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Can this barrel be repaired?


Devin1955

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I'm pretty sure the answer is no, but no harm in asking I figured.

 

I was shooting a shotgun stage in my clubs 3-gun match when I thought I had a misfire. Cycled the gun and continued to finish the stage. After I was all done and packing up my gun to head home, I noticed the bulge in the barrel.

 

Is there any way to repair this or is it simply time for a new barrel?

 

Yes, I was shooting my own reloads. I'm not inexperienced at this however, having reloaded my own shotgun ammo since 1969. This is the first time this has happened. I'm still a bit baffled by the circumstances though. I assume the shell in question had no powder, but I don't know how I would have done that since I don't load on a progressive, and the crimp looked normal. (shrugging shoulders)

 

I'm also rather disappointed, since one of the things that made me feel real good about my $1400 purchase was seeing a segment on Guns and Ammo TV where they purposely TRIED to damage an M4 by loading a 20ga shell ahead of a 12ga shell and fired it. The 20ga shell lodged in the barrel detonated, but NO damage to the barrel was done. Why in my case I bulged the barrel so much with an obstruction consisting of a plastic wad and 1-1/8 ounce of loose shot is beyond me.

 

Best price I've found on a replacement barrel is $595 including shipping.

 

Advice would be welcome.

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Holy friggin Hail!

 

I would just replace it out. It's already weakened. No use exposing yoursef to harm or failure when you really need the gun to work.

 

You're just having a bad time with the B.

 

I was talking with Hans Vang, at his shotgun modification company, Vang Comp.

 

At the time I had both the B and a Rem 870 and wanted porting on both.

 

He refused to do the Benelli because he said the barrel walls were too thin for him to comfortably port.

 

They used to sell an aftermarket thicker wall barrel exclusively for that but the cost was prohibitive for me. Later demand to do such was too low and they dropped it.

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the answer is NO. please replace that barrel at all cost, never atempt to fire it again. PLEASE take a hack saw and cut it up in little pieces. make the first cut right in front of the chamber, this will insure that no one finds it, and atempts to use it. remember, any time your firearm seems to misfire, CHECK THE BARREL.3 years ago i saw a man lose both eyes, and 2 fingers due to having an under wieghed charge in a 44mag. the first shot made no sound to speak of, but lodged the bullet in the barrel.i tryed to make it to him before he fired again but i did not make it. the pistol exploded in his hand, and several people near him were hurt as well. i dont mean to sound like a smart a**, but you should feel very , very lucky.

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I get the message, and it's as I expected.

 

Can anyone explain to me though how my situation was apparently so much worse, judging from the results, than what they did on the TV show? That baffles me.

 

Also, does anyone know of a source for a replacement that would be less expensive than the $595 I found. Doesn't need to be new.

 

Thanks.

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i would have to be the one that stuck that 20 ga shell in the barrel of the 12ga, and fire the thing with a string from 50yds away to even come close to believing that no damage would occur. im NOT calling you liar, so dont think that, but believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see!!

 

I understand. Just to prove I wasn't imagining it, I went searching to see if I could find the segment on the net somewhere. Guns and Ammo TV does "torture tests" of various firearms, and it was one of those. G&A desn't have it online, but I found it mentioned here. Scroll almost to the bottom and look for a post from "LtBlue425".

 

http://www.odcmp.org/new_forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=40336

 

The G&A guys just gushed over how it withstood the punishment with no damage apparent. (shrugging shoulders)

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Let's just agree that it wasn't the best thing for G & A to show. Why do we have to torture test a gun to prove it is good? We all learned a long time ago that you never, ever fired a weapon with any type of barrel obstruction! Period! Not even a patch! I'm just glad you survived this event unharmed.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawed-off_shotgun#Legal_issues

 

"In the United States, it is illegal for a private citizen to possess a sawed-off modern smokeless powder shotgun (a barrel length less than 18 in. or 46 cm and an overall length less than 26 inches) without a tax-stamped permit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which requires an extensive background check and a $200.00 fee for every transfer. (Short-barreled blackpowder shotguns, in contrast, are not illegal, by federal law, and require no tax-stamped permit, although they may be illegal under state law.) A new tax stamp must be purchased with every transfer of a modern smokeless powder short-barrelled shotgun, and transfers must be made through a Class III Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealer. (See National Firearms Act.)"

 

None the less it is possible to make a SBS with a barrel shorter than 18", or in a manner I do not quite understand, an AOW (Any other Weapon $5.00 tax)

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  • 4 weeks later...

I got a replacement barrel. Is the damaged one of any value? If so I'd like to recover a little of the cost of the replacement. Still has good gas pistons, front sight and sling mount.

 

If anyone has any use for it, make an offer. Otherwise I'll just hang it up on my shop wall as a reminder...

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I get the message, and it's as I expected.

 

Can anyone explain to me though how my situation was apparently so much worse, judging from the results, than what they did on the TV show? That baffles me.

 

Also, does anyone know of a source for a replacement that would be less expensive than the $595 I found. Doesn't need to be new.

 

Thanks.

Could be that you were shooting already and therefore had a hot (i.e., weaker) barrel, whereas on the show it was likely a single, first shot scenario...

 

just an hypothesis.

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Could be that you were shooting already and therefore had a hot (i.e., weaker) barrel, whereas on the show it was likely a single, first shot scenario...

 

just an hypothesis.

 

On the show they may have used the mil-spec no-choke tube barrel and the commercial choke-tube barrel is built to different spec. I didn't see it, and so I don't know.

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  • 4 weeks later...

The "AOW" such as the SERBU, was directed towards a shotgun (in this case) that left the assembly line without a buttstock, but was configured with a "pistol" grip, much as a handgun. It came off the line with a so-called "pistol" grip. That was what the SERBU was made from. Therefore it was not a "SBS" as it started life as a "pistol", not as a shotgun, quite like the old Ithaca "auto burglar".

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I get the message, and it's as I expected.

 

Can anyone explain to me though how my situation was apparently so much worse, judging from the results, than what they did on the TV show? That baffles me.

 

Also, does anyone know of a source for a replacement that would be less expensive than the $595 I found. Doesn't need to be new.

 

Thanks.

It would be my guess that the 12 gauge with shot sealed the bore tighter than the 20 gauge shell loose in the barrel. Then the charge from the 12 ignited the 20 so the sequence was always fluid or moving. The barrel never had a tight seal like yours did.

With the O/U I always check my reloads if they sound a little different. Something you should do even in 3 gun. I can imagine it would be a lot harder in that situation, but something ya have to get an ear for ASAP.

I have never had a light load until I got to my progressive loaders. I should have bought the Dillon. expensive but they have a powder check system that works.

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