DIY rifle repair on a bulged barrel

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by oil pan 4, Aug 18, 2017.


  1. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Alright so I got an almost brand new savage 17HMR.
    I was out shooting it at the range since I got a scope on it and getting it on paper.
    I was having a lot of failures to eject so when a shell didn't eject I didn't have any reason to suspect a problem. Other people were shooting so I didn't here the tell tail pop of the squib round also because the 17HMR has a fairly mild muzzle blast.
    So I ejected the shell and chambered another round and shot it. I saw a gray mist when I fired and knew something went very wrong then I noticed the bulge...

    The barrel bulge is super easy to see plain as day but its difficult to get a picture of.
    IMG_1098.JPG

    I think this picture shows it best.
    IMG_1099.JPG

    Lucky for me the bulge is no where near the 16 inch rifle barrel length limit. So I can just cut it off and still be legal. If you cut down the barrel to less than 16 inches its considered a short barrel rifle and subject to be registered with the national fire arms act division on the ATF.

    I scored the barrel with a pipe cutter and cut it with my portable band saw.
    IMG_1100.JPG

    IMG_1101.JPG

    I took an 8ga screw put it in my dermal and put it on the belt sander to get the 90 degree profile for the polish.
    IMG_1102.JPG

    Just using some wood as a vice protector.
    IMG_1103.JPG

    With this we will defend.
    IMG_1105.JPG
    That piece of crap fence is not mine. That's why it looks like crap.

    The bad section of barrel after cutting it off and the almost finished muzzle on the rifle. I used a screw chamfer bit and hadn't polished it with my brass dermal screw setup with polishing compound.
    IMG_1104.JPG

    You don't have to use a power band saw or belt sander to cut and surface the barrel but I did. I hacksaw and file would work if you have all day. From pipe cutter score to polishing the crown took me about 30 minutes.
    New barrel length is about 18.2 inches and over all length is about 37 inches. Still 50 state legal.
    Total cost was about $7, using about $700 worth of tools. I noticed my nearly new band saw blade was very dull when I used it later on regular steel, the savage barrel material is pretty hard and ruined my band saw blade.
     
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2017
  2. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Did my crown job work?
    I think so.
    20170816_120949.
    That was 20 rounds at 25 meters.

    This was another 20 rounds so it's consistent.
    20170816_122123.

    Definitely staying with in minute of bunny at well over 100 yards.
    Not bad for a semi auto rim fire.
     
  3. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Nice bit of field gunsmithing. Were you able to suss out the cause of the squib?
     
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  4. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Just bad ammo I am guessing.
     
    sec_monkey likes this.
  5. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Whose ammo???? :eek: Me thinks, they owe you a new rifle!
     
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  6. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    You may have a point @Dunerunner but not after the saw job. No one will even consider replacing/repairing the rifle now.
     
    sec_monkey likes this.
  7. arleigh

    arleigh Goophy monkey

    This is a lesson a lot of new bees need to know , Know that your round has left the barrel before firing again . and odd sound is reason enough to stop shooting and do some inspection.
    Ammo factory might pay for clearing a plugged barrel, but not a round bulging a barrel behind a plug .
    The the misfired bullet plug has not expanded so a ram rod will usually remove it , However like a bullet hitting a target the one behind it will expand both creating a pipe bomb with no where for the dynamite in your barrel to go, but back at you.
     
  8. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    It was CCI tnt hollow point lot L03X10.

    It's fixed, I wasn't going to waste time arguing over it. When you are at an indoor range and some one fires an ar15 at the same time you fire something tiny like a 17HMR it's kind of hard to know what happened.
    I already figured they were going to try to not to pay for it. I turned weeks of trying to get it fixed and sending it off, waiting for it to be returned into a day that cost me a band saw blade.
    About 20 years ago I intentionally induced squib loads in some of my rifles after I got my reloading gear just to see what it sounded and felt like and find out how difficult would be to clear a bullet stuck in the barrel.
     
  9. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Given the post op accuracy, the rifle is giving one hell of an account for itself. I still might send the cutoff to someone, see if they can put some diagnostics on it, assuming the projo(s) is still lodged in it. I'd be inclined to think that Savage would be more interested than CCI.
     
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  10. Bandit99

    Bandit99 Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    Well, the good thing is the barrel didn't blow up in your face. Really nice job @oil pan 4
     
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  11. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Oh no it blew both bullets clear of the barrel. Just some copper shavings left inside the bulge.
     
  12. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Not sure which model but of course, you checked the bolt lugs and barrel extension for cracks? Unlikely given the tiny rounds, but possible ---. I get real nervous about such things, sorry for being obvious.
     
  13. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    If it were my weapon, I would take it and have the action & barrel, MAGNIFLUXed... before I shot it much more, just to be safe....
     
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  14. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Oh I went back and already put about 200 to 300 rounds through it.
    Nothing looked damage below the bulge.
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  15. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Unless you Flux it you will never know, for sure.... There easily can be Metal Stress in the Receiver/Barrel that is NOT detectable, with the Naked Eye...
     
    Tully Mars likes this.
  16. arleigh

    arleigh Goophy monkey

    The reason I rote why i did was for those others that had not experienced such things . Larger calibers have more significant catastrophes .
    Not sure I'd sweat the .22mag ,if nothings happened by now , but any other gun ,magniflux is a good call.
     
    ghrit likes this.
  17. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    I will do better than that.
    I will have my wife x-ray it.
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  18. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    Looks like a great save to me and it still runs true!!!
     
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