This is what I get picking in the muzzle.
First pass after third 50/50 soak.
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This is what I get picking in the muzzle.
First pass after third 50/50 soak.
The last soak sat over an hour. Drained 50/50 was translucent and reddish brown. More pale than iced tea though. I decided it was enough of that for a while. Wet it down with some food grade penetrating oil I’m trying to use up.
After all the effort, I decided to go shoot it. Sent two downrange missing my full size silhouette target at 40 yards. Aimed at the grass below it and the last two rang the steel. The recovered wads look great and the barrel is slightly sooty.
I’m curious what the sights are intended for? 300+ yards? The elevation was at the lowest notch. I’m shooting a reasonable load with a 0.600” round ball. Right at 3/4 ounce or 330 grains. Could it be intended for an even lighter sabot slug??
They were made to shoot Hastings sabot slugs. Quite similar to Lightfield commanders. Neither are available currently. I think my buddy Bill nailed it and it was used with the Dragons breath rounds or something similar.
I’m not going to argue that! This junk is terrible. Even pitted barrels will eventually clean up. They will still be pitted, but dang!Originally Posted by JDHasty
I may put it in the freezer tonight and shock it with some boiling water after I enjoy my coffee in the morning.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1002083828?pid=453803
These? Subsonic 1-1/4 ounce sabot slugs. I guess that explains the sights.
It may be time to send it on down the road. Does anyone want a challenge?
My vision combined with these iron sights is terrible. I might find a refrigerator box and try my roundball loads at 100 or a shade further just for sport first.
Yea, that is them. I’ve shot quarter inch fifty yard three shot groups with the full power 3” ones out of my DS II. It and the kids’ H&R are wicked accurate. The cantilever scoped barrels a little less so, but still will hold an inch at 50 easily.
Bill reminded me that one of the police departments wrecked a bunch of Mossberg 500 riot barrels with phosphorus rounds, but he may be a little off. You can take it to the bank that it happened, but sometimes the strict details, like the phosphorus reference, can be off. I’m sure that they wrecked the barrels using some sort of tracer or flame thrower round. I remember him showing me a bunch of wrecked barrels in the mid 1990s and telling me it was the police Dept or Sheriff’s Office that did it.
If it were mine I think I might be rapidly approaching the point at which even oven cleaner might be worth trying.
They usually shoot WAY low with reduced loads unless it is a load that is specifically fine tuned to shoot to same POI as full power loads. These slug guns are pretty unique in how they act compared to rifles and even muzzle loaders.
It’s hitting high for me. About two feet high at 50 yards. The previous owner had the elevation at the lowest setting and I haven’t moved it. Someone with more confidence than me could silver solder a taller front sight on.
It doesn’t matter how clean I get this barrel though. I can’t see well enough to use iron sights and the shotgun isn’t drilled and tapped for a scope mount.
I’m thinking it needs to go down the road. I haven’t found a gunsmith around here I’m happy with, and not sure I want holes in the top of the shotgun anyway. If I decide to sell it, I’ll link to this thread and lay it all out there.
I wonder what would happen if you loaded some birdshot loads with just plastic gas seals and card wads then shot them. That might scrub out some of that gunk. I guess if a copper chore boy isn't getting it out then lead shot won't either but it may be worth a try.
Yeah, I wouldn't drill and tap the barrel! A silver soldered cantilevered scope mount should be easy enough to add if you have the tools. Well that was a silly butt suggestion then wasn't it!?! I would have figured cantilever bases would be available but apparently not for barrels without a vent rib. I just did a quick search on Google.
One could be made but unless you can do it yourself the cost would be prohibitive I think.
You could drill and tap the receiver but if the gun is used for birdshot as well then that isn't terribly practical because you'd have to take the scope off.
A dilema!
Longbow
Brownells used to sell a solder on cantilever scope mount. I have a couple. They attached to the sight rib IIRC. I’ll have to look at one.
This shape sight has never worked well for me. Especially now! I generally do much better with aperture sights. Still, I don’t want to drill and tap the receiver.
Maybe I can find one that uses the trigger pin holes, so it won’t be a permanent modification?
And all of this is just for fun. We can hunt with rifles here on private land.
Last edited by Barry54; 05-25-2024 at 07:55 PM.
Whittle a wooden plug; it ain't brain surgery.
To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the trouble with many shooting experts is not that they're ignorant; its just that they know so much that isn't so.
You must have missed it. I’ve been using a wine cork for two days now as a plug for the chamber end.
I would need to see the sight up close but the sight appears to be removable. a new upper could be made with the aperture. wouldnt be the best that far from the eye but might work better for you. Is that part plastic aluminum or steel. If steel a simple washer turned up with the appropriate aperture size soldered on.
A small tube soldered in to the sight it could be ground down deeper to fit the tube and give you the down elevation you need. Solder the tube in then bevel sides of ears into the tube with a mill or file. The tube being light could possibly be epoxied in place and the remains of the vee filled in with epoxy.
The hydrogen peroxide mixed with vinegar will dissolve both lead and barrel steel, but it won’t affect plastic.
I can't believe that this problem hasn't been solved yet. Try this stuff https://www.amazon.com/Shooters-Choi.../dp/B0000C529S
Any Lead Removal Solvent and a New Bronze Brush should handle this quickly. Hastings Barrels for shotguns are as good as it gets. I have never had any leading or plastic fouling in my A5 barrel that couldn't be removed in a few passes with just a Bronze Brush. But I also never had build up as bad as what you are dealing with. Whomever you got that barrel from was definitely not into gun maintenance !
When you do get it cleaned out dip your Plastic Wads in powdered Mica from BPI and that will eliminate the plastic fouling problem.
As far as .600 Round Balls in a 12 ga. I doubt you are going to see very much accuracy from that combo. In order to get a round ball to shoot it needs to be measuring at least .728 over the wad to pick up the rifling, or similar to properly seal a Smooth Bore.
I got a 1x1.5" 5 shot group out of my A5 with the Hastings Barrel using Slugs R Us Sabots. With Open Sights I think that is pretty.
You haven't said what gun your barrel is for. (Remington 870?) The Rear Sight shown is a Remington Sight.
Good Luck and I would stick with this project as long as it takes rather than selling it as is,,, just for the learning experience.
Randy
"It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
www.buchananprecisionmachine.com
Yes it’s an 870 barrel. Are you interested in it?
I think if it was lead or plastic, it would have been clean years ago. Or even rust. This stuff is about like melted glass.
As far as the 0.600” round ball loads, it’s approaching climax for me.
I’ll be selling my Lee 7/8 ounce slug mold here soon. Or even toss it in pay it forward. The 0.690” ball mold might be going away shortly thereafter.
Another member here contacted me. He wants to take on the challenge of cleaning this barrel. I’ll be sending it out this week and looking forward to hearing about the results.
Yes, I was thinking it was Bubbled Rust cuz I've never seen leading that was that hard to get out. It is probably toast.
As far as being interested? I don't do 870's. I'm a Mossberg guy, and if you look at my sticky at the top you'll see why.
Randy
"It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
www.buchananprecisionmachine.com
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