To cut or not to cut

[Austin J Hawthorne Jr.]

If you had a full / full choked rainy day shooter, with a bulge in the left barrel about 1 1/2 inches back from the muzzle, that still threw acceptable patterns, would you leave the barrels alone or cut them back? If the remaining choke is not an issue, do you think the bulge would eventually cause problems such as rib separation? And personally speaking...which condition would make you less likely to purchase such a gun ( assuming the price was right )?

[todd allen]

Depends on the bulge, the value of the gun, and probably a couple other things I'm forgetting.
I'd send it to a barrel smith for an opinion.

[edgarspencer]

Very dependent on where it is, but bulges can be tapped back down, cutting it off will forever alter the value and originality. Proceed slowly.

[Dean Romig]

Sometimes a bulge in a fluid steel barrel is easier to tap back down than a bulge in a pattern-welded composite barrel tube. The stretching of the composite material may cause tiny separation cracks along the joints between the iron and the steel.




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[Russ Jackson]

What Dean said but remember, they can often be repaired and refinished and completely unnoticeable and fully functional . Where the damage is described to be there shouldn't be much pressure , I would contact Parker at Bachelders and have him take a look at it before cutting the barrels ! Once cut they can never be reattached !Just my Opinion .

[Craig Budgeon]

Austin, after rereading your post, I have changed my mind on what you should do. Since you describe a gun which has little or no collector value shoot it as is or if the chokes don't suit your shooting cut the barrels. A gun as you describe would not warrant the repair cost associated with making a proper repair. Remember this Austin if you acquire this gun that that bulge is a weak point in the barrels since the metal has already yielded.

[Eric Eis]

Austin, after rereading your post, I have changed my mind on what you should do. Since you describe a gun which has little or no collector value shoot it as is or if the chokes don't suit your shooting cut the barrels. A gun as you describe would not warrant the repair cost associated with making a proper repair. Remember this Austin if you acquire this gun that that bulge is a weak point in the barrels since the metal has already yielded.

Craig, I'm confused, he never said what the gun was so how do you know it doesn't warrant the cost of repair. Did I miss something?

[Mills Morrison]

Along the lines of what others have said, send the gun to Bachelder's and see what they say.

[Richard Flanders]

Austin, you might be surprised at how bulges and dents can be removed, especially near the muzzles where the bbls are thinner. I removed over 20 dents and bulges from a beater LC Smith a few years ago and you cannot tell that it was ever done.... and I'm no expert at it. The only part of a bulge that you can't remove is when it projects into the space between the bbls and under the rib, something I've only seen near a muzzle. No way I'd cut those bbls without attempting to repair the bulge, even if it did leave a bit in the middle.

[Craig Budgeon]

Eric, Austin described the gun as a " full/full rainy day shooter" which means it isn't a 90% VH or even close TO ME. Since Austin did not indicate his wiliness to do his own repairs, as many that participate on this forum do not, I had to assume he would seek a competent gunsmith to make repairs/modifications. Having a poor description of the guns condition and a little better description of the bulge, I thought my response was reasonable

[David Penland]

Just acquired a shooter VHE with factory 26" barrels according to the serialization book and I really like it. The right barrel ejector always works. When I first started checking the ejectors the left barrel ejector would work if I pulled it first, however now it will not work at all. Any thoughts as how to correct or what the problem may be? Thanks

[David Penland]

I inadvertently made the previous post about ejectors, sorry about that. However I would not cut any barrels unless it was the only cost effective solution.

[Austin J Hawthorne Jr.]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. My primary concern was that the bulge, being so close to the muzzle, might cause (1)..poor patterns or, (2)..rib separation. I had the gun out today to test the patterns and they were fine, so my only other concern is the possibility of rib issues. I do not want to cut the barrels, and professional repair would not be cost effective, so I will leave things as they are and hope for the best. The gun involved is a grade 1 hammer gun with twist barrels and very little condition left. I only have a few hundred into it, and it's already thinned out the local squirrel population which is it's intended purpose. Just out of curiosity, the last question I had on the original post was...If you came across two identical guns, one having a bulge, and one having cut barrels, which of the two would you be more inclined to purchase.

[John Knobelsdorf II]

The attractiveness of a good looking pattern would be enough to make me prefer the gun with the bulge versus one with cut barrels.

While a bulge is not pretty to look at, it is a sign of honest wear (and warning to avoid what creates bulges).

Originality is also an enhancement for me.

Also, depending on what the shooting is for, the longer barrels are an enhancement.

If I start cutting an acceptable set of barrels, I do not know what I am getting until it is too late to go back to what I may decide I preferred. I am not rich enough for experiments like that.

[todd allen]

Check with John Hosford (sp) and see what he would charge to tap it back into shape. Once it's fixed, you can put it behind you. Downside, you won't be able to blame missed birds on your barrel bulge ; )

[Mike Franzen]

Having the choice of buying a gun with cut bbls or bulged, I would take the bulged bbls. If I bought it I would then get the bulge repaired. I think it would drive me crazy to be carrying around a gun, especially damascus, with a bulged bbl. I can hear it now, “How’d that happen? You gonna get it fixed? That could be dangerous!” Even at that, it wouldn’t be as bad as cutting the bbls. Collectible or not, high grade or shooter, I just wouldn’t cut bbls. I would sell the the gun.

[George Stanton]

I've been shooting a GH damascus with a circumferential bulge about an inch or so back from the end of the left barrel. It's visible but not readily apparent. No issues. It's choked .036 in that barrel and patterns very tight. I doubt you'll have any problems if you shoot yours.

[Jerry Harlow]

Remember if the bulge is 1 1/2 inches back and you cut off 2 inches, you have barrels that are the thinnest of the whole barrel length right at the end. The full choke provides much additional thickness at the end. So once cut, you will have barrels that will be subject to easily dented barrels at the end. I will bet Dan Morgan can help get the bulge back to presentable for a small fee. 802 457-4828 He saved a badly rippled Damascus barrel set for me and I thought they were junk.

[Mills Morrison]

Jerry has a good point. I would leave as is myself. A good gunsmith can take out the bulge

[Todd Poer]

Are some of these barrels partially obstructed to cause these bulges or is it something else that is culprit to cause a bulge.

[Dean Romig]

Bulges are about always caused by some foreign object in the bore when fired.





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[Todd Poer]

Thank you. That is what I thought. Paying attention to Drew Hause's material says the same thing but just making sure.

Personally I am paranoid and a stickler about muzzles and cleared bores. Never had an issue but most of the time I will make it a point to take a peek down the bores. I see people all the time at ranges resting guns on top of their shoes with open breeches. Its just a bad practice and example. Just waiting for the time when someone carelessly not thinking does it with a loaded gun and closed breech that has a manual safety that blows their foot off.

[John Dallas]

That happened to a national Skeet Champion

[Todd Poer]

That happened to a national Skeet Champion

Really. Wow had not heard that, not surprised though. Pure and simple careless complacency even from people that know better probably causes more accidents and deaths in just about everything.

[John Dallas]

I've never gotten an "official" description of what happened, but I have heard that he was shooting a gun with a removable trigger group, and that that design was "touchy". As he closed the gun with the muzzle still on his toe, the gun discharged

[Russell E. Cleary]

"1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. This is the primary rule of gun safety. A safe direction means that the gun is pointed so that even if it were to go off it would not cause injury or damage. The key to this rule is to control where the muzzle or front end of the barrel is pointed at all times. Common sense dictates the safest direction, depending on different circumstances."

[Jack Cronkhite]

Before I discovered PGCA many years back I removed a few dents from a VH. There was a small crack at the muzzle so I had the barrels trimmed. Then I learned about all that can be done with barrels. I still have the VH and regret to this day that the barrels were cut. Too soon old. Too late smart. Jack