doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com When does dent become a danger?

I recently picked up an LC Smith with a dent in the barrel. Now my plan is to get it fixed but until I find someone to do the work I would like to shoot it. I have a Skeet bore Mic. and checked the dent. Appears to be .005 into the bore (5 thou.) and it is about 4 inches from the muzzle.

Here is a pic:



What to folks think, is this "ok" to shoot with lower power loads like the RSTs????

Thanks for your input... Don

I don't like the way that particular dent seems to crease in the middle. On the other hand it is out near the muzzle so pressure would be well reduced out there. That close it might effect you pattern. Why not just get it fixed before shooting it?...Geo

All dents amount to a partial bore obstruction. The degree of obstruction obviously depends upon the depth of the dent.

What other obstructions would you willingly attempt to shoot through?

Short answer to your question is , 'Nope'.

Get it fixed NOW & before you bother shooting it. Nearby thread mentions Mike Orlen. He's your guy. He was also one of the really up front willing to share [open dialogue & thots] and answer questions kinda guys here on the old original board. That's been a while ago. It also means only that he has gotten better at his craft since then. Send it to him now and then enjoy it as it was intended afterwards.

I say why risk it ? If it is visible in the bore it's not worth taking chances. The good news is it is only about $50 to get on lifted. Certainly worth the investment./ insurance/ piece of mind. I would even consider shooting the barrels in the photo. Just my 2 cents

I agree with Marks 21. Be sure to get the opinion of a qualified 'smith. Personally, I wouldn't shoot it with any shells until I did so--after all, judging from the bluing on the barrels you must have a nice looking, valuable gun, and mismatched barrels detract from value a LOT more than a repaired dent .

For the price of a few boxes of low pressure shells you can have that fixed correctly. Why fool around? That far out the risk to your body is almost none, the risk to the gun fair at worst. But if it does fail you will be looking for an extra set of barrels for a long time and at many times the cost for both the barrels and having them fit to the gun. Certainly longer than the dent lifting will take.

I agree with all the above......get it fixed. And although pictures often exaggerate what is otherwise mild, I would by all means have the barrel wall thickness measured. A dent that severe is either the result of a severe blow or a minor blow with very thin barrel walls?? Who knows until the wall thickness is measured.

I would agree that you should get it fixed promptly just because it is the "right thing" to do. I respectfully disagree on the dent acting as a bore obstruction. We need to differentiate between an obstruction and a constriction. Chokes and forcing cones are the poster children of constriction. The 12-20 burst is the great granddaddy of obstructions. In a constriction velocity of the flow increases and pressure reduces. An obstruction reduces the flow velocity which increases pressure and may lead to a gas hammer which, in theory, anyway, is the main cause of barrel bulges. The most likely obstruction is an item of foreign matter in the barrel joining the ejecta in a step of weight. When this happens, there must be a slowing of flow velocity and an increase of pressure, at least locally.

DDA

Everyone above said you should get it fixed before shooting, and I agree, mostly because it is a sharp crease which stresses the metal more than a smooth shallow dent.

But if you still decide to shoot it, and it ruptures, please post pics of the damage. We love to discuss barrel ruptures here.