Counterbore?

[John 242]

Major Bruce Drake… bayonets… Roger, that makes sense to me. I didn’t think about mounting the bayonet. I was figuring that the Russians were simply being thrifty by not trashing a worn barrel that sill had some life left in it.

Tokarev, thanks for the picture of the counter-bore cutter and the explanation. I wasn’t tracking exactly what model rifle Mr Peabody’s BSA was. I should have put a little more thought into it. I’m assuming that the rifle is a No. 1 Lee-Enfield type rifle. In my mind I was picturing a BSA sporting rifle for some reason. Being a fan of older firearms and especially military surplus rifles, it would be a shame to have to cut back the barrel on an otherwise fine example.

Mr Peabody, I figured that was your reasoning for counter-boring, but I wasn’t sure. I wish you success with your rifle.

Thank you all for educating me. I appreciate it.
John T.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
Had an M1 Garand H&R with a very bad muzzle. Would shoot 6 inch patterns at 50 yards. So I thought I could not loose a thing. Took a 3/8 ths bit, built a guide jig on the work table, mounted the barrel in my vise and countered bored about 1.5 inches.
That barrel then shot 4 inches at 100 yards with the RCBS 308 180 gr FNGC. I then decided to drill the barrel top with 3 1/4 inch holes in the counterbored area. Just about eliminated all muzzle climb. Shot that barrel several years till I came across a new H&R barrel.
Then there was a 44/40 down here in Peru with a very bad muzzle. Tried a half inch bit 3/4 inch deep but no help. Cut that barrel back one inch and it shoots well.
Mike in peru

[gidgaf]

There's a lot of reasons to do it.
A few decades of improper cleaning, and there's a little ridge or two in that last bit.
When you put the gun down, you put muzzle down on the ground- a few decades later there's a dent.
Sometimes lube don't make it all the way to the end.
Some powders are a bit abrasive, and once that pesky bullet is out of the way the high velocity fire can scour up the end.
That end of the barrel take a lot of beating over the years! And not being able to hit a paper plate at a 100 yards isn't a thing to be proud of.

I've mentioned it here before- I likes me old Mausers, I likes shooting big cast slugs.
Folk that know me know that, and when they get a *** bolt gun they talk to me.
I can take an old metal ruler and show them the end of the barrel is bent. Sometimes it really is!
Yes shortening the barrel makes it real easy. Did any of youse ever compare a 308 with a 16" barrel vs a 22"? Sure it's only supposed to be 150 fps diff- but there's a *lot* of fire and noise out of that little barrel!
Brownells has that great kit- take a half inch off max, counter bore another inch out of that 24 to 29 incher, and the 100 yd groups just got half sized. It don't look bubba got to it and it shoots good. And no eyebrow brushing blast, neither.

[Junior1942]

I chopped my Turk Mauser's barrel off to 20" and now the "fire and noise" is so bad I don't like to shoot the rifle. One of these days I'm gonna add a 3" pipe to the end of the barrel. The ol' warhorse shoots way better than a $59.95 rifle ought to shoot.