Bulge in 22 rifle barrel

capgun

Is there any danger in shooting a .22 rifle with a small bulge in the barrel? It seems to shoot fine.

yoshmyster

I'd never be able to see a bulge on my 10/22 with Hogue Bull barrel. So where is the bulge? Near the muzzle, middle or chamber? Say can you see the bulge in the rifling?

wpage

You should replace the barrel it could fail.
Contact the manufacturer for more info...

Good luck!

Mobuck

Just guessing but I'd say this is an older 22. The barrel steel on the old rifles was not as hard as currently made. There are likely lots of them with slight bulges that go unnoticed. Even w/o a bulge it is just common sense to use only standard velocity ammo in the oldies but if you're really concerned, take the firearm to a knowledgable person or gunsmith for a check out.

perry shooter

IMHO the 22 Long Rifle barrel more then likely got a bullet stuck and then when the next round was fired it bulged the barrel. I used to help a gunsmith that rebuilt hundreds of model 62's and 61's used in gallery shooting seen some barrels with a dozen different Bulges . even old barrel steel was tough but not extremely hard I never saw any that let go and posed a danger to the shooter . Even saw some target pistols and other rifles that shot very well with a bulged barrel. Yes any are near the chamber would be a concern but the 22Lr is not a high pressure round . I would have no problem firing a 22 with Bulged barrel. YMMV

Fatstrat

For the most part I agree w/Perry Shooter. But it would depend on what make/model and where the bulge is located. But in most cases IMO if it still shoots good, the only loss is in collector/resale value.

beantownshootah

.22lr operates at 24,000PSI, which as about as low as you're going to get in a rifle round, plus the limited powder volume generates a relatively low volume of propellant gas.

So I think its pretty doubtful that a bulged barrel is suddenly going to blow up and cause injury, particularly if the bulge is way down the barrel away from the chamber, where operating pressures should be lower. If it shoots fine, you're probably OK.

Replacing the barrel may or may not be cost-effective, depending on what exactly you have.

RCrosby

I'm with Perryshooter on this one. I've had several .22's with barrel bulges. No discernible impact on accuracy and I had no concern re: safety. I bought a beautiful Smith 27 with a barrel bulge once. It shot fine too, but I eventually got rid of it just because the bulge bugged me.

slumlord44

Seen this discussed often on several websites. A bulge in the barrel will not normaly be usnsafe or effect accuracy.

tsr1965

quote:Originally posted by beantownshootah

.22lr operates at 24,000PSI, which as about as low as you're going to get in a rifle round, plus the limited powder volume generates a relatively low volume of propellant gas.

So I think its pretty doubtful that a bulged barrel is suddenly going to blow up and cause injury, particularly if the bulge is way down the barrel away from the chamber, where operating pressures should be lower. If it shoots fine, you're probably OK.

Replacing the barrel may or may not be cost-effective, depending on what exactly you have.







Actually, that is pretty substantial for what it is. Consider the factory loaded 45-70 loads are only around 18K PSIG. A lot of people do not give this little round the respect it should garner, as it is small.

One must consider that that little 22LR had enough umph to bulge the barrel in the first place, and most bulges are created by a restriction in the barrel, just in front of where the bulge is. Most likely from a squib load, then followed up by a full power load.

I would be cautious about using it, as where th bulge is where the steel has been weakened. Most likely the rifle will be fine, but if another restriction is created in front of the bulge, that barrel will pop.

Best

RCrosby

One "case" doesn't prove anything, but I've seen pictures of bisected barrels that had more than a dozen .22 bullets packed like sardines, one behind the other, in a section of barrel.
Kind of made you wonder about the person pulling the trigger that many times when the sound was minimal and nothing was coming out the muzzle, but I'd be interested to hear of any instances where a .22 barrel actually ruptured from a mishaps with a bulged barrel????????
Anyone??[?][?][?]

JohnStimson

I have a High Standard revolver barrel that has the stacked up bullets. there are multiple slight bulges after the fourth of fifth bullet beginning about where the threaded hole is for the ejector housing. The bullets go all the way back to the forcing cone, with the last one having fallen out. The barrel split on the bottom where it is thinned for the ejector rod and the lead has filled the split. I have no data whether this wa a factory test piece or a files accident.

perry shooter

I have a 22 Rapid fire pistol as used to be used in the Olympic games . it has 6 threaded holes starting about 1/2 inch in front of the chamber and a number of Plug screws you can adjust for function depending on how hot or mild the ammo is these holes vent gas on PURPOSE straight Up certain to be more gas then if a bulge barrel split from a 22 Rim Fire. Think of it as reverse HAMMER FORGING . Barrel steel is tough NOT brittle.

RCrosby

John,
That reminds me of an Olympic I bought once that had a neat little rectangle of barrel missing adjacent to the extractor cut. No indication of bulging anywhere. I just always assumed the the cut had been made a bit too close to the chamber. Can't recall who I sent the barrel to, but it was someone who, for a very reasonable price, reamed out the chamber and relined just that portion of the barrel and recut the extractor recess. A beautiful job. Almost impossible to detect the work had been done and the pistol performed with all the reliability and accuracy I could expect from a target High Standard.

capgun

Its on a Savage 24 22/410 over under. About a 1/4" long little lump and a thin ring visible in the bore. Not visible in the 410 chamber. Did not see it when I bought the gun. I almost bought a pre-war S&W K-22 in near mint condition the other day. Looked closely, and there was a bulge half way down the barrel. The dealer almost cried when I showed it to him.