstruction if it has sufficient weight to slow the shot/wad enough to create a gas hammer.

The plastic wad as a problem is one theory I have not heard before. Usually, it's regarded as an improvement--especially if you're shooting steel shot (which is a no-no in quite a few doubles anyhow) because it protects the bore from the hard pellets.

Richard,
I haven't been successful in removing dents or bulges with a polycarbonate (Lexan) headed hammer, no matter how hard I beat on the barrel. The plastic just seems to absorb all the deflection. I have successfully used a polished brass hammer (the other side of that polycarb hammer) and steel hammers, including steel hammers with commom clear packing tape on the barrel to protect the blueing. It does, however, need more forceful hammering to do the same work. The clear packing tapes are generally Mylar and even the thinnest seems to really help protect a barrel that won't be refinished. I place the tape on the barrel. I recently removed some dents in a .410 this way. A .410 barrel with a similar wallthickness to a 12ga, will be much harder to remove the dent as it acts like a thicker wall, due to the small diameter.

So, my new preference is to use a freshly polished steel hammer with Mylar packing tape. I highly recommend this method to anyone removing dents or bulges. But be aware, even this thin packing tape will require aurprisingly increased force by about double what you'd use with a bare steel hammer.

Proceed with caution removing bulges. Awhile back I bought a set of ejector Fox barrels that had a bad bulge about 12" back from the muzzle of the right barrel. I worked for some time, slowly, removing it with a polished hammer and Mylar tape. I had it all nearly gone, except for that between the ribs, when the top rib popped loose from the incessant pecking near it. I removed the ribs and shipped the barrels to a good doublegun smith to finish removing the bulge, and relay the ribs. After finishing removing the bulge he found a crack where the bulge had been between the ribs.

So, I now have well over three hundred bucks in a set of useless Fox barrels. Oh well, I have some extra parts, and I learned a lesson. I won't mess with bulges that severe anymore. Dents are usually a piece of cake. Bad bulges, not.

SRH