Is my old 336 now a wall hanger?

[Hedley]

Just inherited this '62 model from my father. It was his old truck gun and hasn't been shot in probably 20 years. Based on what you can see, is the barrel done for? I can only see faint grooves and the bore is pretty dark. Should a 30-30 round fit that far into the muzzle? It goes in right up to the brass.
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/5216/img1585ha8.jpg
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/3694/img1588zo5.jpg

[UniversalFrost]

Yeah it looks like the wear is quite excessive, best bet is to take it to a smith to see just how bad it is. If beyond spec. then I would start looking for a replacement barrel (i just checked midway and they have some new, but they are almost the same price as a new complete 336 http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=487602). Maybe ebay, gunbroker, auction arms, etc... . Best of luck, also if you want to get rid of it, I might be interested for the right price. Just PM me if you want to sell.

[Hedley]

Jesus, they're proud of their barrels. Hey thanks for the info. I used to have a newer model that was pristine, but I never stuck a round in the muzzle for comparison reasons. Thanks, UF, but it's a hand-down, so it'll be with me for a while.
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/7438/img1586ve0.jpg

[Unclenick]

It looks like the cannelure on that cartridge's bullet comes right against the corner of the ogive, so I don't know that you've actually pushed a bullet diameter into the gun? If you don't reload, borrow an unloaded bullet from someone who does, and see if that stops? If you have the 16 groove Microgroove barrel, that might explain the faintness of the marks and why a bullet goes in to near-diameter. Just shoot it and see how it does?

Nick

[Mike Irwin]

As Nick says, just shoot it and see how it does.

If it doesn't, you can employ a trick that has salvaged MANY shot out .30-30s...

Have the barrel rebored to .35 caliber. You'll end up with a very old American wildcat, the .35-30.

[Scorch]

I'd bet it is a MicroGroove barrel. Clean it well, shoot it. They generally shoot well. Even when they were new they didn't have much rifling in them.

[Hedley]

Yes, it's a MicroGroove, but I remmember my newer MicroGroove was a lot shinier and the rifling was more distinct. Looking down this barrel, all I see is what appears to be minute scratches, but I'll try a better light.

edit-Just checked it out in the sunlight and it appears as though a half a bottles of hoppes, about a hundred patches and a brash brush weren't good enough last night. Looking through the barrel, it looks as if it were a freshly honed cylinder head, with rifling going one direction, and brush marks in the grime going the other way. I just hope it's the surface of the grime that I scratched. A brass brush won't scratch a bore will it?

[Don H]

As others have noted, if the rifle is in decent mechanical condition, shoot it and see how it groups. If it shoots well, it doesn't really matter much what the bore *looks* like.

[Hedley]

Just got back from the range and I must say, I'm quite impressed. I've never scoped in a rifle, and it's missing the rear sight ramp, so I spent a box of ammo dialing it in at 25yds, until I was putting all the rounds through the same hole. I was using Federal SP's.

Then I took it out to 50, tweaked the old K-Mart brand scope a bit more, and managed about a 1" group. After another 25 or so rounds, with a sore shoulder, I fired off two more boxes at 100yds, getting about a 3" group. I'm not that experienced of a shooter, but I was quite impressed with a 44 year old rifle and a 30 year old cheapo 4 X 32 "All Pro" scope. Now, time to ice the shoulder down. :o

[JNewell]

3" at 100 yards is good enough that I would stop thinking about fiddlin' with the bore.

Mike, does that .35-30 come out about like a .35 Remington-R?

[Don H]

I love it when a story has a happy ending.

[Byron Quick]

That would have been a good 100 yard group on the day that rifle came from the factory/

[Hedley]

I just got done thoroughly cleaning the rifle with the bolt out. It does have a few blemishes in the barrel, and the scratches that I thought were in the soot are actually in the metal. It looks as though it has rifling in both directions. Didn't seem to matter though.

[dfaugh]

Based on my experience with many milsurps, you can have a pretty nasty looking bore, and the gun will still shoot pretty well. All you need is enough rifling to impart spin on the bullet.

I wouldn't call 3" inch groups at 100 yards great (IF you were shooting off a steady rest, with a good scope)...But they're certainly adequate for "woods hunting" where your shots are likely to be limited to 75 yards or less anyway.

[Ausserordeutlich]

I wouldn't call a 3" group @ 100 yds. great with my VS, but would call it a miracle for Mini or maybe even a lever action.