Brand new Beretta 92FS -- Possible barrel damage?

[BlackSteel]

Let me start this off by saying that I'm new to guns, so I'm very sorry if I come across as ignorant or foolish.

I just bought a Beretta 92FS a little while back. It's my first handgun purchase, and I probably don't know as much as I should have before buying it. While cleaning it after its first day at the range, I noticed what appears to be a defect at the distal end of the barrel. I have no idea how I missed it at the store, or how I missed it when I was cleaning/lubing it before taking it to the range.

I've got some pictures that can hopefully explain this better, though it's strikingly difficult to take a good picture of a gun barrel.








My buddy (jokingly) gave me grief for those last two. It should be noted that I took those after reassembling the gun. I didn't have ammunition in the same room, let alone the chamber of the gun.

What do you guys think? My brother said he didn't notice any performance issues while we were shooting it, and I've never dropped the barrel or cleaned it in any way that should do THAT sort of damage to it. Would the brush that comes in a typical gun cleaning kit (one with a plastic rod) do that kind of damage? Plastic rod and nylon bristles, but the inner coil of the brush itself looked to be steel. Could that have somehow scraped against the side and caused that recessing? But, if that were the case, I'd have had to pull it through and scraped it multiple times to cause that much recessing. The brush was the right sized brush, so it likely wouldn't have been that, would it? And I don't recall pulling out metal shavings on the brush/pad, let alone the amount that would come from that amount of damage...

I really don't want to have to spend another $150 replacing the barrel, and I'm not sure that's something that would be covered under the limited warranty the gun came with.

[Targa]

It has a one year warranty, I would use it sir. If not and it is working well, I would just leave it as is.

[tipoc]

Did you run a brass brush through the barrel? A brush and some solvent help to clean.

What I see in the pics (if you click on the images you can see a larger pic) looks like lead or dirt from the ammo on the crown of the muzzle. What you called the distal end of the barrel is generally called the muzzle of the barrel. Dirt and debris can collect there and need to be cleaned. If you wipe that with your thumb or a white cloth some dirt will show on your thumb or the rag. Swipe it with a brass brush and it should come off.

tipoc

[BlackSteel]

Alright, thank you.

Do you think this could have been caused by me cleaning it improperly?

[BlackSteel]

Originally Posted by tipoc

Did you run a brass brush through the barrel? A brush and some solvent help to clean.

What I see in the pics (if you click on the images you can see a larger pic) looks like lead or dirt from the ammo on the crown of the muzzle. What you called the distal end of the barrel is generally called the muzzle of the barrel. Dirt and debris can collect there and need to be cleaned. If you wipe that with your thumb or a white cloth some dirt will show on your thumb or the rag. Swipe it with a brass brush and it should come off.

tipoc

I'm honestly not sure how the word "muzzle" did not pop into my head. I'm having a very off day.

It's not dirt or grime. It's hard to see in the pictures, but there's recession on the crown of the barrel (on the interior ring).

I think I'll take it in tomorrow and utilize that warranty.

[tipoc]

Go into the gun store where you got it and ask them about it.

The warranty means they will send the gun back to the factory for a barrel replacement if the barrel is damaged.

Do you think this could have been caused by me cleaning it improperly?

No, to me the slightly fuzzy pic looks like you did not clean the crown of the muzzle. But if you wipe it and nothing comes off, then perhaps there is damage.

You mentioned using nylon bristles. Nylon bristles will not remove powder residue or copper fouling. Solvent and a brass will. Take a patch with a small amount of solvent on it and run it through the barrel several times. Then run a brass brush through the barrel several times than a few more patches,the first ones wet followed by dry and note how the patches look. Hit the crown a few swipes with the brass brush.

tipoc

[BlackSteel]

Originally Posted by tipoc

Go into the gun store where you got it and ask them about it.

The warranty means they will send the gun back to the factory for a barrel replacement if the barrel is damaged.



No, to me the slightly fuzzy pic looks like you did not clean the crown of the muzzle. But if you wipe it and nothing comes off, then perhaps there is damage.

You mentioned using nylon bristles. Nylon bristles will not remove powder residue or copper fouling. Solvent and a brass will. Take a patch with a small amount of solvent on it and run it through the barrel several times. Then run a brass brush through the barrel several times than a few more patches,the first ones wet followed by dry and note how the patches look. Hit the crown a few swipes with the brass brush.

tipoc

I promise you that I'm familiar enough with cleaning things to know when something is simply just not clean. I'm new to guns, not metal.

I'm sorry to get snarky, but I just can't possibly imagine being so stupid that I couldn't tell the difference between the two. I put 200 rounds through it. Unless putting 200 rounds through it will cause powder residue to cake up on half the barrel, extending it ~1/8 of an inch past the recessing on the other side of the barrel, and somehow manages to make that additional barrel length the same shiny metallic color of the rest of the interior of the barrel, I'm pretty certain that isn't the case.

Like I said, they're terrible pictures. You'll have to take my word for it that I have an IQ above room temperature.

It's also worth noting that it was the nylon cleaning brush that came with the gun. From the manufacturer.

To further clarify, I can trace the rifling from breach to muzzle.

[tipoc]

Sorry but I did not see anything that extended 1/8 of an inch (.125") past the end of the muzzle. Maybe the

A nylon bore brush really is not much for cleaning the bore of a barrel. It's not a good tool for that at all. A small nylon brush for the external parts of at gun does OK at swiping loose grit and sludge but not for any removing build up.

...I put 200 rounds through it. Unless putting 200 rounds through it will cause powder residue to cake up on half the barrel, extending it ~1/8 of an inch past the recessing on the other side of the barrel, and somehow manages to make that additional barrel length the same shiny metallic color of the rest of the interior of the barrel, I'm pretty certain that isn't the case.

I can't see any of what you describe in the pics. The only thing that I see is some dirt on the crown of the muzzle.

What you describe above sounds like lead build up. Were you shooting lead bullets?

If the barrel actually did get 1/8" longer after 200 rounds than that's something I haven't seen before or heard of from a one piece barrel.

Let us know what the gun store says and what Beretta says.

tipoc

[JohnKSa]

I can't seen any defect in the pictures.

The muzzle on that particular barrel (most barrels, in fact) has a "crown" which is, for lack of a better description, a countersunk (or beveled) region at the end of the barrel that transitions between the muzzle and the actual rifling/bore. There are other kinds of crowns, but that is a common type.

The bore (inside of the barrel) of the 92FS barrel is chrome-lined and the chrome-lining often extends out onto the crown at least partially. The edges of the chrome-lining are usually not perfectly round as they extend out onto the crown.

Carbon fouling typically builds up on the metal at the muzzle and can be difficult to remove. A lot of brushing with a nitro solvent and a nylon brush can remove it, but it can be stubborn.

Here are a number of views, all of the same new 92FS barrel, taken from various angles and with differing lighting. Hopefully they will let you get good idea of what the muzzle and crown of a 92FS barrel should look like.

I should point out that for some reason, the chrome lining doesn't really show on the muzzle of this barrel like it does on some 92FS barrels I have seen. Also, of course, there is no carbon fouling on the muzzle since the barrel is new.

[tipoc]

No reply yet.

tipoc

[JohnKSa]

Don't worry. I already had pictures of 10 different views of a Beretta 92fs muzzle just lying around waiting for someone to ask the right question. And taking a bunch of closeups with different views and lighting is really simple and quick to accomplish.

[tipoc]

That was good work to try to show the issue, to make it clearer.

tipoc

[Northrider]

Thanks for the posting of the new barrel JohnKSa and the logical explanation of how the fouling sticks to the crown. Curious as to what the dealer said when he(OP) took it back. Makes me want to go out and look more closely at the muzzles of my 92FS and 96.

[dakota.potts]

Looking at OP's barrel, it looks like maybe a slightly damaged crown or one that was roughly cut from the factory with chatter or tooling marks. If the edges are rough, it would definitely build up carbon and lead sooner.

I would definitely try scrubbing it with a dedicated carbon and lead remover and a sturdy brush and see what it looks like. It may just be a rough crown that needs to be cleaned up.

[mr bolo]

looks normal to me, when a new gun gets fired it often leaves some staining / discoloration from use, more noticeable because your barrel is chrome lined

it's more of a cosmetic thing, that wont have any effect on performance.