Sergeant Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Evening all,Whilst cleaning my .243 today I looked down the barrel and noticed what appear to be two cracks. They are about 5 and 6 inches in from the muzzle at 12 and 1 o'clock perpendicular to the rifling, the largest it about 2 mm long and centered on its rifling groove. Theres nothing visible on the outside. Ill be taking it to a gunsmith before I use it again but what do you think so im fore warned, will it be a re barrel job?TIA, Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1in9 Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Fire cracking stress fractures are not uncommon if the barrel has got very hot at some point, .243s have a relatively short barrel life compared to their bigger bored brethren, with optimal accuracy often starting to deteriorate after 1500 rounds if you are using hotter loads, though effective life for hunting purposes is a fair bit longer. How many rounds have you run through it? Definitely worth checking out with a bore scope equipped gunsmith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Posted March 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hi,Ive owned it from new, 4 years now and ive been careful not to let it get too hot to touch. Its only had about 300 rounds through it but I havnt noticed a drop in accuracy.Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsonicnat Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 It would NOT Pass Proof, What do you think.?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 Cracks or water/rust damage? Borescoped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 I doubt its fire cracking at the muzzle end unless its real bad lower down (unlikely after 300 rounds). Have seen small cracks in the muzzles before and accuracy tends to go off when they reach into the crown. Looking by eye is often deceiving get it scoped, that crack could well be a scratch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 I've looked down all my rifles barrels at some point in time mostly checking there's no bit's left up there after cleaning, but either I need to go to opticians or you have a myopic eye, there's no way in a world of pigs puddin I could see a crack that far down the barrel It's certainly a concern though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtaylor Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 I've looked down all my rifles barrels at some point in time mostly checking there's no bit's left up there after cleaning, but either I need to go to opticians or you have a myopic eye, there's no way in a world of pigs puddin I could see a crack that far down the barrel It's certainly a concern though. You should be able to see 5 or 6" down if you looked from the muzzle end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1in9 Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 Could be a scratch as mentioned, or an original tooling error. If it was a straight pull it could also be the gas port shape, which are still barrel cut although not fully tapped. Definitely one for the bore scope and a decent smith's opinion. Fingers crossed it's not serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.