dented vh barrel

[chad bumpous]

I have a VHE 16 ga. I think it was made in 1922. Other than that i Dont know anything else about it. The left barrel has 8 dents on the bottom of the barrel all the way down from the inside out. I tried to take the best pictures that i could. Is this gun worth anything at all?

[Rick Losey]

are they dents? or bulges?

i would have concerns about them even after repairs, but is the gun worth anything? sure the receiver and stock look good from the pics, there is sleeving or the ever popular barrel scavenger hunt

[Paul Stafford]

Hard to tell but looks like bulges?

[chad bumpous]

they look like dents but could be bulges. They dont have any sharp spots, all round. Ive never seen this before.

[Dean Romig]

They are definitely bulges. Dents go inward.

[chad bumpous]

is it something that can be repaired? or is it not worth fixing?

[Dave Noreen]

I don't know what caused it, but I've seen the same thing happen twice, both while trap shooting. One was a Remington 870 TC in Southern Maryland, and the other was to the bottom barrel of my friend's Diana Grade Superposed while trap shooting at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Larry sent the 870 to Ilion and Remington sent it back with a new barrel, but no comment on what caused it. About a three year turn around time from when Alan sent his Diana to Browning to when he got it back with new barrels, and again no comment on what caused it.

[chad bumpous]

Can anyone tell me what this might be worth if anything at all? Thanks

[charlie cleveland]

base wad coming loose and another shell being put in gun and fired...this would be my guess... the base wad on a new shell rarly comes loose but ive had it to happen...in reloadind a shell thats been reloaded several times the base wad has much greater chances of coming loose and lodging in the barrels..this has happened to me several times ive been lucky ive always look down the barrel after i shoot when shooting a single or double barrel...most of the times that the base wad turning loose has happened when i was shooting at still targets but has happened while squirl hunting...always best to look down the barrel after each shot if useing a break open gun...i relize this is impossible with auto s and pump guns and that a person with a break open gun would forget if he or she was shooting at birds while hunting in a moment of a flurry...i even had a ten ga automactic that the gun ejected only the brass hull all the plastic part of the hull stayed in the chamber the way i discovered this was another shell could not be loaded into chamber...i guess it was my lucky day.... charlie

[John Campbell]

Chad:
To answer your question, yes. The bulges seem small enough to be correctable. But a GOOD barrel man will have to do the work. Best in the US is Kirk Merrington -- but he's a bit ill right now. You might try Abe Chaber or Brad Bachelder.

But it all comes down to how much the gun is worth to YOU. Repair of the bulges will require a hone and barrel refinish... about $350+. That plus the cost of the barrel work itself. You simply have to check into it.

But it would be a shame to "scrap" an otherwise savable Parker for an ill that can be fixed.

Best, Kensal

[chad bumpous]

Thanks Kensal! Would something like this be worth fixing for the money? I have no clue as to what this gun is worth or what it could be worth after fixing. I just don't want to put money into something that I will never get it back on.

[John Campbell]

Chad:
That's why I mentioned what the gun is worth to YOU. A VH 16 like this with a refinished stock and pad without barrel issues is worth about $1000. Give for take a few hundred.

With barrel bulges, I don't think it's worth more than about $500 as it sits.

But... if it was your father's gun... or the gun you broke your first 25 with at skeet, then what the heck. Fix it. Sentiment is worth a lot to some shooters.

If you'd rather sell, let me know.

Best, Kensal

[chad bumpous]

I bought it just for the fact that I didn't have a sXs gun yet. A friend called me and told me about it and I just went on his word and bought it sight unseen. I thought he knew more about guns then this. So now I have this gun with bulges in the left barrel. I don't really have the time to invest time into it so I would rather just sell it.

[chad bumpous]

Kensal if your interested in this give me a call tomorrow 815-482-6789