recrowning

[1000yardstare]

Have come to the conclusion that Ruger used either a corn auger or a rototiller to crown my new .308 Target rifle. Hard to tell which. But in the past I have received a custom barrel from a barrelsmith that wasn`t crowned at all.

Sooooooo, here we go again, recrowning a new barrel. Actually a low tech and cheap method gives excellent results. Clamp the barrel in a padded, smooth jaw vice. I also remove the scope. Don`t know what the vibrations will do to its innards.

Shove a patched cleaning rod up to just short of the muzzle. Wet the patch first with Shooters Choice so it will grab any grit. Insert a 5/8 head diameter brass carriage bolt into an electric drill. Coat the head of the bolt with Shooters Choice and valve grinding compound. Press the bolt head against the muzzle and on low speed gyrate the bolt head while the valve grit is cutting a new crown. When a distinct new crown is evident, reverse the drill and gyrate a few more times to clean off any burrs.

Push the cleaning rod on through being careful not to let any grit penetrate deeper into the bore. Push several more wet patches through to clean out any grit. Wrap 800 or so wet/dry sand paper around a pencil and lightly buff the lands at the muzzle. This method should give a nice sharp new crown.

 

[FBecigneul]

Stare:

I have waited this long to respond to your post to see what others had to say about it. I guess they are as speechless about your method as I was until this point. I've reached that point where I must respond.

First: Find another 'barrelsmith'. Find one who knows how to crown a barrel. I can suggest a few if that is what you need.

Second: I wouldn't use your method on YOUR barrel let alone on mine.

 

[watercam]

'His' method has been in use for generations and works just fine. Brownell's sells muzzle squaring, crowning and polishing hand tools that essentially give one the same results. If one has lost the last inch or so of rifling due to rod wear then, yes, a set back and crowning in a lathe may be called for,though one can cut and recrown at home with no problem - just take your time and be careful). If the crown was poor to begin with or dinged, the home 'smith can easily remedy those issues. There are books galore dating from present day back to the 40's to tell you how! I've cut every crown by hand on a dozen rifles I've built and they shoot well.

 

[watercam]

Before every Precision Gunsmith who frequents this forum strings me up let me add that I realize that they need to make a living and God knows I need them as much as anyone else. That being said, many of the 'smiths I know started off tinkering with their own guns and they obviously felt comfortable doing so. I do as well.

 

[1000yardstare]

Never realized my re-crowning method would evoke such a passionate response, mainly because I have seen it used by so many other good shooters over the last 40 years.

This re-crowning method was shown to me way back in the 1960`s when I was a University student by an old country gunsmith named Elwood Epps, may God rest his soul. Elwood was regarded highly enough that P.O. Ackley gave him considerable space in P.O`s two book set 'Handbook For Shooters and Reloaders'.

Elwood did not like the various re-crowning tools that were variations on a burr. He said they tend to chatter in the hands of an amateur. Some of these burrs use a screw-in pilot that is supposed to be a slip fit in the bore to ostensibly keep the burr centered while it is cutting. Elwood said he had seen ruined rifling at the muzzle because the pilot was not a perfect slip fit and wobbled on top of the lands while the burr was cutting. The brass bolt method does not stick anything down into the barrel and Elwood maintained it was the safest method for a home hobbyist. He had seen some mighty cut up fingers that had slipped into the burr while being spun on an electric drill. The bolt head has no cutting edges to mangle fingers.

As 'watercam' has confirmed, this method is for use on a barrel that has been properly crowned on a lathe but has received a few minor dings in the crown which can happen in this era of mass production before the rifle even leaves the factory. This method would definitely NOT be used on a barrel that has rifling damage that goes down into the barrel from the muzzle. Then we are talking a trip to a gunsmith for a bob job.