Ringed Barrel

[Richard]

Today I disassembled my 1894 (38/357) for the first time and noticed a ring in the barrel about 4 inches from the chamber.  I guess the previous owner decided not to tell me anything when I bought it so now I am stuck with it (previous owner move out of the country).

My question is who should I ask to change the barrel?  With  my handguns (mostly S&W) I've always used the factory service but in this case I know nothing about Marlins service.  Do they even do this kind of work? Should I use a Gunsmith?

Any advice?

[hogship]

Since you aren't the original owner, you're SOL for warranty work......but, if I were you, I'd talk to Marlin and get their feedback on the problem.

My 1895GS rifle had problems when I first got it.....Sent it back to Marlin and the barrel was replaced, so they do do the work you're contemplating. It's probably going to cost you, though.

Let us know how this turns out. It has been my experience that Marlin is very good at making satisfied customers out of those who return rifles for service work.

It just occured to me that if the previous owner didn't register the rifle with Marlin, YOU could be considered the original owner......if the warranty card came with the rifle when you bought it. Check into that.

hog

[Lone Star]

Another thought - how does the rifle shoot with the ring?  Depending on its severity, it may not be a performance issue with a cartridge like the .357 Magnum.  Shoot it first before you send it back for a new barrel - one may not be needed unless you can't sleep at night knowing that the ring is there....

[Richard]

Thanks for the info Hogship, your comment: "Marlin is very good at making satisfied customers out of those who return rifles for service work" is exactly what I was hoping to hear.  I will call them.

I checked all the paperwork I received with the gun and no luck, no registration card so I guess they did register the gun with Marlin.

Again thanks for your comments.

Richard

[Richard]

Lone Star, even though I have not done serious experimentation with the gun the gun shoots OK with jacketed bullets (1" to 2" at 50 yards) but horrendously with cast bullets.

At the time I thought it could be due to the micro grooved barrel but now I wander if the lead bullets are getting a beating going through the ring.

Richard

[Mikey]

Richard -some cast bullet loads do not shoot well through a micro-groove barrel and they may indeed be taking a beating going through that ring and possibly undersizing in the process.  

Do you have any idea what the ring is - lead??  If it is lead it can most likely be cleaned out.  If it appears to be a manufacturing fault it should be rebarrelled.  Some barrels can be firelapped to remove obstacles created during the manufacturing process and shoot cast bullets better than jacketed as a result.  

If Marlin offers to replace the barrel, even for a nominal fee, go for it - that will resolve and ton of concern over a possibly faulty barrel.  If you do get a new barrel I would still firelap it for improved accuracy.  HTH.  Mikey.

[Lone Star]

Typically the term ring means that the bore is enlarged at a specific point.  This is usually caused by firing with a bore obstruction in the way.  I once rung a .22RF semi-auto when the first shot fired out of battery and I didn't notice.  This left a bullet lodged in the bore, and the next round expanded the bore for about 1/4" length where the obstuction was.  Accuracy dropped to unacceptable for a silhouette pistol and leading increased.  No way to fix it besides a new barrel.

[Richard]

Mickey,  the ring I refer to is an enlargement of the bore like Lonestar explains.  I agree with you in that the barrel should be changed even though it shoots acceptably well with Jacketed bullets.

 At the end I guess I am a cast bullet shooter!