What to do about cleaning rod damage.

[Mr_Flintstone]

I have a surplus Carcano carbine that has about 3/4” cleaning rod damage where the outside rifling is almost completely gone, but the rifling past that is good. It shoots a wide pattern, not too bad at 25-50 yards, but opens up past that. What, if anything, can be done by a pretty handy gun owner? There are no gunsmiths within 150 miles, and I don’t like the idea of sending the rifle off, paying twice what I paid for the rifle, and waiting 6 months to a year to get it back. I considered cutting the end of the barrel off, and re-crowning, but it has an integral front sight that’s made onto the barrel, and that might interfere with cutting back the barrel.

 

[Shodan]

My mind went to shortening the barrel, and the problem the sight would cause. Do you have the ability to counter bore the barrel to eliminate the damage? I'm just brain storming so I don't know of any unintended consequences or if this is a good idea.

 

[FROGO207]

The usual method would be to use a lathe and counterbore the barrel. This preserves the looks and origional length/front sight. Using a drill would make matters worse as you can't get the rifling and counterbore square reliably or apply a crown down there with a regular drill.

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

My mind went to shortening the barrel, and the problem the sight would cause. Do you have the ability to counter bore the barrel to eliminate the damage? I'm just brain storming so I don't know of any unintended consequences or if this is a good idea.

I’m afraid I’d do more damage than good doing that.

I dropped a .257 bullet down the muzzle, and it dropped about 1 1/2 inches before it lodged in the barrel. I don’t think cutting that much off would be feasible, but maybe if I do a cast of the muzzle, I might be able to see if cutting the barrel off forward of the front sight will give me enough lands to still grip the bullet.

 

[JohnKSa]

If you can't shorten the barrel & recrown, the only other decent option is to counterbore. If you shorten the barrel, make sure you don't go too short, you don't have a lot of barrel to play with before you get into NFA territory.

...give me enough lands to still grip the bullet.

You need the rifling to be undamaged and symmetrical at the point that it ends. Just "gripping the bullet" isn't enough.

 

[Mauser fan]

Counter bore the barrel. Not only will it save the length but will likely improve the accuracy and make the rifle useful again.

I’m afraid I’d do more damage than good doing that.

I dropped a .257 bullet down the muzzle, and it dropped about 1 1/2 inches before it lodged in the barrel. I don’t think cutting that much off would be feasible, but maybe if I do a cast of the muzzle, I might be able to see if cutting the barrel off forward of the front sight will give me enough lands to still grip the bullet.

Are you talking about a 6.5 Carcano? If so the bore diameter isn't .257 it should be in the close proximity of .264 to .268 in diameter. The tolerances were very sloppy and so where QC standards back in the day. That would explain why the .257 bullet you used to check the muzzle dropped in so far. Unless it has been re-barreled to .257 once upon a time.

Give us some pictures so we can better help you.

 

[Show Me]

Are those carbines worth the money for repairs? Buy a good one and save this one for parts or for an enthusiastic collector to spend on

 

[Jim Watson]

Are you talking about a 6.5 Carcano? If so the bore diameter isn't .257 it should be in the close proximity of .264 to .268 in diameter. The tolerances were very sloppy and so where QC standards back in the day. That would explain why the .257 bullet you used to check the muzzle dropped in so far.

The BORE diameter is indeed .256", the GROOVE diameter is .268".
So a .257" bullet should not have dropped in at all. The muzzle is appreciably worn.

A counterbore sounds like a good DIY if you have a lathe.

The barrel length is only 17.7"/45 cm so there is not a lot of scope for sawing it off, even if you were willing and able to put on a new front sight. (This is a common barrel length for European carbines and is the reason the BATF minimum rifle barrel length was reduced from 18" to 16". There are some 1894 Swedes with little extensions added for import before that.)

 

[Mauser fan]

I stand corrected. Thank you.

The BORE diameter is indeed .256", the GROOVE diameter is .268".
So a .257" bullet should not have dropped in at all. The muzzle is appreciably worn.

A counterbore sounds like a good DIY if you have a lathe.

The barrel length is only 17.7"/45 cm so there is not a lot of scope for sawing it off, even if you were willing and able to put on a new front sight. (This is a common barrel length for European carbines and is the reason the BATF minimum rifle barrel length was reduced from 18" to 16". There are some 1894 Swedes with little extensions added for import before that.)

I agree it would be a healthy DIY project for someone who owns a lathe or an excellent excuse to buy one if one has the means.