Barrel disaster question
 

Hi
I'm looking at a gun that I'm guessing someone wanted to open up the choke on. It appears they drove an oversized mandrel down the first inch and a half of the barrel, it swelled the end of the barrel getting rid of the choke. To make matters worse it appears to have been a hexagon mandrel so it's not only swollen but has the lines pushing out even further. I feel that just trying to hammer the metal back would be sloppy I'm pretty sure it must be stretched and not sure of the result.

I like the gun and it is a high grade, short of chopping the barrels I'm not sure how I would handle this. I do not have any pictures, I am only looking at it I won't buy it unless I can come up with a good plan to restore it.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Tom

It may be something that Merrigton or Briley may be able to repair properly. But it will likely mean taking the barrels apart in order to do the required work.

I'm interested to hear what the experts have to say about this. On a lighter note you could claim it is a Parker Paradox gun and question if this isn't "factory".

Sounds like yet another product of the garage gunsmith.

But a lot depends on your term "high grade." If it's a DH or above, it might be worth fixing. If the damage isn't too severe. And Kirk Merrington would be the only person I'd trust with the repair... which would cost about $1000 with reblack I'd guess. Maybe a bit more.

The good news is that you can possibly use this flaw to get the gun cheap.

Once you own the gun I would recommend you try to find another set of suitable barrels that can be properly fitted to the gun. I don't believe you'll ever be able to put choke back into the original barrels and still be able to shoot it for years to come.

Thanks guys
It's over I passed on it. The price was not discounted enough to take the gamble on this. And as was mentioned the barrels may never be right.
Tom

How high a grade?

Yes, was it a dollar grade or a graded gun? Gary

It was a C, but considering the work to be done I don't think it was a bargain.

Tom

Too bad. C's are really nice. Shade tree gunsmiths should be hung.