I attempted to slug the bore on my 1890 GEW 88. It's "s" marked for a .323" spitzer bullet, but has no other outward signs of modification (receiver notch, stripper clip guides, thumb depression on right receiver wall). I want to make sure that the barrel isn't still .318". Found great instructions to slug the bore online, followed them to a T.

Even so, 2 6" sections of wooden dowel locked up (1 split on top of the other). I bought 3 12" lengths of .3125" brass dowel. Hammered 1 in completely, 2nd brass dowel in 1/2 way, the slug dropped out, all else stuck fast. My gunsmithing hammer doesn't have the mass. I ordered a 2lb vinyl covered shot hammer which I hope will do the job.


The question is:

Will this damage the barrel? The only thing in it is wood, grease & oil. The wood dowel is within 2" to 3" of the chamber end & I oiled the brass dowels. Also, and this is weird, I measured the slug with 2 different calipers (dial & digital) and it measured .314" to .315" on both, which makes no sense.

HELP!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kz1000,

Hammering in short sections isn't a great idea, but it's a little late for that. lol If the brass peens hammering the wood, or against each other that could spell bad news.

At this point you don't really have any options other than beating on it.


What did you use for a slug?

00 buck pellet.

Get a real deal cleaning rod, one piece, 30 cal. Get a screw that fits the threaded hole, I think those are 8-32, stick that down from the muzzle. Run it down to the blockage, then tap the mess like a slide hammer. DON'T beat it with a hammer, that will mess up your cleaning rod handle. A few sharp taps should run it right back out the chamber.

I would plug the barrel ( rubber stopper or cork), set it up length wise, and fill the bore with a lead remover and let it sit for a few days.

00 buck is probably too hard to bump up just hitting it from one side.

Soaking it in anything is going to make the wood swell up and possibly get tighter. It's the dowel that's jammed correct, they ball fell out?

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
Soaking it in anything is going to make the wood swell up and possibly get tighter.

That what I was thinking as well.

Good luck getting the sticks out of your barrel.

As I understand it, the barrel groove diameter is still .318" up to .320".
The alteration for .323" Spitzgeschloss amounted to reaming the chamber neck to allow bullet release and a tapered throat to swage the larger bullet down to fill the unaltered grooves.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
00 buck is probably too hard to bump up just hitting it from one side.

Soaking it in anything is going to make the wood swell up and possibly get tighter. It's the dowel that's jammed correct, the ball fell out?

Yes. Ball is out.

Is it possible to load a few grains of black powder or pyrodex into a case and shoot it out? Just a thought.

Otherwise, your plan to pound it out sounds like the way to go. But is a dead blow hammer the way to go? If you're using a brass dowel on wood, I'd think a drilling hammer would be better. If you're careful, I think your barrel will be fine.

Black powder doesn't like air space. With the obstruction a few inches up the barrel, it would be a bad idea with any propellant. Begging for a bulged barrel trying that.

Well crap, I googled "wooded dowel stuck in barrel." It's pretty apparent that you aren't the only one that has encountered this. And there are no clear answers. Freezing the barrel, pounding it out as you suggested, and termites are the top suggestions.

I think your suggestion to pound it out is best. I think I'd grease the end of the bore the dowel will pass through and don't stop once you get it going so it doesn't absorb any grease and expand.

Better to pull the dowel out rather than trying to hammer it through and jamming the pieces in tighter. Have someone hold the rifle securely, lock a decent size pair of vise grips down very hard around the dowel sticking out of the barrel and hit the side of the jaws with a hammer while holding the grips so they stay 90 degrees to the dowel. Should work if you get the vise grip on good so you don’t just shred the dowel. Be careful to only hit the vise grips, obviously.

I saw a friend solve this situation. I will tell you about it, but cant recommend it. And my buddy only did it because the guy who plugged the bore gave up on the rifle (a Model 94) and gave it to my buddy for free.
He went to the local hardware store and bought a length of round steel stock that was just smaller than bore size. Essentially a steel dowel rod. He then clamped the barrel of the gun into a bench vise with the butt resting on the floor. Then he put the steel rod (yike) into the barrel and pounded the steel rod with a heavy ball peen hammer until the wood popped back out of the chamber. I thought the bore would be ruined after this but somehow my buddy skated and solved his problem.

You could take the same type rod, grind and angle and an edge on it, making sort of a drill bit. That might take a while, from the OP I'm still not sure just how much wood is in there.

kz1000, any updates?

Maybe try to source a piece of aluminum bar stock just under bore size. Should be plenty strong and won’t damage the steel of the bore.

quote:

Originally posted by Micropterus:
kz1000, any updates?

Been busy with work, attempting to fix 1/1.

This is probably a stupid idea since I know little to nothing about whats going on, but if its just wooden dowels stuck in the barrel can you just use something to gradually burn it out, like a torch?

quote:

Originally posted by medic451:
This is probably a stupid idea since I know little to nothing about whats going on, but if its just wooden dowels stuck in the barrel can you just use something to gradually burn it out, like a torch?

I was thinking the same thing.