Rifle Muzzle Damage

Gun Barrels are made of soft steel which is easily damaged.

The most common faults are caused from either physical damage or bad cleaning.

Pull throughs aka bore snakes are notorious for causing uneven wear on muzzles.

Rigid rods will cause the same wear if not used correctly.

If possible clean from the breech. You must avoid all wear at the muzzle.

Note: 

Felt cleaning pellets should not be used in a spring-piston gun. 

They do not cushion the piston sufficiently, and it is akin to dry-firing and may cause damage to the piston face.

Damage to the muzzle must be addressed on discovery.

Failure to do so will caused a pellet to ‘flip’ slightly which will cause wobble and together with the spin, the pellet will fly erratically.

Spiral gets worse with flight time (Range)

The simplest way is to use a 3/8 inch ball bearing and simple valve grinding paste.

Push a pellet into the muzzle, point towards the breech, 2-3 mm into the rifling to stop any grinding paste falling down the barrel.

Grinding Technique

Put a smear round the edge and with a simple piece of hollowed dowel, grind for a few seconds until you can see a definite clean ‘cut’ round the muzzle.

Clean the muzzle with a cotton bud and wash the ball bearing. 

Re-coat with fine grinding paste and grind to a high polish.

Thoroughly clean with cotton buds and check with a magnifying glass to ensure an even grind. Repeat process until this has been achieved.

Use a simple push rod from the breech to remove the reversed pellet.

Thoroughly clean the barrel before shooting recommences.

Once the crowning process is complete you may have to sight your gun in again. It is common for the Point of Impact to shift after the crown has been re-ground.

Depending on the initial quality of the crown you will see varying degrees of improvement.

Note muzzle crown damage can happen to all rifle barrels including firearms.

Such damage can ruin the accuracy of a 1 moa weapon in seconds.

Although this is a simple technique, I recommend taking your weapon to a PROPER gun smith not some little 7-11 gun shop who won’t possess the correct skills or equipment.

Tags: barrel, damage, grind, muzzle