Is this barrel safe to shoot?

[Ssappington]

Opinion on whether this barrel is safe to shoot? It has some rather large craters in the bore- it's for a 12g trench gun project, so accuracy is not a concern

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[jbett98]

Who made the barrel?
If you're planning on adding a heat shield, the three screws that hold the bayonet lug will need to be filed half round into the barrel for the screws to clamp the lug.
The original trench gun barrels didn't have a choke and were thicker walled then normal hunting barrels.

 

[Ssappington]

Its a Winchester barrel mfg in 1906- was a 30 inch tournament edition that has been cut down to 20"

 

[JustSomeGuy]

I would vote "No" to shooting anything more powerful than a gust of wind through that. The cost of a suitable replacement is probably far...far less than the medical bills it could potentially inflict.

 

[Certaindeaf]

No. Get a $200 Maverick.

 

[po18guy]

Even though 12 ga. produces something on the order of only 11.5K psi, it might still pose a problem. How close to the chamber are the pits? if they are halway along or more, then it might be feasible. I would drop it by a smith for a look and look for a bulged or dented barrel to trim back.

 

[TTSX]

If you have to ask, it's probably a no

 

[Yarome]

Even though 12 ga. produces something on the order of only 11.5K psi, it might still pose a problem. How close to the chamber are the pits? if they are halway along or more, then it might be feasible. I would drop it by a smith for a look and look for a bulged or dented barrel to trim back.

Along with that... it's purdy difficult to judge from a photo just how deep those pits are.. or rather... how thin the walls are and where along the barrel they are located. They "look" quite significant, but how much is camera angle and lighting/shadows is difficult to see.

If you're dead set on using it, and have the appropriate welding gear, you could do some exploratory drilling through the exterior side into the pits and do a bit of rebuilding.

Otherwise, taking it into a smith may cost more than just shopping around for another more suitable barrel.

If they are fairly far up from the chamber, and the wall thickness is still in the higher percentages... I wouldn't be especially worried about it turning into a death machine. I certainly wouldn't be shooting any slugs out of it though.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

If all else is good...or at least restorable on the shotgun...
I would suggest buying a replacement barrel.

From the pictures it looks pretty bad...
However as noted above....it may be just the angle or lighting
Andy

 

[bionic knees]

suspend it and fire the most powerful round it will chamber from a safe distance and see what happens.

 

[Member 53328]

Shoot it. You'll find out if it's safe or not.

 

[Spitpatch]

Bungee the gun to a spare tire, tie a string to the trigger, step behind your vehicle and let 'er go a few times with loads appropriate and strong.

...a tried and true method. (I'm still here to tell about it, and so are the guns I did this with.)

 

[DunRanull]

Get a mossberg 500 used, or a new one from wally. I did that a few years ago and it's just fine. If you're making a trenchie you don't want a POS that may fail when you are depending on it.
Save the barrel for a possible black powder build in future...

 

[solv3nt]

I'm curious why you're all shooting at a barrel, there's much better targets out there for that.

 

[Glockguy97]

OP gon' die