slugging help, multiple guns.

[troy_mclure]

today i slugged my ruger sbh in .44mag, and savage 111 in .30-06.

on the sbh: pb boolits cast at .430.

the boolits just dropped thru the cylinder, each chamber was the same.

i had to slug the barrel from the muzzle end, it got looser towards the frame.(tapered barrel?)

the gun has always been accurate with jacketed bullets.

on the savage: pb boolits cast at .309.

the bore gets bigger towards the muzzle, i cast from both sides and can definately tell.

so my questions:

is the cylinder on the sbh normal?

and is the savage barrel trash?
i haven't actually shot it for more than 25yds.

[bhn22]

So what are the Savages bore dimensions at the muzzle then? It sounds like the Savage needs to be lapped. As for the Blackhawk, it's not considered slugging if you drop undersized slugs through the throats, you need to start with a slug that will be reduced in diameter by the throat, then measure said slug after its trip through said throat. Another option is to use pin gauges on the throats, but I don't use them because they won't tell you if your throat is out of round. It just gauges the throat at it's narrowest point. Some guys like then however. I've seen a fair number of ruger throats at around .432 to .433.

[462]

They aren't Rugers, but both my S&W .44 Specials have .432" throats. Cast fatter slugs, push them through all six throats and measure them.

[troy_mclure]

So what are the Savages bore dimensions at the muzzle then? It sounds like the Savage needs to be lapped.

how would one go about taking just the muzzle? slug it 1/2 way in, then push it back out?

[JIMinPHX]

Rugers tend to have large throats. As was already said, try slugging the throats with bigger slugs.

You can also slug the barrel of a revolver from the forcing cone end by using a C-clamp to push the slug into the barrel. Protect the muzzle with a piece of soft pine, then squeeze the slug into the forcing cone with the C-clamp. Then, loosen the c-clamp, put a short dowel behind the slug & push it in some more. Then do the same thing with a longer dowel. Keep going until you get the slug where you want it. You can stop part way up the barrel & knock the slug back out from the front to check the barrel diameter at different points along the way.

[Bass Ackward]

the bore gets bigger towards the muzzle, i cast from both sides and can definately tell.

so my questions:

is the cylinder on the sbh normal?

and is the savage barrel trash?
i haven't actually shot it for more than 25yds.


Yes on the SBH. That's why you are slugging. Are they all the same size though?

I am conflicted about the statement that .... you can tell. Surely you mean that you can measure?

Cause what you feel can fail you if you don't understand WHAT you are feeling. Take copper for an example. It will make it feel way more difficult to push a slug and you could interpret that as smaller. Being copper builds heaviest at the breech or throat end, then you would believe that you are reverse tapered when maybe you are not.

It is not impossible to find a reverse tapered gun, but not likely these days. If it is truly reversed, then it will be difficult with cast or jacketed. So if it shoots jacketed ok, then I would clean and reslug. If it shoots jacketed poorly, then you have your answer.

[troy_mclure]

on the savage i can tell because the boolit almost falls out the last 1/3 of the barrel. i have to cast up more pb boolits, and slug both ends.

ive got some .458 round balls ill try slugging the sbh cylinder with.

[swheeler]

Troy have you cleaned that Savage REAL GOOD, could be fouling in the barrel toward the breech end copper and powder. Clean it good with your normal regimen and then give it a good scrubbing with JB paste. I wrap a patch around a bronze brush, coat the patch with JB and scrub the bore, change the patch out as it turns black and slides easily, try about 100 strokes and slug again. I like a slug in from chamber about inch, drive it back out, then slug first invh of muzzle drive it back out, compare two.

[troy_mclure]

its spotless.

[bhn22]

slugging the muzzle of a bolt action rifle barrel is easy. Drive the slug in through the muzzle to about an inch or so. The drive the slug out from the breech end with your longer rod. When slugging, make certain you are using dead soft lead. Even a little antimony or tin could give you an incorrect reading.

As mentioned before, the barrels & chambers must be completely clean. Use an ammonia based solvent & keep cleaning until you no longer get ble/green patches. After that, a cleaning with JB Bore cleaner is a really good idea. Bore fouling tends to accumulate heavier near the chamber for obvious reasons.

[troy_mclure]

its a take off barrel, there probably isnt 30 rounds thru it.

[swheeler]

its a take off barrel, there probably isnt 30 rounds thru it.

Troy that's when they collect fouling the worst, you see a lot of people cleaning copper out after only one shot on a new barrel, then fire two and clean, and so on.

[swheeler]

its a take off barrel, there probably isnt 30 rounds thru it.

Troy that's when they collect fouling the worst, you see a lot of people cleaning copper out after only one shot on a new barrel, then fire two and clean, and so on. Maybe those 30 rounds were fired without cleaning. The only barrels I've found that were larger at the muzzle got that way from cleaning rod wear, usually mil surps. .02

[swheeler]

Hey that's funny, double posts, but only partly there on first one?