Damaged 1873 trapdoor barrel

headednorth

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Looks like someone hit this repeatedly with a cold chisel or something. Would the force of this transfer to the rifling or affect the diameter of the bore or is it just a cosmetic issue? Ugly af. Any way to repair this or at least minimize it?

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It’s definitely ugly. You could run a slug down from the chamber and feel for a difference in drag. The 45/70 shoots soft lead so a slight deformation would likely not be unsafe but would definitely effect accuracy. If this is new to you you should also check the chamber area as someone may have damaged the end of the barrel to mark it as unsafe to shoot. I have an early demilled 1888 that they demilled by hitting the chamber with a torch. It doesn’t necessarily prevent you from loading a live cartridge but will dis assemble the receiver and stock pretty good.
 
Looks like someone hit this repeatedly with a cold chisel or something. Would the force of this transfer to the rifling or affect the diameter of the bore or is it just a cosmetic issue? Ugly af. Any way to repair this or at least minimize it?

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I would remove the action to 'slug' the barrel from receiver to muzzle with the appropriate diameter soft lead slug or ball. If the result mic's out to be round I'd shoot it and see how it patterns. Other option is to visually inspect and just shoot it. [smile]

Normally dents and dings on the barrel OD don't really affect the bore, but I agree those are pretty big. If you are considering buying it, I'd only pay a fair price for a receiver + parts project.
 
It’s definitely ugly. You could run a slug down from the chamber and feel for a difference in drag. The 45/70 shoots soft lead so a slight deformation would likely not be unsafe but would definitely effect accuracy. If this is new to you you should also check the chamber area as someone may have damaged the end of the barrel to mark it as unsafe to shoot. I have an early demilled 1888 that they demilled by hitting the chamber with a torch. It doesn’t necessarily prevent you from loading a live cartridge but will dis assemble the receiver and stock pretty good.
Is it just those marks , nothing on the other side? Im trying to fathom that damage? Looks like vise marks. Pretty even spacing
 
Mine doesn’t have that muzzle damage. I’m just saying to check the chamber. There may be other unsafe areas and someone at some point may have tried to render it safe by damaging the muzzle. Probably unlikely but just cause to raise an eyebrow.
 
Sorry, this isnt mine. It was on GB with a price way lower than others, even considering the damage. Made me curious if the issue was more than cosmetic and was just looking for some opinions if I decided to bid.

Anyway, auction's over. Sold for $451 with $60 shipping. Most similar listings are listed for close to $1k or well over. Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply
 
Looks to me like a hackster holding the muzzle in a 3 or 4 jaw lathe chuck and the barrel came loose or a tool crash, and then a blueing job to try to unsuccessfully hide ? Hard pass on that , I'm sure there's more unseen hackery . Perfect example of why I will NEVER buy anything of Gun-stroker no matter how enticingly cheap. I bought a really nice 1884 TD in person at KTP in Maine. Paid $825 back about 12 years ago, and had no problem with the price because I saw in person exactly what I was buying.
 
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Perfect example of why I will NEVER buy anything of Gun-stroker no matter how enticingly cheap.

Nothing is without risk but personally I've made a few scores off gunbroker and other firearm auction sites.

The best example of this is a random M1 Garand with a very rare early op rod. I identified the op rod in the pictures and hoped no one else did. Ended up selling the op rod alone for about the cost of the entire rifle.
 
Tie rifle to bench, or tree load round.Tie string to trigger,and get back then pull trigger.
 
I’d do I visual inspection and slug the bore. If those are OK, I’d shoot it.

Fixing it would involve stripping the barrel back in that area, then TIG welding the divots and dressing down back to round, and doing a slow rust blue on the area. Only worthwhile if you’ve got the tools and know-how.
 
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