I've never seen a barrel like this.

[Rockydoc]

These photos are Teslong bore scope pictures of the Microgroove barrel of my Marlin 336C 35 Remington. You would think that would lead up like crazy, but I have fired jacket and cast without any obvious fouling. Of course all of my cast loads have been powder coated. Some were gas check bullets without gas check and those were without accuracy as well!!

The gas checked and powder coated Lee 358-200 bullets sized .3585" with 36.9gr Varget @ 1928fps shot 1.9" group at 100 yds. I am not through developing this load but this is "minute of deer neck" at 100yds already.

QuickLoad predicts an OBT Load of 38.8gr Varget @2043fps. I have loaded some rounds bracketing that load for testing as soon as it stops raining down here. It is predicted to rain every day this week.

Have any of you ever seen a barrel like this? It looks like that from breach to muzzle.

 

[Joshua]

Can’t say that I have.

I broke the rear axle on my bicycle a few months ago. When I got everything tore down and was able to inspect the bearings I was shocked. Down in the bottom of the groove those bearing races looked a creek bed.

Well like everything right now there is a bike part shortage. So I got on the waitlist for a new rear wheel. I had no choice but to replace the axle, pack it good with grease, and run it. You know what, those old bearings still run pretty good.

I guess what I’m trying to say is I didn’t know I had bad bearings until I looked at them. Bore scopes are great. I’ve used them in industrial applications. But sometimes they let you see things you would rather not see.

Less than 2 MOA sounds pretty good to me, no matter how rough the inside looks!

 

[CZ93X62]

What Joshua says--sub-2 MOA from a levergun is just fine with me. 35 Rem isn't a varmint caliber, anyhow.

Bees and helicopters aren't supposed to be air-worthy, but they fly all over the place.

 

[Bret4207]

The marks are chatter. Either the tooling was dull or not sharpened right, at least from what I've seen. Ugly! But, I've got some barrels on surplus guns that are pitted, worn and look like a sewer pipe- and the stupid things shoot pretty darn good. Sometimes it's best to just ignore what something looks like as long as it works for you. Like that old Eddy Arnold song, "...But I really don't want to know..."

 

[fiver]

I got rifle you can see the chatter marks near the muzzle by eye.
bet money it'll put 5 under a quarter if there's some copper in those chatter marks, and that's shooting Hornady interlocks not some target type bullet.

 

[Matt]

Further proof that a bore scope will drive you crazy and make you wonder what features make “good” barrels and accurate rifles.

 

[Ian]

Mine is cut-rifled and the tops of the lands where it was drilled look just as bad as that. It shoots, too, and doesn't foul. 216-grain hollow points at 50, 75, and 100 yards left to right, first ten cartridges I put together after fixing everything else on the rifle except the bore.

 

[RicinYakima]

You will never know how well it will shot until you fire it at paper targets at a known distance. Everything else is conjecture.

 

[Ian]

Just took a photo of the bore, I had never scoped this one before but could see well enough into the muzzle to know what I had. All I do for cleaning up after PC is Ed's Red and patches, same as withbshooting jax. 1954 if memory serves, last year of cut rifling in the 35s. I prefer MG rifling myself.

 

[CZ93X62]

Dang, those land tops look like flat file edges. (No offense meant).

Most of us have rifles or handguns whose bores are "casual", to be polite. I can think of 3 or 4 my my safe, right off the top of my head. That they remain in the safe and haven't been shuffled off to Buffalo says much--inaccurate or otherwise uncooperative firearms tend to leave my house without much delay.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I think the reality is while it looks horrible under extreme magnification, it’s not as bad in practice.

Sort of reminds me of the old saying, never watch sausage being made.

If you look at the surface of finely machined steel components under high magnification, the appearance is often not what you expect.

The end game is all that matters and if it shoots well, go on about your life and try to forget what you saw.

 

[Bret4207]

Proof the 35 cal is the best cast cal???

 

[Ben]

My old gunsmith always told me " Ben, you can't tell a thing about a barrel by looking down it." Put some good quality ammo in it and let the target down range tell you everything you need to know.

Ben

 

[Charles Graff]

I have seen lots of barrels with those marks put there when the tube was reamed prior to rifling. The highly touted pre-64 Winchesters usually had them. I have learned to ignore these marks and just shoot the thing. My experience tells me, they are seldom a problem with cast bullets. Button rifle barrels don't have these marks. High end reamed and single point rifling most often are lapped by the maker. IIRC those Marling MG barrels were reamed and broach rifled.

 

[CZ93X62]

Heresy alert--the chronograph and borescope have created far more problems than they have ever resolved.

 

[Charles Graff]

Heresy alert--the chronograph and borescope have created far more problems than they have ever resolved.

Amen to that! About 20 years ago, I bought a chronograph, because it was "the thing" to have. I took it to the range about five or six times and it taught me nothing. Velocities were right where I expected them to be and the targets told me about the accuracy. I couldn't figure out a use for it after that, and so it sits on a high shelf and there it will remain.

 

[todd]

i use the chrony when i have my load. (i still have to use the chrony on my 9.3x57).

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

They are both useful tools when you use them properly in proper context.

Used incorrectly or by untrained observers.... Well operator head space problems come to mind...

CW

 

[Ian]

They are both useful tools when you use them properly in proper context.

Used incorrectly or by untrained observers.... Well operator head space problems come to mind...

CW

Well said. I wouldn't be without either tool, but I am careful about what conclusions to draw from their data.

 

[Rick H]

I was happily reloading my 308W with 150gr Hornady's and H380 powder believing I was getting 2700 fps or so out of my 20" barrel. I hunted with that rifle and load and killed a number of deer with absolutely no problems at all. Then I purchased a chrono. OMG the load was only doing 2400 fps....That would never do. So I worked up a hotter load with WW748 to reach my much anticipated 2700 fps. I have shot deer with that load as well.

I felt much better with the hotter load. In point of fact none of the deer I shot with it could care less. I hunt Michigan where the longest range I have shot a deer is just over 140yds. (and that with the slower load) No deer is going to die any faster with a properly placed bullet with one load over the other. I was happy as could be with the 2400fps load until I checked it on a chrono.