[hyperon]

After I cleaned my 1895, I looked inside the bore and I saw something like scratches on the twist.

it is just in one groove, but its is around 10" long - at most right behind the chamber.
Is that normal with Marlin (Remlin)? could it make the rifle less accurate or something?
The bore is Nort Haven made, serial number MR51***C and maybe 30 shots fired. I read about defects of "Remlins", but never about defect of twist. Rest of rifle is ok.
Do you know something about it?

 

[Dr. A]

Yes, there can and have been many imperfections of the rifling in Marlins over the years. I have a 444 that had as far as I could tell a perfect bore, but that has been the only one. (I have 27 Marlins I think). Once in a while it may effect accuracy, but I would go ahead and shoot it and see how it does. Most of the time this sort of manufacturing problem would go by unnoticed. Once in a while, a cast bullet shooter will have concerns, but that is usually with strictures. Cleaning uncovers all sorts of things. This just happened to be a little closer to where it could be identified.

I have fire lapped my guns. Most of the time, as I said, this is of no concern with shooting jacketed bullets, and may occasionally affect accuracy with cast. I doubt you will have any problems.

 

[hyperon]

thanks for reply. now I feel much better :biggrin:

 

[Doc Holliday]

I have something like that in my 1911 barrel.... so far its one of the most accurate handguns I own.


Doc

 

[AZsparrow]

This is most probably a result of bad/worn out tooling and really shouldn't be there. I used to make gun barrels for a living, and from what I can see we would have found this unacceptable where I used to work. From a practical standpoint, any effects the defect has is hard to say off hand, and you may not notice any 'accuracy' problems so to say depending on how often you shoot, ammo used, etc. Over time, those defects may grow though, erode deeper etc., and may start to cause problems in the future. Most people don't shoot a given rifle often enough for some of these types of things to have much impact. Up to you, but if it was a brand new rifle I had just bought I would take it back if possible if it was me, but that's just me. If not, and an older rifle you've had a while, just shoot it and try to forget it is there.
Good luck to you.

 

[hyperon]

It is a half year old rifle, but it is not possible to take it back due the modification I made on it. I would like to know, if it could cause some problems to the rifle, if i will shoot handloaded 400-450gr bullets with more power and pressure:questionmark: Is it possible to stop growing that defect? I know, it is my mistake that I didnt check the rifle before modification, but I didnt expect, that the new rifle could be in so poor condition :vollkommenauf:

 

[Dr. A]

The defect will smooth with time. Most high pressure loads in an 1895 are low pressure loads in an other gun. Most of these guns have problems. Go shoot us and tell us how it does!

 

[Metalsmith]

What Azsparrow said. Looks like it should of never left the factory but at the same time I’ve seen defects far worst that shot very good. Only way to know is shoot it. Are tricks like DR A mentioned of fire lapping or even honing to a slightly larger diameter but shoot it first. Also with defects like that its best to just use a jag to clean the bore, no aggressive cleaners in that section of bore, leaving deposits of copper in those low areas, effectively leaving them filled for the next bullet to slip across. How it will affect the barrel life/performance is any ones guess, could cut it drastically or next to nothing. Again try it and see what results you get.

 

[Wood]

I don't think defects like yours affect accuracy, But they tend to strip copper jacket material, And lead from the bullet as it passes the defect, And will foul the bore in that area in only a few shots.

 

[lever addict]

Here's my take on it. That mark on your land will fill right in with either copper or lead same as any imperfections on many Marlin barrels. The land is nice with good edges and will still grip your bullet just fine. I do not believe it will grow and I think it will be ok. Should it be there? No but I have seen many marks in Marlin barrels...granted not 10" long, but I have seen worse barrels shoot just fine! SHOOT IT!

 

[hyperon]

should i change ammunition? is there some difference to hte defect like this, when using copper jacket or lead bullets? now I use Hornady FTX 325gr. which is better ti use or what to use to the defect to become (maybe) more smooth and dont have to worry about it?

 

[Metalsmith]

Might need to try different bullets to see what works best. Copper being harder will tend to bridge over low areas but usually will leave deposits behind after X number of rounds. Lead being softer will fill defects faster. Also a good trick is to use a bullet catcher, be it water jugs or wet newspaper or what ever that will catch bullets intact, so can examine the rifling and possible defect patterns. If all you end up seeing is rifling, then you are not getting any scrubbing from the defects.

 

[papajohn]

Jacketed bullets will smooth out imperfections far faster than lead ever will, but unless you're getting really lousy accuracy, I wouldn't sweat it. Shoot it a lot, plink with it, get to know it, and I'll bet over time it'll shoot better.

In 1987 I bought a Ruger Redhawk in 41 Magnum, 7.5" barrel, my dream gun. I took it straight to the range from the gunshop after buying it, ran a patch down the bore and loaded it up. It was a super shooter. I shot it twice a week for about a month, cleaned it every time. One day after I cleaned it I looked down the bore with a good light and saw tool marks all over the lands. They were obviously there from the factory, nothing I had used for cleaning was abrasive.

I called Ruger, very upset, and the guy on the phone listened patiently, then asked, "How does it shoot?"

There was a long pause, and I finally stammered, "Uh, it shoots great.......but what about all the tool marks?"

I can still hear his answer. "Shoot about a thousand jacketed rounds through it, the tool marks will disappear, and it'll shoot even better."

So I did. And he was right. I had several open-sighted 5-shot groups at 25 yards under an inch, and some at 50 yards right at an inch.

And then like an idiot, I sold it!

 

[Pard]

If it shoots good, dont sweat it

If it dont

Send it back to hell where it came from

 

[Cowboy23*]

Your post made me take a much closer look at my Remlin made 308MX bore with a bright light. I see that defect as caused by worn out tooling. I have some rifles with premium grade Douglas barrels and they are smooth as glass when you look at the rifling. In fact, they are so smooth that just brushing with a bronze brush will clean out the leading with no solvent and the brush glides through real smooth. I personally would reject that barrel but if that is what is now acceptable quality on a Remlin then I guess that is what production quality has come to. Both my dad and my father in law were both tool and die makers by trade so I know what precision is.

 

[hyperon]

thank you all very much for your replies