M121 with barrel bulged...
 

I just picked up a nice looking, fully functional Remmy M121 pump action rifle. on close inspection I find that the bbl is slightly bulged about 5" from the muzzle.:eek: The bulge isn't enough to see with the naked eye, and I don't see any interior damage to the bbl. I haven't had a chance to mic it yet, so I can't exactly say how many .001's it might be over.
Should I refrain from firing this oldie ( 11/1948 ) or will it likely be O/K ? It's all original, mostly turned plum brown patina but "purdier than a new set o' snow tires", so I don't really want to change out the bbl if I can avoid it.
Any suggestions are welcome!

Glenn

"If you know how many guns you own, then you don't own enough!"

Re: M121 with barrel bulged...
 

I'm no expert by ayn means, but I have a Rem. Mod 12, it was my dad's when he was a kid and given to me when I was 10 (1959). I never noticed the "barrel bulge" till about 10 years ago. But I shoot it more now than any other .22 I have because with shorts it's very quiet. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of rounds fired through it, it ought to bulge. Thinking of replacing the barrel but it would be a used one and maybe no better off than what I have.

Re: M121 with barrel bulged...
 

It should not cause you any problems maybe a decrece in accuracy

Re: M121 with barrel bulged...
 

I have a pair of oldies with ringed bbls a Rem 33 and Winney 65 .Both shoot fine and it doesn't appear to hurt the accuracy much if at all.--Jim--

Re: M121 with barrel bulged...
 

Thanks for all your replies!!!

I finally had a chance to get out and fire it last w/e and it does seem to shoot just fine. I didn't take the time yet to test to see what ammo it might prefer, but I was getting about 2 1/2" offhand at 40 yards or so with thunderbolts. So, I'm pleased with that for now.

I've never had a ringed bbl before ( and the seller in this online auction FORGOT to mention it ) but it really doesn't seem to matter on this one.

THANKS again, Glenn

Re: M121 with barrel bulged...
 

;) For what it's worth .When I got the Rem 33 with the ringed bbl i shot the Colibre shorts thru it to test if they would stick.No problem in my gun. If the little primer powered things went thru I felt safe shooting full powered loads with little fear of another sticking. Now all guns are different you must test yours and feel comfortable with it. Feels wierd when cleaning and you hit the free area,but still shoots well. --JMJ--

Re: M121 with barrel bulged...
 

If anything you can hire a gunsmith to cut it down and recrown it. These older guns with long barrels are perfect canidates for this, and including the magazine tubes. The value will suffer, but if you keep it........value matters little. These were meant to be "fun guns" shoot-shoot-shoot.


LTS