Damage in Savage Barrel

[mchees1]

I have a Savage Stealth Evolution in 6 Creedmoor. I discovered the first barrel had a damaged area just behind the crown. It did not shoot well so I sent in for replacement. After 2 months, I got the rifle back with a new barrel. It didn't shoot as well as a 6 Creedmoor should with good hand loads, so I looked again and this barrel had similar damage in it. This time the damage starts about 1 inch back from the crown and is about 1/2" long. I haven't seen any other damage anywhere else in the barrel. I am attaching pictures. The barrel is supposed to be button rifled so I don't have any idea how this type of damage occurs. Any ideas of what might have happened? I have used DTAC 115 gr RBT bullets and Berger 105 gr hybrid target bullets. Using H4350 with velocities around 2800 to 2860 fps. Barrel is supposed to be 1:7.5 5R rifling. The testing today with the DTAC was around 1.5 moa 10 shot groups from a rest. The best the Bergers could do was 0.8 moa groups. No signs of high pressure.

The pictures start about 1 inch from the crown then progress down the barrel to about 1.5 inches from the crown.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Tim s]

Well mostly what these show is that you need to learn how to clean a barrel.

 

[Bc'z]

Take 2" off and re crown. Or shoot for a 3rd barrel.

 

[Shawnba67]

Ive heard ssvage barrels refered to ass railroad tracks by more than one person. Looks like now i know why.

 

[Ggmac]

Clean it ! Then scope dry . Don't expect a smooth finish in a production savage . It is how it shoots . Don't expect a cartridge name to determine its accuracy . It's factory , what I see is a barrel needing cleaning . The Borescope is a tool to determine how well you clean , accuracy can't be determined by looking at a barrel , the smoothest looking barrel can shoot like crap while one that looks bad can shoot good

 

[Tim s]

OK, on a more serious note, you cannot determine a damn thing shooting a barrel fouled that bad, and I’d guess the chamber end looks worse than what’s shown.
If/when you get to clean metal, NOW you can see what you've got.

 

[shoot4fun]

Your pics show what I have seen in every single Savage barrel I've ever scoped. I rally doubt the barrel (after all this is number two) is the issue. My guesses would be either just haven't done enough to get into the accuracy node or there is something amiss with the bedding (or lack thereof) of the action. If you really want to lay the barrel aside as a bad one then suggest you get an aftermarket one from Northland or Greg at Southern Precision Rifles.

 

[6MMsteve]

this ^^^^^^get an aftermaket barrel if you want it to shoot better...or JB the barrel real good and hope for the best...it's only going to shoot standard not .1s .2s .3s

 

[mchees1]

To those experts that say it needs to be cleaned you are sadly wrong. The pictures are limited by the low resolution of the borecam. But I can assure you the area is not fouled. What you are seeing is damage to the metal surface as if something exploded - it is not carbon or anything else - it is actual physical damage to the barrel. So Tim s, I do indeed know how to clean my barrels. But thanks for your valuable input.

I totally understand this is a factory barrel but I find it interesting and confusing how the damage is just on one small area - there is no other damage anywhere else in the barrel. Still trying to figure out why and how it happened.

I have replaced factory barrels before and I may well end up doing it with this rifle too. But again, I am after explanations for the damage in one small area.

 

[ttfreestyle]

I believe any explanation you get will just be speculation at this point. Savage barrels are notorious for roughness but seem to shoot decent. If I couldn’t live with it suppose I would chop it off and recrown or upgrade barrels. Ymmv. Good luck.

 

[Bc'z]

Only gonna loose 40 to 50 fps getting rid ofast 2"

 

[Someoldguy]

It appears to be corrosion damage to me. There are typical tooling/button rifling marks in your last photograph. The rest of that stuff I'm confident is corrosion damage. I've read many posts regarding inclusions in barrel steel causing these problems. Someone care to explain to me why when this sort of thing is on the barrel exterior, it's easily and redily identified as corrosion. But mysteriously, when it occurs in a barrel bore, now it's inclusions? Balderdash.

If you returned the barrel to Savage and they claimed to have replaced it, how do you explain identical damage?

If it shoots to your satisfaction, shoot it. If it does not, quit wasting your time and energy with Savage and rebarrel it or send it down the road and start anew.

I've had unsatisfactory customer service from Savage myself. Identification marks in unconscious areas will tell you a lot.

And if you choose to replace it with a pre-fit, do yourself a favor and scope it before you install it. There's a ton of crappy barrels out there, and they come from every imaginable source.

 

[shoot4fun]

To those experts that say it needs to be cleaned you are sadly wrong. The pictures are limited by the low resolution of the borecam. But I can assure you the area is not fouled. What you are seeing is damage to the metal surface as if something exploded - it is not carbon or anything else - it is actual physical damage to the barrel. So Tim s, I do indeed know how to clean my barrels. But thanks for your valuable input.

I totally understand this is a factory barrel but I find it interesting and confusing how the damage is just on one small area - there is no other damage anywhere else in the barrel. Still trying to figure out why and how it happened.

I have replaced factory barrels before and I may well end up doing it with this rifle too. But again, I am after explanations for the damage in one small area.

May I ask what you use for cleaning this barrel, solvents and methods, or are you going to get your feelings hurt some more? I've seen some barrels damaged by cleaning with solvents that have strong ammonia content such as Sweet's. I lost a chunk from a R700 barrel once because I left the wrong solvent in for way too long.
My guess is Savage isn't going to replace that barrel again so you are faced with the choices stated in this thread.
Good luck sir.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

typical factory barrel stuff. there are too many pictures of fine custom barrels out there. replace it and DONT look at the new one with a borescope. there is nothing in there you can see that correlates with accuracy- it'll only make a barrel shoot worse than it could if you never looked. Savage has never been known to produce an acceptable looking barrel ever, so just sending it back again will yield the same results or even worse. it passed their quality control, and they were fine with it the first time. those lyman borecams have sold so many barrels for me its laughable. oh, and that barrel is awfully fouled- sorry.

 

[Someoldguy]

May I ask what you use for cleaning this barrel, solvents and methods, or are you going to get your feelings hurt some more? I've seen some barrels damaged by cleaning with solvents that have strong ammonia content such as Sweet's. I lost a chunk from a R700 barrel once because I left the wrong solvent in for way too long.
My guess is Savage isn't going to replace that barrel again so you are faced with the choices stated in this thread.
Good luck sir.

Ah. Corrosion damage. It matters not if the cause is chemical or condensation, the result is the same.

 

[Someoldguy]

typical factory barrel stuff. there are too many pictures of fine custom barrels out there. replace it and DONT look at the new one with a borescope. there is nothing in there you can see that correlates with accuracy- it'll only make a barrel shoot worse than it could if you never looked. Savage has never been known to produce an acceptable looking barrel ever, so just sending it back again will yield the same results or even worse. it passed their quality control, and they were fine with it the first time.

That's all well and good until a reputable gunsmith or manufacturer sends you an off center chamber or a bore with a reverse choke.

Trust, but verify.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

That's all well and good until a reputable gunsmith or manufacturer sends you an off center chamber or a bore with a reverse choke.

Trust, but verify.

how do they make an off center chamber, and what fault is it of theirs if the barrel maker made a bad barrel?

 

[Someoldguy]

Here's a radical thought. Now that you own a borecam, take it with you and inspect the bore and chamber before you purchase the rifle. If the seller won't allow that, go somewhere else.

Easy peesy.

 

[Zero333]

I only see button chatter in your pics. Nothing that looks like "damage".

This is normal and a factory barrel.

 

[Someoldguy]

how do they make an off center chamber, and what fault is it of theirs if the barrel maker made a bad barrel?

Prefits? Like this.

I could show you the other 4, but I imagine you get the idea. I don't know HOW they do it. But a bunch of 'em are damn good at it.