Shoulder damage after firing.

[epags]

Bought at auction in 1979 for $85 a sporterized Enfield #4 Mk1 in 303 British. Original owner had replaced military sights with commercial sights, restocked it with Bishop's walnut stock with an inset silver cross.

It needed re-crowning, bluing and a trigger job. It went in and out of my safe over the past 20 years whenever I was bored. Without any thought of resale, over time, I invested (sunk) another $200+ for a blue job, the purchase of a 303 crowning tool, a side scope mount and a replacement trigger. See photos.

I took it to the range this past week and while it was getting 1.25" MOA it was damaging the brass, both my reloads and new commercial rounds.

I cycled an unfired round through the chamber and there was no damage to the shoulder. However, upon firing, there was shoulder damage at the 6 o'clock position.

Because my wife loves me and the comments on this blog, I bought a Teslong bore scope from Amazon (really neat toy) to see if I could identify the problem. See photos.

I don't know what to think. Looks like something is sticking up at the shoulder. Damage only occurs after firing. Do I need to get a chamber reamer? Can the obstruction be scrubbed out with JB bore cleaning compound? Your thoughts and suggestions will be most appreciated.

 

[ShtrRdy]

If the brass damage is that little bump outward at the neck/shoulder junction then I would say there's a chunk of steel missing in the chamber.

 

[epags]

If the brass damage is that little bump outward at the neck/shoulder junction then I would say there's a chunk of steel missing in the chamber.

I do believe you are right. Upon firing the brass is forced into the divot? Suspect there is no easy fix? Just use and dump the fired brass?

 

[ShtrRdy]

To get rid of the divot you would have to cut the chamber deeper and then shorten the barrel to match.

 

[epags]

To get rid of the divot you would have to cut the chamber deeper and then shorten the barrel to match.

Thanks for the plan. Since this is a 'fun gun' I doubt it would be worth the cost. Back to the safe!

 

[epags]

Just received new mirrors for my endoscope. This photo indicated there was some kind of damage to the chamber shoulder (at 6 oclock) that is not a divot but a material buildup that is creating the damage to the fired round.
Appreciate any suggestions/thoughts on how it may have occurred (before I bought it) and how how to get reduce/eliminate the material.

 

[Bob Wright]

JB's bore paste won't touch that. I can't imagine how that raised metal could have been created either. Can you get a straightened paper clip with a short bend at the tip into the shoulder and feel it?
If your confident the barrel isn't fractured looking from the outside (stock removed) I would look up a Smith that can review it for safety. Then I would imagine the barrel would need to be set back, chamber reamed and test fired.
Scratching my head on this one.
It could be a foreign object could be stuck there, multiple firings have just pounded it on.