Slugging a bore

bpost

Is it OK to use a brass rod to tap the slug through a rifle barrel? I want to check the bore on both of the Mosin Nagants I have but I don't have a oak dowel......

Rocky Raab

A brass rod is fine. It should be nearly bore diameter, or at least have a flat tip that is. A tip that's too small can drive into the slug and wedge it VERY tightly into the rifling. Ruinous!

Make sure the bore is squeaky clean and lightly oiled. Oil the slug also.

jonk

I use whatever is on hand. Even stainless. My thought is, if stainless is ok to clean, how bad can it be to slug? The thing is to keep the rod centered. Once I drop the slug in to the breech I use a bore guide to keep the rod centered and tap it through with a rubber mallet.

bpost

Great, I will use the brass rod! Stainless sortta scares me about damaging the bore of these RARE MN 91-30's I think they only made about a billion of them.....[:D]

My hope is to find one has a bore that will be around .310 so I can use .311 cast bullets, the same bullets I shoot out of a 2-groove Springfield. Off to the basement for some hammering.

bpost

Disappointment on both rifles, the bores are good, very good and smooth. They are also out of round with diameters running from .308 to .314 on the same slug......

I ran two slugs through each just to make sure the out of round measurements were correct, they were.

Rocky Raab

Ahhh. Not that super-secret Rooskie oval rifling system, I suppose?

Oh, well ...