I came into an old rifle that had problems with accuracy. The owner struggled with it for some time before passing the problem on to me. The problem manifested itself as flyers. The normal shot groups would average around 2” at 100 yards. This is not just acceptable but good given the model and age of this particular rifle. However groupings were not the problem. Flyers were the problem. Those 2” groups would be ruined by the occasional shot that hit 4 to 5” off the group. When I got the rifle the owner had already changed the scope, scope mounts, bedded the action, and free floated the barrel. He was convinced that the barrel was shot out. Heck I can’t pass up a challenge and the price was right. After I acquired the rifle and got it back to the shop an initial inspection reviled a few small dings on the crown. Accuracy will suffer if a firearm has a damaged crown. So in order to restore accuracy the damaged area needs to be repaired. Re-crowning a rife on a lathe is really nice, but if you don’t have access to one, it is time to pull out the almost never used crown tools.
On this rifle there were a few dings on the crown.
The first step it is square the bore to the barrel. To do this, you use the 90 degree cutter, and as with any cutting of metal, lots of cutting oil. Using gentle pressure and turn the tool.
It does not show well in the photo above but the muzzle was not square to the bore. This was evident when cutting the new crown. Material was only being removed from one side at first. The next photo is what it should look like when done with the 90 cutter.
Once the muzzle is square and flush I switched out to a 79degree cutter (this will create an 11dregee crown- this is said to be the most accurate) In this photo I have already turned the tool a few times.
You continue with the angle cutter until you have the profile cut as far out to the edge of the barrel as you want (almost to the edge in my case)
Next you polish the surfaces with 000 steel wool. This is done by pushing the wool over the guide of the last cutter used and firmly pushing the cutting tool with steel wool into the barrel and turning. Even though this is not really cutting, you still use oil.
Once you are done with the polish a final check is done using a Q-tip. To check the bore stick the swab into the barrel and pull it out, there should be no cotton fibers pulled off. If it does snag, you need to polish more.
The final step is to cold blue the area worked on.
Not only does this look better, it shoots better. The end results were amazing. The flyers have been eliminated and the groups shrank down to an average of about 1.5”
LJH
On this rifle there were a few dings on the crown.
The first step it is square the bore to the barrel. To do this, you use the 90 degree cutter, and as with any cutting of metal, lots of cutting oil. Using gentle pressure and turn the tool.
It does not show well in the photo above but the muzzle was not square to the bore. This was evident when cutting the new crown. Material was only being removed from one side at first. The next photo is what it should look like when done with the 90 cutter.
Once the muzzle is square and flush I switched out to a 79degree cutter (this will create an 11dregee crown- this is said to be the most accurate) In this photo I have already turned the tool a few times.
You continue with the angle cutter until you have the profile cut as far out to the edge of the barrel as you want (almost to the edge in my case)
Next you polish the surfaces with 000 steel wool. This is done by pushing the wool over the guide of the last cutter used and firmly pushing the cutting tool with steel wool into the barrel and turning. Even though this is not really cutting, you still use oil.
Once you are done with the polish a final check is done using a Q-tip. To check the bore stick the swab into the barrel and pull it out, there should be no cotton fibers pulled off. If it does snag, you need to polish more.
The final step is to cold blue the area worked on.
Not only does this look better, it shoots better. The end results were amazing. The flyers have been eliminated and the groups shrank down to an average of about 1.5”
LJH
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