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Damaged GPR barrel

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Occasionally you’ll see one pop up for sale here. Other than that, maybe gunbroker. How did you damage your barrel?
 
Getting a new barrel with rifling of your choice put together using the GPR plug and hardware is an easy path forward. Having the existing barrel rebored or relined is doable too.
 
How you possibly damaged the barrel will determine what route is the best to take, a rebore will cost you about $140, a re-line a good bit more.

I thought I did the same when I fired my rifle with 90gr of 2F pushing a short-started ball, I was sure I had to bulge the barrel but alas, the barrel was unscathed. The bad thing is I did it a second time a year or so later, again with no damage.

These folk claim to have new barrels, I have done business with them before.

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/dept/muzzleloaders/parts/barrels
 
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I’m not sure exactly how I damaged the barrel. I’ve had the gun for 15 years and have gone shooting countless times, and have always cleaned it thoroughly later the same day with warm water, then dry it, and then coat with WD-40. When I grabbed the previously cleaned gun yesterday and dropped a 54 ball down the barrel it didn’t bounce at the bottom like normal. I cleaned the already “clean” gun and found the last 5 inches of travel (near the breach) was rough. I’m guessing I didn’t remove all the water after the previous cleaning. If that wasn’t the cause, then I don’t know what happened.
 
@Flint-Hunter, at this time, you have little to lose but a bit of elbow grease and some time.

Get a 50 caliber jag, some green or maroon Scotch Brite pad and a sturdy working rod. Use a small square of the pad to smooth out that 5" of barrel as best you can. This will probably take several hundred strokes and several pads to get the barrel smoother. It will probably shoot acceptably well.

In the future, after cleaning, store the rifle muzzle down. Any remaining liquid will flow out of the breech and not settle in to harm or foul the breech.
 
Agree with Waksupi.

If it requires attention, and if I cannot find a new or better barrel, I would contact Bobby Hoyt and see what he could do for it and determine if the cost is worth it.
 
Getting a new barrel with rifling of your choice put together using the GPR plug and hardware is an easy path forward. Having the existing barrel rebored or relined is doable too.
Good information! If it is a 50 cal. he could turn it into a 54 cal. and could hunt anything that moves and have a lighter rifle to boot. I would consider it an inprovement.
 
I seen the problem right off---it is that stuff called WD40! It can actually cause rust but if it is not rust it is dried WD40. It will leave a build up that nothing will desolve. I have seen firing pins so frozen in they had to be pounded out and everything cleaned mechanically. The best use of that stuff is to set the cans at 100 yards and shoot at them.
 
I seen the problem right off---it is that stuff called WD40! It can actually cause rust but if it is not rust it is dried WD40. It will leave a build up that nothing will desolve. I have seen firing pins so frozen in they had to be pounded out and everything cleaned mechanically. The best use of that stuff is to set the cans at 100 yards and shoot at them.
WD-40, the gunsmith's friend. I earned lotsa bucks cleaning the varnish out of guns for people who used it.
 
Agree with the above comments on WD40. A lot of people think it is a good lube and storage oil. Not! WD40 is a solvent. It is not a lubricant. It is a short term water displacer which is a short term light grade protection for metal that has been exposed to moisture. Any firearm part that has had WD40 used on it should be thoroughly cleaned, dried, and a good coat of high grade lubricant applied as soon as possible.
 
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I seen the problem right off---it is that stuff called WD40! It can actually cause rust but if it is not rust it is dried WD40. It will leave a build up that nothing will desolve. I have seen firing pins so frozen in they had to be pounded out and everything cleaned mechanically. The best use of that stuff is to set the cans at 100 yards and shoot at them.
"I seen the problem right off" sounds like the line from the movie Jeremiah Johnson. Nicely done.
 
Hi Dave. I'd like to purchase your barrel, but I don't know how to PM you in this forum.
-Richard
Move your cursor over the pink square with a D in it above his name. A box will appear and in it you will see a line that says "start a conversation". Click on that and it will take you into the private message format and you can start a private conversation with him.
 
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