Bent the Barrel 😬

[LynnC]

Finished my NW Trade Gun about a month ago and it was shooting unbelievably low.  File the front sight down to a nubbin and still low. Finally I kept getting closer and closer aiming center and got on paper 8” low at 10 yards !

I finally got up the never to bend the barrel today.  First time for me.  Takes quite a bit of springing to get barrel to take a set. Three times out of stock and back in did it and now shooting roughly center.

Boy can you see the swoop in the barrel if you know to look for it. Really added to the swamped look.

Now that its in the ballpark i can see about fine tuning a load. I appreciate the advise of the experts here that gave me the courage to even try it. Thanks Gents

[Mike Lyons]

Welcome to the “Brooks College of Knowledge” group! 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Yes, have bent more than a few! Congrats!

[Daryl]

Here's a slightly more controlled method.
Note the upwards bend in that solid core door/bench.

[45-110]

Daryl, I like your method and don't have to look at someones toes! Seems lot of feet in posts lately.  I usually clamp to my Bridgeport mill table, no flex there.

[smylee grouch]

I have a 4 foot section of 90 pound Railroad Rail that I have been saving for just such a job but thankfully I haven't had to use it yet.

[LynnC]

I opted for the groove in two blocks, on on each end and spring the mid area. Somewhere between the controled C clamp method and the crotch of a tree method 😁

[Daryl]

Daryl, I like your method and don't have to look at someones toes! Seems lot of feet in posts lately.  I usually clamp to my Bridgeport mill table, no flex there.

Taylor's method. His shop as well.

[Brian Jordan]

I made this press a few years ago when I put new sights on a smoothbore. I can monitor how much deflection with the indicator to see how much movement I'm getting. And clamping the barrel to the board and using the yellow card with a reference mark at the muzzle show how much you have bent the barrel. It's portable and worked well with minimal trips in and out of the stock. And no toes are involved 

[Pukka Bundook]

Generally use the fork of a tree and yunk on it.

[Mike Brooks]

Here's a slightly more controlled method.
Note the upwards bend in that solid core door/bench.

Control is highly overrated .

[Mike Brooks]

Generally use the fork of a tree and yunk on it.

I had a favorite tree where I used to live, it was just right. I found the trees where I live now just aren't right. So, I use the two
 block system and jump up and down on it. Works every time. I felt I had more control in the crotch of a tree as you could feel the point where the barrel would "give".

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

In the case Daryl has illustrated above, that barrel never did take any bend.  I believe it came from the Mold and Gun Shop-!

[Mike Brooks]

In the case Daryl has illustrated above, that barrel never did take any bend.  I believe it came from the Mold and Gun Shop-!

I have bent M&G barrels in the past, they are tough. I bent those a little more than 1/3rd back from the muzzle to get them to take a bend. I always bent those in the crotch of my favorite tree. I doubt you could get those to take a bend with blocks.

[Pukka Bundook]

Dead right Mike.
You can feel a barrel give when you yunk on it in the crotch of a tree.

[ed lundquist]

I have not had to attempt this but I guess the time has come. My recently completed 40 will group beautifully only it shoots an inch and a half left at 25 yards and I can't move the sight any more so I guess I'll start looking for a tree. Just another part of building I suppose.

[Marcruger]

In modern times we don't think much about runout when working with a barrel.  With modern barrel makers' techniques, it doesn't pop up much anymore.  40+ years or so ago, when barrels were formed and then drilled, runout was a big deal.  With runout, the bore hole is centered on one end, but not on the other.  If the angle is oriented up and down, you can most-times install sights that compensate.  If the runout is side to side, you end up looking silly with sights hanging way off to the sides, or the rear notch cut way to one side of the blade.  Egads. 

If you have a barrel of unknown age and origins, I would highly suggest taking 5 minutes with a caliper to check to see if the bore is centered in the barrel at both ends.  I tiny bit of time saves a huge amount of misery later. 

The other cause for hitting off from the sights is a bent barrel from the factory (or in shipping).  I have had one.  No fun.  Worth checking with a straightedge before inletting. 

I think there needs to be discussion about where to put a bend in the barrel.  Do you bend the whole length, or just between the sights (in the case of a rifle)? 

God Bless,   Marc

Brian Jordan, that is a beauty of a barrel bending operation. 

[Mike Brooks]

I have an original 1740-ish French trade gun barrel that looks like a snake when you sight down it. It's had more than a few bends in the past couple hundred years.

[redheart]

Maybe there are no swamped barrels, perhaps they're all barrels that have bent to attain the proper elevation! 

[Marvin S]

Last one I done was in an oil field lathe. Chucked on one end and could use a tail stock center for reference one the other. Works pretty well.