The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

I was cleaning my Mauser the other day and noticed a thining of the rifling at the chamber end, the rest of the bore was shiney and the rifling was deep. This got me wondering what are the effects of wear and at what point does a rifle become unservicable. Can anyone tell me the cause and effects/issues with the following:

Wear at the crown
Wear at the chamber end
General thinning of rifling
Dull rifling

Any other issues to look out for.

I've heard of people converting shot out rifles to smooth bore, is that common or is it better to take the plunge and de-ack.

Is this a ww2 type Mauser ? Replacement barrels are available from Lothar Walther which are an exact replacement and not expensive.Any reputable gunsmith can fit this quite swiftly and economically,certainly cheaper than buying another Mauser and will be very accurate with a new barrel .First get a gunsmith to check the wear ,is it still accurate ? You could just shoot it until it becomes inaccurate. I am a firm believer in the devil you know ,you could buy a replacement and find it's no good.

:goodjob:

I have a P14 on ~10k rnds still shoots ~1.5 min of arc vs a 2Moa Bull & a Swing TR on ~+8k rnds does better - so if it aint broke load it & have fun. :shakeshout:

What you can do that might help - 1 get the chamber reemed by a smith to ensure its clean smooth & not retaining brass usually ~£5 does it & get it recrowned. Both might improve accuracy / reliability to good levels.

& as previously said get a new barrel & transform the gun but if its a relic with history just ask someone in the know if its better to keep it as is, rather than remove the originalparts i dont know others here do.