Gunsmith

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Looking for a gunsmith around sanford or surrounding areas. I have a gun i have fought with for a few years off and on trying to get it to shoot. Ive changed scopes and tried many factory boxes trying to find anything close. Currently a 4-6” group is about what i have been able to achieve. Had a hornady load that was around a 2.5” group and i can no longer find that load. I suspect there are some issues in the barrel/crown. Most patterns look more like buckshot. If anyone knows someone that they would recommend, i am willing to listen.

Gun is an older Browning BAR chambered in .30-06.
 

Guybo

Eight Pointer
Baxter Canady just south of Fayetteville, good guy to deal with and a top notch gunsmith.

Canady's Custom Guns
4172 Tolarsville Rd
St. Pauls, NC 28384
910-865-4163
 

kilerhamilton

Old Mossy Horns
Does that gun have the adjustable "muzzle break" thing? The Boss
It's actually for working groups.
Cheers.

Not firmilar with models sorry.

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pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Negative on the boss system. Seems like the boss design was to alter harmonics. I dont remember it all.

No muzzle break.
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
Check the handguard as stated. Also check your mounts, they always had troubles keeping the mounts tight and true.
What scope?
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Another thing about those rifles is they were extremely susceptible to bore fouling. They were bad to brass up. Many times you can't see it unless you are really looking for it. They will make them shoot terribly. I have spent hours cleaning them, a couple I actually was about to give up on before I got a clean patch through, I though they were all going to come out with a blue tint.

Between what has been mentioned and and an extreme cleaning I would almost bet it will solve your problem.
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I can try. I remember runnibg some stuff through for copper fouling years ago. Dont remember getting much out. I think i still have some of the solution to trying in there again.
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
On a better note, was sighting in a new Marlin xl7. Took a few boxes but finalky found something it liked. I havent seen the .75” and 1” groups in a while. That ws fun.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I can try. I remember runnibg some stuff through for copper fouling years ago. Dont remember getting much out. I think i still have some of the solution to trying in there again.
You better have some tough stuff like Butch's Bore shine or Sweet's 7.62. I would bet you have a case of some imbeded crap. They were bad about really fouling the last 4-6" of the barrel, or the ones made in the late 70's and early to mid 80's were. Especially if they were reloaded and you pushed them pretty close to the max on velocity. That little fact caused me to get a Grade II 300 WM and a standard 7mm mag. fairly cheap though because they were spraying shots just like you are saying.
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Ill look at ordering some 7.62 or butches.

So one of those, a non cooper brush, and some patches? Then a few hours of scrubbing and checking until i have gotten it as good as i can?
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Spent 3 evenings cleaning the bore. There was a decent amount of green and blue. Still doesnt look great, but patches come out almost as clean as going in.

Looked for the nylon thing mentioned above. Didmt find one and didnt see one on schematics either.

Made a washer to pin between forearm and gas block. About 1/16” of space. You can slide a dollar everywhere now except where the gas block is.

Ill try it soon and see if anything has worked.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Spent 3 evenings cleaning the bore. There was a decent amount of green and blue. Still doesnt look great, but patches come out almost as clean as going in.

Looked for the nylon thing mentioned above. Didmt find one and didnt see one on schematics either.

Made a washer to pin between forearm and gas block. About 1/16” of space. You can slide a dollar everywhere now except where the gas block is.

Ill try it soon and see if anything has worked.
Take a q-tip and stick in the bore a couple inches from the muzzle. Illuminate it with a bright light. That will make the bore shine like you have a 10M candlepower light on it. If you see any hint of copper in the lands or grooves, you need to stay after it. May even have to use bore cleaner soaked patches on worn brass brushes. You may have tennis elbow before it is over, but you get that bore spotless you have a starting point. That isn't to say it may shoot better slightly fouled, but it will shot better spotless that copper fouled.
 

FishHunt

Old Mossy Horns
Spent 3 evenings cleaning the bore. There was a decent amount of green and blue. Still doesnt look great, but patches come out almost as clean as going in.

Looked for the nylon thing mentioned above. Didmt find one and didnt see one on schematics either.

Made a washer to pin between forearm and gas block. About 1/16” of space. You can slide a dollar everywhere now except where the gas block is.

Ill try it soon and see if anything has worked.

Midway carries the buffer cheap, $2.99 - https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...fle-bar-2-bar-light-rifle-bar-short-long-trac

Buffer viewed at the 5:00 minute mark of the video below. Don't forget to put the two metal pieces back on either side of the buffer during reassembly.

<>< Fish

 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Alright. I cleaned the bore out with cooper fouling stuff. I did not use a gritty cleaner. I guess i could try that at some time. I cleaned out the majority of copper. Also added a washer between stock and gas. Block. That floated the barrel.

Tested it with a few boxes...swabbing ever 3-5 shots. Cooper cutter in every 6-10 shots. It waz slightly better than before, but not by much.

I thinknot will get another thorough cleaning and be pastured in the gun safe for the years to come.
 

45/70 hunter

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Most rifles shoot better a little dirty. What ammo are you using? I had a brand new 30-06 A-Bolt that shot every factory load I tried into 2.5" to about 6" at 100 yards. At my wits end I bought a cheap Lee Loader kit. I found a max load of RL19 under a 150 gr Sierra Match King would shoot into 1/2". I shoot this load in a BAR and 760 Gamemaster, my BIL in both his BAR's, and our nephew in his Tikka. The worst group in all of them is 1". I know the MK isn't supposed to be a deer bullet but it has worked great for all of us near 20 years.
 
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Zach's Grandpa

Old Mossy Horns
I had a BAR many years ago that never would group. Try everything and never got a consistent group.


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pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
The gun is an amazing piece of equipment functionally. From 100yds, it will be fine for a deer gun. It looks good and functions great. This one just doesnt shoot.
 

richard corn

Ten Pointer
Butch's Bore Shine is a good product as well as Montana Extreme. make sure you use in a ventilated area as both contain ammonia . You will want to use only nylon brushes too, bronze brushes will leave a blue residue.
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
Baxter Canady just south of Fayetteville, good guy to deal with and a top notch gunsmith.

Canady's Custom Guns
4172 Tolarsville Rd
St. Pauls, NC 28384
910-865-4163

I went to Gunsmith School with Baxter and didn't know if he was still rolling!...great guy, decades of experience and talent!
 

LanceR

Six Pointer
Contributor
I'm probably preaching to the choir here but as with all gas operated firearms, clean it with the gas port oriented up and the muzzle somewhat downhill to keep the crud and solvent out of the receiver and gas system.

All of the copper fouling removers with which I'm familiar have ammonia in them and are extremely corrosive so don't leave them in the bore for any longer than you have to. And then be sure to thoroughly clean and lubricate all the metal they came near. Lastly, the ammonia based copper solvents will attack the bluing and the stock (if it's wood) so be careful what it gets on.

On any rifle that fails to group, especially one cleaned from the muzzle, the first thing I'd check is the crown of the muzzle. Any damage at all to the crown can really open groups up. Re-cutting or lapping the crown is fast and is generally a good idea on older rifles that are cleaned from the muzzle due to dings from segmented cleaning rods etc.

Are the groups random or do they have a noticeable patter such as vertical stringing or running from one lower corner diagonally to the other upper corner? Some times charting several groups to make what we used to call a "super group" will be very helpful in spotting issues with the firearm, load or shooter.


Lance
 
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