Barrel Damage

[gjb89]

I have an older Sako that I inherited and haven't had much luck finding factory ammo that is capable of grouping less then a 1-1/2 @ 100yds. I figured I would cave in and finally buy a bore cam. Anyone have any idea if this damage is effecting accuracy? What could have caused this?

Also ive done a cleaning session with iosso and still have these dark lines starting about midway through the barrel and all the way to the crown.

 

[Someoldguy]

The pits are from rust. The dark areas are likely the result of corrosion under copper fouling.

 

[ebb]

The rust pits are like a file to the bullet as it goes down the bore. They damage the bullet and will not allow the rifle to shoot accurately. I bought a 222 rem that was just like this when I bought it, and had my 25-06 get pits from exposure while hunting. Neither gun would shoot at all till they got new barrels.

 

[gjb89]

Bummer, surprised to see rust in bore. The rifle has sat in a safe in Las Cruces for 15 years. Is it work trying to Flitz that spot to maybe take down some of the roughness?

 

[Walt Krafft]

Sorry, but the barrel is junk. No amount of Flitz or anything else is going to fix it. If you can live with the 1 1/2" accuracy, keep it. If not, have a new barrel installed or sell it.

 

[varget204]

You could try JB Bore Compond on tight patches a 100-200 strokes,think after i would shoot it,have seen some perty Crappy looking barrels w/ a borecam still shoot,a shame bore got pitted,wish you luck

 

[Straightshooter1]

Bummer, surprised to see rust in bore. The rifle has sat in a safe in Las Cruces for 15 years. Is it work trying to Flitz that spot to maybe take down some of the roughness?

You might try Tubb Final Finish Bore Lapping??? It's not likely to get rid of the problem at all, but it would probably improve things some . . . if you're so inclined.

 

[snert]

I've got two barrels that look like that or worse. Both rifles shoot 3/4 or under. Sometimes they still shoot, sometimes they dont.

Rebarrel it.

 

[mauser284]

J B is not helping this!

 

[22DASHER]

Factory loads may not tell you much. Get with an experienced reloader and see what it will do with some hand loads. If it doesn’t shoot with those then rebarrel it. Throw the bore cam to the side for now. I’ve had barrels look a lot worse than that and shoot under 1/2 moa

 

[mauser284]

You might try Tubb Final Finish Bore Lapping??? It's not likely to get rid of the problem at all, but it would probably improve things some . . . if you're so inclined.

Tubs Final Finish is not helping this either. No one that has any experience working with steel would hold any hope of doing anything positive to this. It is too far gone. That is not light light surface corrosion the damage is already done. At this point you have two options. Re-barrel it or re-bore and re-chamber.

 

[mauser284]

Maybe give these guys a call and see what they want to re-barrel it with a factory barrel?

https://www.sako.fi/distributor/united-states

 

[Ned Ludd]

I've seen more than a few posted images of Savage factory barrels with chatter marks that looked like gear teeth. Yet according to the owners, they still shot remarkably well. I'm sorry, but no one can look at a few borescope images posted on the internet and tell you with certainty how well (or poorly) a rifle barrel is going to shoot.

Yes - your barrel definitely has some corrosion going on. But we have no way of knowing how many, or what types, of commercial ammunition you have actually tested. It is also possible you simply haven't given this rifle the ammunition it wants. A good handload or the correct commercial ammunition might bring this barrel to life. Otherwise, you'll simply want to replace it as has been suggested. The question becomes to what lengths you are willing to go to generate some positive results before making that decision.

 

[chuckshooter]

I agree with everything Ned said . the only thing I can add is, in shooting, for me, confidence is everything. there's no way I could have confidence in something like that to perform at the level I expect.

 

[243winxb]

factory ammo that is capable of grouping less then a 1-1/2 @ 100yds.

Read the american rifleman magazine reports on new rifles with factory ammo. Firing test , 5 consecutive , five shot groups
Many will not average under 1" @100 yds.

What is your guns model & cartridge. The round it fires can make a huge difference.

Example NRA test.

 

[boltfluter]

You have not scratched the surface until you try some hand loads. I have seen barrels much worse than this shoot some very nice groups. Good luck.

Paul

 

[Shawnba67]

Ive got a ML thats missing nearly a foot of 2 of the riflings, just about chucked but decided to shoot first. 3"@200yd for 3 shots.
Your mileage may vary.
Iosso is a polish, most premium barrels are lapped at far courser grit than youd think. I think 300grit. Just something to try as last resort before a retubing. Best of luck

 

[msinc]

I agree with everything Ned said . the only thing I can add is, in shooting, for me, confidence is everything. there's no way I could have confidence in something like that to perform at the level I expect.

I definitely agree on the confidence thing. That said, sometimes you got no choice and that's when you really see if it shoots or not. I have two old rifles that have bores way worse than that. In fact, if either of them were that good I'd be happy...one is an old Marlin 1893 in 30-30. It has pits the entire length of the bore and the rifling edges are so pitted that they appear to be rounded. It looks like polygonal rifling and yet off a bench with good handloads I can get a 1" group.
It shoots good and I don't use it enough to warrant what it would take to barrel it. If I owned yours, me personally, I would buy a barrel and barrel it up. Then again I have a lathe and everything I need. If I had to pay for that work I would thoroughly test it with handloads first. My other rifle is a 1903 with a Timney trigger and a Unertl scope. The bore is pitted just like yours the entire length, but I can easily out shoot most guys with factory rifles and triggers. If all they have is factory ammo it's not even a contest.

 

[DaveTooley]

I've seen barrels so pitted you could plant potatoes in them. They still shot sub MOA. Try cheap ammo. Something should work. Don't worry about polishing the bore unless you start to see copper in the pits. Even then a regular cleaning can manage the problem. Always get the powder fouling out when you're done shooting. Even in Las Cruces there's a bit of moisture in the air from time to time. 10 times more rifles die from neglect than ever get shot out.

 

[watercam]

You might try Tubb Final Finish Bore Lapping??? It's not likely to get rid of the problem at all, but it would probably improve things some . . . if you're so inclined.

+1 on this. The barrel is not necessarily toast. I have a chrome moly .223 barrel on a target rifle that accumulated some rust over the winter. Polished the barrel with 240 grit lapping compound on a patched brush for 10 or so passes and it shoots just as well at 600 yds. as before. Had an older Ruger .257 Roberts that would not shoot and scoped it to find the throat fire-cracked in the extreme. Polished the throat and it became my most accurate factory rifle (for a while anyway).
It is worth the minimal effort to give it a try before dropping $600-700 in a new barrel.