ground on barrel , can it be saved ?

I know you don't want me to say it, but I think the thought ran thru your mind too.
If a thief stole the gun and didn't want it to be traceable he would grind off the serial number.
Then if the idiot got to thinking he would probably grind off everything else in the area to make it look less obvious.

No, I'm not suggesting the person who gave the gun to you is a thief. I assume he/she got it somewhere in good faith and didn't even wonder about it.
As I see it, it is yours now and there is no use worrying about "water under the bridge" because there is nothing that you can do to correct anything which deals with the guns past except to think about how to make it look half way presentable.
By the way, I really HATE Bondo and if it were mine I would go for some thin rawhide covering any day over Bondo and paint. :grin:
zonie

I had to go back and re read what all you said was ground off , I missed the serial number the first time around. I have read here before about people filing off the " lawyer stuff" with files so I hadn't even thought about a serial number being there..............until now ...
the gun was given to me by my father in law ( who also gave me a san marco ?? marked 50 cal. which you have to pull the set trigger before you can pull the hammer back or it won't stay cocked....weird ) they were given to him by his now ex wife who got them from her dad ...I have no idea after that point

this are a couple of quick pictures of the stock ,it is a trade rifle correct ?

I have barrels come in all the time with butcher marks and customers wanting to know if they can be fixed. Small holes can be welded in some barrels with no problems, leaded steel does not weld good enough to hide the weld. All welding shrinks as it cools so if there is very much at all there will be a tight spot in the bore. Warps caused by welding can be taken out with heat and a little pressure. If I do very much welding on a barrel it will also get a liner so the bore is good after the work.
First thing to check on your barrel is the bore, if it's no good then you have a tomato stake. The leather strap idea sounds like the best way to hide the problem but keep it dry, it could rust the barrel enough to make it unsafe.

If you want a nice looking gun then get a new barrel and don't waist time or money on one that is messed up.

After seening the stock which is attractive I'd go for a new barrel. You'd have a nice looking rifle then.

I think Zonie had a pretty good idea. With additional suggestion of knocking the modern sight off of it and replace it with a traditional kentucky sight or a buckhorn sight, draw file it and age it then rawhide it. I don't think your going to make this rifle look new unless you put a new replacement barrel in it.

If the barrel is long enough cut it off and rebreach it. it would make a nice short barrel brush gun.

Freeonthree

You may, after checking out the bore, etc. take it to a compentent welder and have the area built up and then refile the flats into the barrel. It could be TIG'ed or MIG'ed. Have them use a fairly soft wire like any of the many used for mild HR. Allow the barrel to cool to romm temp too after the weld, no water, oil or any other of the things people do to cool a weld. The original material is plenty thick for the pressure associated with BP. I am quite sure this type of weld material will match OK for rust/blue finish.

zukeeper1,

It's really a shame that someone would do that to any gun - they ain't got a heart. Many good ideas on a "fix", but I'll offer another one anyhow. Rather than draw-filing the whole barrel, just draw-file the flat that has been destroyed, the one on the opposite side to match and the top flat - JUST between the rear sight and the breech. Blend where you file to make it look nice and engrave something on those three flats if desired. Otherwise just re blue/brown the barrel. It does appear to be a Trade Rifle, probably 15/16" across the flats, You won't be taking off enough metal to create a dangerous barrel (as long as you don't remove more than is absolutely necessary). Kind of a short-3 flat "swamp" on the barrel . . . Just another thought . . .

Lifes to short to try and make choc. ice cream out of poop. Right where the grinding is your weak link. It could change your facial expression to say the least. Medical help cost a lot more than a new barrel. Get a good barrel and then when shoot you will enjoy it not wondering if it's going to let go. Rogue River

If it is in good condition you could remove the sight and draw file it down to get as much of the area to be flat and to blend in with the unground area of the flat.
I don't think you can remove enough material to get the whole area flat without making the adjacent flats so narrow that they also start looking weird though.

Click to expand...

IMO, one would need to draw file the visible adjacent flats down a bit to make it less obvious.

"this are a couple of quick pictures of the stock ,it is a trade rifle correct ?"

No,it's a Plains Rifle by the patchbox. Note, not a Great Plains Rifle

that would explain why I can't find a trade rifle that has that patch box then
Do you know if a barrel that fits a T/C or Lyman trade will fit ? It looks like a T/C barrel will fit but haven't sat down and really tried yet.

Z,

Yes to your question. Also, a GM IBS barrel should drop right in with little, if any, modification. Check barrel size before ordering if that is your inclination. BTW - you should be able to get one for less than $200.

Man! That barrel looks like it tangled with a power drinker and a deck grinder all at once :grin:

You could draw file it, but it looks to deep to get it out. The barrel is very shootable tho!

The time you would spend trying to correct that nut jobs work, would be better spent on a new barrel!

You could mill the whole barrel, but then the flats wouldn't fill up the barrel channel.

You could cut the barrel just before the nasty mess, and tap and reinstall the breech plug. If a cut down job is what your looking for :grin:

Myself would look upon this as a golden oppurtunity to barrel it in caliber I wanted and brown that new barrel!

The gun so far has cost nothing out of pocket so far, so look for a barrel in .58!

Pick up the phone and call, operators are standing by!

zukeeper1,

Check your PM's.

Otter