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Some thirty years ago I acquired an 1892 Winchester with a worn out barrel. The bore was completely shot out to the point that I could throw a rock more accurately than it would shoot. It spent most of the time since then in a gun safe. Last year I found out that it was re-barreled somewhere along the line with a 38 W.C.F. round barrel, cut to 20″ (presumably from 24″) and that it originally had a 24″ octagon rifle barrel in 44 W.C.F. Since it has a 4 digit serial number, some six months ago I started searching for a replacement barrel to return it to its original configuration.
For the past half year I’ve been looking at Winchester barrels at local gun shows, local gun shops and on the internet. It appears that a large proportion of barrels removed from old rifles have had the muzzle end sawed off, usually with 2″ removed but sometimes with 4″ removed and, on occasion, as little as 1/4″ taken off. I’ve also noticed numerous Winchester rifles for sale with shortened barrels.
QUESTION: why? If accuracy was the object of cutting the end off a barrel, wouldn’t chamfering the muzzle have been a better solution?
"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
Chamfering would work if it was just a ding in the end of the rifling but I’m guessing the problem they were trying to correct was the last inch or so of rifling is eroded away.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Hmmm…something I’ve noticed in rotten bores is that the effects of corrosive priming seem to propagate worst in the throats and muzzles of barrel-bores. Of course the bore in my recently acquired M1892 .44wcf is no different than you describe…really bad and been shortened to an 18″ ‘Trapper-carbine’!!
I think black-powder is less corrosive than whatever nasty priming stuff they used to use in ‘smoke-less’ cartridges….but then I can imagine the effects of BP cartridges with corrosive primers…and maybe that’s what happened to my poor old 1892 carbine of 1906 vintage!
I think a lot of muzzle ends were damaged by cleaning rod wear. Much better to clean pull-thru from breech. I also think gunsmiths promoted the cutting as a good gravy job , and I think also Gun owners were expecting great magic improvement by doing so. Maybe some envisioned a better carrying and handling ‘custom’ gun ? I bet results were often not as great as expected , with this operation being done in many cases when not needed. It sure was done to a lot of guns to the chagrin of todays collectors
Phil
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