Barrel Bending

jtischauser

jtischauser

I'm addicted to kicking ass
Joined
Sep 11, 2010
Messages
23,507
Location
Guthrie, OK
My Benelli M1 shoots slugs 18" low and 6" left at 100 yards. I was talking with Taran Butler at the AR Section 3 gun match about it and he said that he has a barrel bending device taht he fixes improper POI on shotgun barrels. I was wondering if anyone knows of a local gunsmith that can do soemthign similar. I figure the trap/skeet/clays guys that run those $15k shotguns know all about this stuff. Somebody please help!
 
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I've known a few bird hunters that claim their barrels were bent so they could lead birds better. I think they just shut them in a door and don't want to look stupid. (My Dad and his hunting partner)
 
TB was talking about a special tool used with a vice. A relative of mine is a pretty talented Sporting Clays guy. I bet he knows...I'll find out.

Have you asked Kurt M yet?
 
Thats a old gunsmith tweak. Theyd wedge them in the rafters and hang on it some to adjust the pattern.

If you sign a disclaimer form, Ill do it. :unsure:
 
jtischauser said:
My Benelli M1 shoots slugs 18" low and 6" left at 100 yards. I was talking with Taran Butler at the AR Section 3 gun match about it and he said that he has a barrel bending device taht he fixes improper POI on shotgun barrels. I was wondering if anyone knows of a local gunsmith that can do soemthign similar. I figure the trap/skeet/clays guys that run those $15k shotguns know all about this stuff. Somebody please help!
Click to expand...

Reformed Skeet shooter here. I'd bet legit gunsmiths straightned more bent barrels than they ever "bent" over the years. Fitting a birdshot gun is all about making the stock fit the shooter. A custom shotgun stock will show a little cast (bent in relation to it's long axis) so the bead falls in line with the shooters eye when the gun is shouldered. You can alter the butt plate cut angle to correct elevation issues also. I know you don't want this on a tac shotgun but take a look at the adjustable butts they put on skeet and clay guns... you will see the reason why these work in short order.


On a tactical slug gun... I'd look in to doing whatever it takes to make the sights work correctly. A lot of ghost rings, etc need a little file work or shim work so they fit right. If they "lean" a little to the left or right you will see some sighting error. I've had that same issue installing tang sights on lever and single shot rifles also... the sight base needs a little tweaking to square things up.
 
Jeff said:
Reformed Skeet shooter here. I'd bet legit gunsmiths straightned more bent barrels than they ever "bent" over the years. Fitting a birdshot gun is all about making the stock fit the shooter. A custom shotgun stock will show a little cast (bent in relation to it's long axis) so the bead falls in line with the shooters eye when the gun is shouldered. You can alter the butt plate cut angle to correct elevation issues also. I know you don't want this on a tac shotgun but take a look at the adjustable butts they put on skeet and clay guns... you will see the reason why these work in short order.


On a tactical slug gun... I'd look in to doing whatever it takes to make the sights work correctly. A lot of ghost rings, etc need a little file work or shim work so they fit right. If they "lean" a little to the left or right you will see some sighting error. I've had that same issue installing tang sights on lever and single shot rifles also... the sight base needs a little tweaking to square things up.
Click to expand...


If I fixed it with the sights I would have to mount the front sight on the bottom of the barrel or the rear sight about 1" off the rib. I guess I could shoot it from my hip. That might be about the same offset I need.

I see what you are saying about the multi directional stock adjustment setups that you see on the trap range. I just don't think its possible with synthetic stock and me still being able to look straight down the barrel.
 
Jesse... I dont know how much your experimenting with your loads... 100 yards is ambitious with any factory slug load.

Have you shot this gun and load from the bench? if every thing shoots low... and you have zeroed-adjusted the sights correctly I'd think you are just going to learn what the correct hold is for that gun-ammo-distance and go for it.

I shot slugs in a shotgun only area for a long time. Once you figure out the shotgun... 3 of 5 at 75 yards on a paper plate, 75 yards is doable. For me and a gaggle of Uncles and Cousins... with a bunch of "bird guns" and brass beads.
I'd exhaust all the possible variables before I bent a barrel...

Of course... you may have a *bent* barrel that needs truing....
 
Jeff, I've shot this gun with 2 different barrels and two different types of slugs off a bench and they all drop low left.

3-gun is an ambitious sport! :) And it really needs to have a bead/FO front sight.
 
Hi Jeff,
Yeah, its a wonky barrel. Jesse gets a bug up his butt to try and make this barrel work every 2-3 months or so.
We're basically using these as big bore rifles when we shoot slugs out of them.
 
Chambers said:
Jeff, I've shot this gun with 2 different barrels and two different types of slugs off a bench and they all drop low left.

3-gun is an ambitious sport! :) And it really needs to have a bead/FO front sight.
Click to expand...

That's all I got :unsure: Maybe you guys should only shoot that shotgun in gravity reduced areas? :)
 
mike cyrwus said:
Hi Jeff,
Yeah, its a wonky barrel. Jesse gets a bug up his butt to try and make this barrel work every 2-3 months or so.
We're basically using these as big bore rifles when we shoot slugs out of them.
Click to expand...

Mike,
If you tweak/bend the barrel like he was asking about, won't that move the front sight?
Wouldn't this just make his problem worse?
It sounds like something is funky with the rib (if the sight's mounted on a rib).
Are there any adjustable rear sights that could be used to change his point of aim to match his point of impact?
 
I know you guys like to play... but in the real world (back in the dark ages) the Winchester 94 made a dandy "patrol rifle" for those of us blessed with "rural" patrol areas.

If you guys want to get really ambitious... casting your own slugs and reloading may help. Tweaking projectile weight has been know to flatten trajectory a bit.
 
Well I agree about the 94 being a great patrol rifle, in my opinion much better than an AR, but we disagree on slugs to a great degree! It isn't uncomon for a quality barrel with a good rear sight to attain 3-5" groups at 100 yards. Many a well set up 3-gun shotgun will hit a 10" plate at 100 yards with boring regularity. The main thing here is a rear sight. At these ranges you can't rely on just a bead!

Note about barrel bending.....the sight is only an index and where the projectile goes on discharge can be wildly different than point of aim. Bending the barrel "forces" the impact to the front sight. Bending WON'T make the matter worse. Taran Butler haas a great barrel bending jig and Jesse should send him his barrel and get it all "straightend out" KurtM
 
Try taking a 20 ga and a 12 ga empty shells and knock out the primers.
Cut off the plastic down about halfway and stick the 20 in the muzzle and the 12 in the chamber.
Hold it up to the light and look thru the hole.
If you see perfectly round rings of reflection in the barrel. The barrel is straight.
If the rings are off center the barrel is bent, and the thick and thin sides of the ring
will tell what direction its bent.
You can then put it in a press and bend it until the rings are concentrict
or as P.O.Ackley used to do it.
Whack it on a piece of soft barked tree stump he kept in the back of his shop.
 
JJ Perodeau at Champlin arms can help with bending a barrel.
http://www.champlinarms.com/
Go to the services tab on top. Bending a barrel is around $200.
 
assaulter said:
Did you ever fix that barrel Jesse?
Click to expand...

I hit almost everything I aimed at last year. I need to give it a little bit more bend as its still 2-3" off but its close enough for everything at normal matches. Rocky Mountains slug shots aren't normal so I struggled there somewhat but I think everyone else did too.
 
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