getting pitting out of a single shot shotgun

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loose noose

loose noose

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My grandson recently bought a used 12ga. single shot, shotgun, and brought it out here for fathers day to have me take a look at it and see what I thought about it. The gun is a Harrington and Richardson, and it appears pretty solid, however it does have pitting on the inside of the bore. The outside is really nice no rust or pitting.

My question is, is there any way I could get the pitting removed from the bore? It is ok to shoot in the condition it is in, but my grandson is a chip off the old block, and needs to have everything perfect. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
No, pits are rusted below the surface of the bore.

And there is no possible way to remove them without removing some of the bore until you get back to solid smooth metal below the bottom of the pits.
Then you got a z10 ga instead of a 12 ga!

Best advice I have is get:
A package of 0000 (Super-Fine) steel wool.
A bronze bore brush of the proper gage.
A cleaning rod without a handle.
And an electric drill.

Wrap the steel wool around the bore brush, chuck it in the drill, and using powder solvent, spin it in the bore, in & out for a while.
Keep changing the steel wool as it wears out.

As for safety?
Unless it is so old it is twist or damascus steel, it probably isn't pitted deep enough to be a safety issue.

rc
 
I had one in the same condition.
I used a cheap Automotive Two Stone Brake Cylinder hone on a drill extension from the chamber end and tried not to hone out the choke.

Tip,
Wrap the extension and connector to the hone with electrical tape.
 
If it was a rifle with a pitted bore that shot poorly, I would suggest you have it bored out and relined. Shotgun barrels are thin so that option is not available. I wouldn't worry about the pits.
 
RC I've already tried the bronze brush and steel wool, it made it look a little bit better, but what can I say. I don't believe the gun is all that old, it does have a fixed modified choke. I'm not too sure about using a brake hone however. Unfortunately, his dad, my son, told him he was sure "grandpa" could fix it. BTW they're going back tomorrow, but I will get him for a week the last week of this month, and he does enjoy shooting. Plan on taking him up to the trap range I belong to. Anyway any other suggestions will be appreciated.
 
Pawn shops around here are loaded with 12 gauge H&R's for less than $100. If it means that much to you, buy one with a good barrel, swap the barrels, then sell the pawn shop one with the pitted barrel cheap.
 
.45 Auto, now that is a great idea, I'm gonna have to start looking here shortly. I believe he paid just under $100.00 for it. He won't even know the difference, hopefully I'll be able to find a modified choke.
 
@ Loose Noose
The Brake hone will not be doing heavy metal removal, it more just polishes the metal, and if done wet like with alcohol the same as you would polish out the brake cylinders, you should be fine.
But you can also take a 1/2" wood dowel, and saw a split in the end about 1" long and insert a strip of 600 grit Aluminium Oxcide sandpaper in the slot, and wrap it around the dowel like a flap wheel.
It doesnt need to be tight in the bore.
When spun in a drill motor, it will polish up the bore really nice and not remove any sugnificant amount of metal.
Again , do it wet with oil or WD-40
 
I agree.

But 400 or 320 emery cloth will get you there faster.

600 paper wears slick & loads up before you get started going good in my experience.
It's great for final polish though.

rc
 
Hey RC, I just saw in my Brownell's catalogue that they have a hone made especially for shotgun barrels, the problem is the cost is only like $15.00 for the hone but the extension is like $78.00. They advertise that they are the cats meow in polishing up the bore of a shotgun, with pitting etc. Supposedly will make a pitted barrel shine like better than new.

BTW Lags I tried the wooden dowel but couldn't get it in my 3/8" drill, my drill press is 1/2" but it is too cumbersome to try. Thanks any way for the suggestions.

Tell me RC are you familiar with that particular hone? Is it worth the money? I'm thinking about getting another H&R single barrel and swapping 'em out, however the dang gun out here goes for over a $100.00.
 
Yea.

The Brownell's hone is just a small brake cylinder hone LAGS mentioned that you can buy at an auto parts store.

You can make your own extension with a little ingenuity, tubing, and some low-temp silver solder.
 
@ Loose Noose.
If your chuck on your drill is only 3/8" then just use a 3/8 Dowel.
I had just mentioned the 1/2" because it doesnt flex as much.
But the sandpaper will follow the surface of the barrel and it is not required to be centered or held against the sides of the barrel.
As the dowel is spinning , keep it moving in and out of the bore and dont let it sit and spin in one place too long.

I bet the dowel and sandpaper flap wheel will shine up the bore real nice with little effort and cost.

And if you want to use the Brake Hone, you can buy a drill extension at Home Depot pretty cheap.
They are made for the 1/4" hex shaft Spade wood bits, but will work for round shank 1/4" bits or things like hones and grinding rasps and stones.
The bits are held in by two allen set screws
 
Hey thank ya Lags, I'm gonna have to go over to Home Depot this morning, and check out the extension, I'm thinking about getting the small brake hone at one of the auto parts stores later today. Although the two closest said they didn't have any in stock.

Anyway my grandson and his Dad & Mom left and went home last night and they left the gun with me to try and fix. Father's Day bah hum bug.
 
I want to thank you for starting this conversation. It has been very educational and I have a similar problem to attack. Now the procedures are at hand.
 
@ Loose Noose.
Most Brake cylinder hones come in differant sizes and amount of stones.
I found the ones with Two Stones seem to fit the bore better than the Three Stone ones.
And sometimes you can find the Hones that look like a wire brush that has little balls of grinding stone on the bristles in the size you need.
They look like the Hone that Brownells sells.
Remember to also Wet Hone, and not let the stones or sandpaper run Dry.
A Squirt bottle works good if you are using Alcohol.
Or just use WD-40 and spray the bore while the hone is spinning
But remember to Wrap the extension with electrical tape to protect the bore.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
 
Hey Lags, I checked with every auto parts store around here and no one has the smaller hone. Guess I'm gonna have to order one from Midway, and then go to Home Depot and get the extension.
 
Before you go to all that trouble, try the Dowel and sandpaper.
Either use the 3/8 Dowel or just sand or file the end of the 1/2" dowl down to fit in your hand drill.
You dont have to be perfect, and even if you carving/ sanding of the dowel is not perfectly centered, it works just fine.
The sandpaper is still spinning and polishing, and you are not trying to Resize the Bore.
The sandpaper follows the shape of the bore, the mandral or dowel is just to rotate the sandpaper Flap.
 
These guys have probably sanded out enough barrels to have learned a little technique.
You can get one pretty wavy if you aren't careful.

The British routinely polish the inside and "restrike" the outside of shotgun barrels in for refinishing, but they have proof laws that limit how thin they can go. Not likely a problem for an American single, though.
 
I thank ya again Lags, and Jim I don't think I'll be out much if I make the bore a bit wavy just using 400 wet and dry sand paper.
 
Well Lags I tried it using a piece of 400 grit wet and dry sand paper and used a bunch of WD40 to no avail. It does look a little bit better but I can still see the pitting, reckon I'll order the hone and try that. Darn grandsons, oh well he is my one and only so what can I say.
 
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