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Thread: Bubbaed Barrel repair

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    Rebuilding Bubba'ed Muzzleloader

    I am working on a rifle for someone else.
    He did not build this rifle , he bought it used and looks good from 10 feet away.
    This whole rifle is Totally Bubbaed.
    The major issue is the barrel.
    Besides poorly filed in dovetails for the sights, they screwed the under rib to the barrel with 10/32 screws.
    The only problem is.
    They drilled and tapped the holes all the way thru into the bore.
    The screws are short enough that they don't stick out into the rifling.
    I was wondering if the barrel is still safe to fire ?
    If it might be safe to fire with screws locktighted into the barrel it leaves a dent in the bore that could collect crud and may effect accuracy.
    I was thinking about locking the screws in flush with the inside of the bore.
    Then send it to Bob Hoyt and have him refresh the rifling so there is no voids.
    The screws will be set in and filed flush with the outside of the barrel so they can never be removed.
    The under rib can then be remounted by drilling and tapping new holes the right way , or solder the rib to the barrel.
    Do you guys have any opinions on this kind of Fix.
    The rifle is a home Built ( by Bubba) and the parts all kind of match up to a TOW Kit Carson Kit.
    So there were good parts that he started with.
    But his skills are the worst I have ever seen
    Last edited by LAGS; 05-20-2022 at 04:49 PM.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master 243winxb's Avatar
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    The holes will fill with lead from firing & not be a problem. No thread locker needed on plugs.

    Had 8 holes drilled into rifling on Ruger mk1pistol, right in front of the chamber/frame. . The venting made it almost recoiless. Used for ISU rapid fire, in 70s. When plugs were put in, accuracy was ok.

    When tapping the holes, the plugs should not enter the rifling. To drill, Cerrosafe filled the area first. No burrs.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    With Patched Balls , the lead will never hit the depressions.
    Now if he shoots minies that might be an issue.
    But I don't think it will be a big problem.
    I am working on the stock inletting now.
    Looks like I have to glass bed the barrel , tang ,trigger and lock.
    Bubba sure doesn't know how to inlet anything.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master 243winxb's Avatar
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    I would look for burrs from drilling the hole. May need some polishing, so burrs dont catch the patch. A bore scope would be nice.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    I will make an Epoxy Lapping tool that is cast in the barrel.
    That with polishing compound will remove any burs.
    But I don't see any burs now or feel them.
    Who knows how long ago this gun was built.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    J.V .Howe describes how to cover up a hole drilled into the bore......with a borescope it should be relatively easy......anyhoo,it involves cutting off the screw to length as screwed in ,and matching up rifling by filing with the screw removed .....with a borescope ,it wont take too long.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    There are three holes in the barrel.
    But lucky the friend would like the barrel shortened because the barrel is way too long and really front heavy for the stock on the rifle.
    Cutting down the barrel will eliminate one of the holes at the tip of the barrel , plus the very poorly done dovetail for the front sight.
    The dovetail looks like it was cut in with a Dremmel tool
    The dovetail is so loose and not level that the front and rear sights were epoxied to the barrel.
    The barrel tennon was also soft soldered to the surface of the bottom of the barrel and not dovetailed in like it should be for the tennon design.
    That caused the tennon to be so low that it would not allow the ramrod to go past the tennon.
    I will fix that too.
    Last edited by LAGS; 05-02-2022 at 11:20 AM.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master armoredman's Avatar
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    Watching this thread with great interest.

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy
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    Just curious Lags, are you a gunsmith? I am in Southern Az, can offer services to help straighten out that bit of a mess. I mainly do black powder revolver tuning and repairs and occasional rifle stuff. I have a lathe and mill and can definitely get the dovetails in straight if you needed it done, plus square and crown the barrel after it's been cut.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    @jackrabbit.
    The name LAGS stands for.
    Larry A " Gun" Smith.
    I have been building guns for mostly myself since I was 16, back in 1970
    But I no longer have my lathe or mill.
    I do, if needed, farm out machining if it can not be done by hand.
    Armoredman can tell you about the kind of work that I do and my skill level.
    I love challenging projects like this because I do not want a bunch of Wall Hangers floating around.
    Armoredman has called me the " Anti Bubba".
    I can't post pictures on the site because of my computer.( Mostly because I am not good with computers )
    But as I am working on a gun for someone else , I send them pictures of before and after so they see what I am doing.
    My work is mostly on BP rifles now that I have retired from construction , but never worked as a Gunsmith as a business just a hobby.
    Last edited by LAGS; 05-03-2022 at 11:03 AM.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by LAGS View Post
    There are three holes in the barrel.
    But lucky the friend would like the barrel shortened because the barrel is way too long and really front heavy for the stock on the rifle.
    Cutting down the barrel will eliminate one of the holes at the tip of the barrel , plus the very poorly done dovetail for the front sight.
    The dovetail looks like it was cut in with a Dremmel tool
    The dovetail is so loose and not level that the front and rear sights were epoxied to the barrel.
    The barrel tennon was also soft soldered to the surface of the bottom of the barrel and not dovetailed in like it should be for the tennon design.
    That caused the tennon to be so low that it would not allow the ramrod to go past the tennon.
    I will fix that too.
    "We take a thousand moments for granted thinking there will be a thousand more to come. Each day, each breath, each beat of your heart is a gift. Live with love & joy, tomorrow is not promised to anyone......"

    unknown

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    The barrel is one of the Least Bubba'ed issues.
    The stock was inletted too deep.
    Then he glued in blocks to build it back up.
    In both the barrel and lock areas.
    And used some soft gummy epoxy to fill the gaps.
    The lock is mounted with two screws.
    The one at the front of the lock goes right thru the area where the ramrod should fit in the stock under the lock.
    But that wasn't an issue , because he glued a block in to build up the area for the lock to sit in.
    The trigger was inletted 1/2" deep into the stock , then again built back up with wood.
    The trigger itself was not working.
    Mainly because he filed off part of the trigger lever so it didn't hit one of the blocks of wood he glued into the lock area.
    Now the lever is too short to engage the sear lever.
    Trust me.
    I will be able to fix the whole rifle.
    I already removed all the little blocks of wood that he glued into the lock area , and am making a single block to fill in the lock area so it can be Re Inletted.
    I will also weld up the trigger lever , and drill and tap the lock for installing the lock properly.
    There are other issues , but nothing I can't Fix Properly.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master armoredman's Avatar
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    I can attest that LAGS does some FINE work. I am not home and don't have access to all my photos, but I have one fine example, a T/C Renegade he fixed from a broken junker that works like a charm. He also did an incredible custom stock for a rifle I lost right before the divorce, which I will post this weekend. Also, Jackrabbit, I still have to send you that 1860 Uberti to work on - LAGS concentrates on rifles, and yes, that is my rifle he is working on. The primary reason I bought it is that it is a left hander, and my son is left handed, so when this is done my boy and his fat old man can go make smoke together.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master elmacgyver0's Avatar
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    The barrel will be just fine.
    I repaired a demilled 30.06 barrel that had 3 bore sized holes drilled into it.
    One a few inches from the muzzle, one in the center and one in the chamber.
    Tapped the holes made plugs to screw in and contoured the best I could and welded them in place.
    Worked just fine, ejected cases have a tiny little crescent mark from the chamber repair but the gun runs flawlessly.
    If it works for a 30.06, it will be just fine for black powder.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    I took on this project to use my skills and not let parts from a good Builder Kit go to waste.
    The rifle probably have been shootable in the shape Armoredman bought it.
    But there might have been issues down the line , so why not fix the rifle now and fix all the potential issues.
    Also I will do it for him in this manor to keep the cost down.
    IE.
    We could replace the stock.
    The Pre Shaped un inletted stock costs about $150 plus shipping.
    Then it too has to be inletted and finished.
    So this gives me plenty of practice on work I may end up doing down the line on other rifles that I buy dirt cheap.
    Also , working on a Left Handers in not that common.
    So I am not going to pass up this chance to do one.
    I have 5 TC Renagade and Hawkins that I am Rebuilding at the same time I am doing his rifle.
    After that I will jump in on two other Kits that I bought.
    A GPR and a Pedersolli 32 Cub flintlock
    Last edited by LAGS; 05-03-2022 at 10:59 PM.

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy
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    Wow, you've certainly got your hands full on that one! Plum amazing how some folks can mess something up.
    Good luck with this and your other projects. I am trying to get a small business off the ground doing revolver tunes and repairs plus some other black powder things. Hoping it becomes enough work to keep me in moccasins for my " retirement years".

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    When I retired, I decided to kind of follow in my grandfather's footsteps.
    He was a home gunsmith for years.
    But the last 10 years of his life , he did only Muzzleloaders.
    And I mean Built them from scratch.
    Barrels, locks and the stocks.
    I wish I would have got some of the rifles he had built.
    But when he died.
    My grandmother donated them to the shooting club he belonged to.
    They auctioned them off for money for the club.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    Sounds like you have a real labor of love there.

    I have a bad habit of bringing stuff like this home, but it always bites me with twenty times more work and money dumped into it than if I just scrapped the whole thing and started from scratch... But that's just me.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
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    I have at least one lever action that has front sight mount screw holes that are all the way though the barrel the screws holding sight mount are short and dont extend to rifling. I just assumed that's the way marlin made them at some point. its not a problem in that gun.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    Rebuilding a Bubba'ed Muzzleloader

    Since I will be cutting about 8" off the barrel and that section has one of the holes.
    I will play with running the screw into the barrel and Lock tite it in place in the cut off peice of the barrel.
    This gives me a sample that I can play with to have the screw run all the way down to the rifling.
    Then since it is right at the end of the barrel , I can see what has to be done to make it flush with the rifling .
    That way I can play with the lapping tool that I will make.
    Then see if I can eliminate any depression or prevent burs or screw protruding into the bore.
    That is why I like these kind of projects.
    They allow me to experiment with different types of repairs and not downgrade the finish build.
    Sort of like trying different finishes on Junk Stocks that I do not intend on actually building into another gun.
    The cut off barrel section with the Bubba'ed in front sight dovetail will also give me something to practice on before I have to do the repair on the other bubba'ed in dovetail for the rear sight.
    Last edited by LAGS; 05-20-2022 at 04:46 PM. Reason: Change thread title

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check