how to fix a hack-sawed muzzle

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  • Last Post 02 February 2009
superior posted this 18 January 2009

Hi all.  I just bought an old enfield jungle carbine in 303 brit from one of our drivers here at work. It's a Santa Fe conversion of a 1914 STLE. The bore looks reasonably ok, but he hack-sawed the flash hider off back in 1961 when he bought it to go deer hunting with. He threw in 3 full boxes of federal 180gr hi-shok ammo that appears to be very old also. It hasnt been fired since 1961. The end of the muzzle is completely flat and I know that has most likely screwd up the accuracy. (but maybe not)  I'd be satisfied with “minute of popcan” accuracy at 50 yards with jacketed ammo but i'd rather get set up for cast ammo. Is there a way that I can restore the crown if the rifle doesnt shoot well or should I just take it to a smith for that? The seller said it shot fine after the hack job but it was only good for about 100 yards due to the already short barrel. I paid him $25 for the rifle and the 60 rounds of ammo. I'm thinking the ammo might be of some collector value, whaddaya think?

 

 

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jimkim posted this 18 January 2009

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RicinYakima posted this 19 January 2009

superior,

If you are a careful workman, you can square the muzzle with a small metal square and a fine cut file. It doesn't have to be perfect, just close. Use a small steel ball bearing and fine cut valve grinding compound and you can, by hand, twist until you have polished the inside down the depth of the lands. That is plenty close enough for anything but match shooting.

HTH, Ric

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CB posted this 19 January 2009

RicinYakima wrote: superior,

Use a small steel ball bearing

HTH, Ric I use brass round head screws from the hardware store in a variable speed drill running slow.

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superior posted this 19 January 2009

Thanks, guys. I might try something like that. There's a video on youtube where a guy from Midway shows how to do it with a reamer on a tap handle.

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JetMech posted this 19 January 2009

I successfully fixed my O3A3 that had the same treatment. The only thing different I did was after squaring the muzzle, used a 1/2” ball carbide rotary file in an electric drill at low speed. It will self-center. Cut until the ball just cuts full groove diameter, maybe a hair more. Looks like a custom job.

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RicinYakima posted this 19 January 2009

Pat,

Yep, the traditional round headed brass screw works fine. But I never seem to have the size I need and it takes a couple for each job plus I would have to drive to town to get one. But there is a box of old tractor bearings in the shop, and I'm just to cheap to buy screws in advance.:D

Ric

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CB posted this 19 January 2009

RicinYakima wrote: superior,

If you are a careful workman, you can square the muzzle with a small metal square and a fine cut file. It doesn't have to be perfect, just close. Use a small steel ball bearing and fine cut valve grinding compound and you can, by hand, twist until you have polished the inside down the depth of the lands. That is plenty close enough for anything but match shooting.

HTH, Ric

Unless you're planning on doing other barrel jobs, the reamer kit isn't worth the investment, as Rick's advice is just fine.

I use a round carborundum bit, the kind for use in drills. White ones are the finest. I don't radius the lands to the groove, I just twist by hand back and forth once or twice to remove any burs. Then a couple of twists with 0000 steel wool into the muzzle and quit. I figure the more you mess with it trying to radius the lands, the more of a chance to go off center..............Dan

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huffmanite posted this 29 January 2009

Not too long ago I decided to do something with a 30 cal military surplus rifle that some prior owner had shortened its barrel.  The group this rifle shot left a lot to be desired.  Curious, I used a Lee brass case trimmer to check how level the crown was.  I used a 7mm mauser spindle for the trimmer, shimmed the spindle with aluminum from a beer can so that there was very little play when I inserted the spindle into the muzzle.  My intent was to just make a light twist with the trimmer against the muzzle, so that the blades of the trimmer would mark the metal.  That way I could judge how level was the crown.  Sure enough, the crown was not as level as it appeared to the naked eye.   Hmmm, wonder what would happen if I exerted a light pressure on the trimmer and hand turned the trimmer.   Well, within 10 minutes I had put a new crown on the muzzle.  I was very surprised how well the Lee brass trimmer shaved the metal on the muzzle.  I repeated this technique on another sporterized military surplus rifle, a 7X57 93 Spanish mauser that had also had its barrel shortened by someone else.  With the 7mm bore, I used the spindle for the 6.5X55 Swedish mauser, again shimming with aluminum.  It worked very well.  The finishing touch on the muzzle crowns was to take a carriage bolt, coat the head with valve grinding compound, chuck it in my drill and then polish the muzzle bore.  I've only shot the first rifle I used the case trimmer on to do a crown and there was a definite improvement on the group the rifle shoots at 100 yards.

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JetMech posted this 29 January 2009

Looks outstanding! It's amazing what can be done with the simple shop tools most of us have on hand already.

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Brodie posted this 29 January 2009

An old gunsmith I knew used a hand operated drill with a countersink chucked into it.  He would set the barrel vertical in the vise and place the tip of the counter sink in the bore and crank until it suited him.  He built three rifles for me and every one shoots very well.

B.E.Brickey

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CWME posted this 02 February 2009

The gunsmith tool manufacturers have to sell tools to stay in business. They make us all think that we have to have the biggest and the best to do it right...

Your posts are showing that a little old fashioned ingenuity is sometimes all it takes.

I have family gun, Marlin 1893 in 32-40 that was hacked off in about 1907. It has passed through 4 generations now with a crooked hacksawn muzle. It shoots .325 sized CBs into a ragged hole at 50 yards with boring consistency. 

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