Bulged Barrel

[smallie1]

I have a 20ga Ruger over/under and the top barrel has a bulge in it.

The bulge is right at the end of the barrel about half as long as the choke tube.

Ruger is telling me it was caused by debris in the barrel and will not repair it as warranty work. I find it hard to believe that debris would cause a bulge that close to the end of the barrel. It must have bulged the choke to as well. Has anyone seen this before?

[leech~~]

I good Gun Smith should be able to take it out.

[SmilinBob]

the odds of removing a bulge are slim to none, the metal has been stretched and deformed, any kind of pounding or heating will only add to bending the barrel. If it is bulged in the area where the choke tube is, the steel is very thin and any kind of pressure getting to it, be it from debris or what I have seen more of is tubes working loose and not being tightened before shooting, will deform it. Some barrels are left so thin in the choke areas you can bend it with your fingers.

[96trigger]

If the barrels are long enough, cut out the bulge and have them retapped for chokes.

[Ufatz]

loose tube. Bulged barrel. Bob's got it right. Sorry.

[smallie1]

It just seems very odd to me that it bulged right at the end of the barrel. I would think that the choke itself would be very difficult bulge, that's pretty thick steel.

thanks guys!

[SmilinBob]

choke tubes are pretty thick, but the threading creates a thinner ringed spot, and you are still looking at 12,000 psi, its going to find that weakest point and cause damage there. It sounds like the best bet, and luckily, that it happened at the end of the barrel so it can be shortened and re-choked. Ruger is going to be hard to convince because there is no burden of proof on them to say what the cause might have been. It's an unfortunate side effect of the lawyers and profit margin world we live in. Take it to a good gunsmith and see what the options are.