Dent in a barrel

Gretagrouse · Post by **Gretagrouse** » Wed May 27, 2009 9:57 am

Morning all,
I found a Sterlingworth , but, there's a dent in the right barrel. I just talked with the owner and he said it looks like whatever it hit was a sharp object. It's nine inches from the muzzle and can be seen when looking down the barrel. He tells me it's a factory gun with no alterations, but they are going to check wall thickness and the like for me to make sure. My question is it worth fixing?? The man says it's fixable but I'm afraid of weaking the barrel in that spot. Thanks for the help.

Tim

birdawg · Post by **birdawg** » Wed May 27, 2009 10:54 am

You best bet to take the gun to good double gun gunsmith and have a proper inspection done. If we knew in what area you live I am sure someone could make a recommendation on a properly knowledgeable smith in your area.

Gretagrouse · Post by **Gretagrouse** » Wed May 27, 2009 11:38 am

Thanks for the reply. I live in northwestern Pa. Between Pittsburgh and Erie.

Silvers · Post by **Silvers** » Wed May 27, 2009 12:09 pm

FYI - the seller will likely be unable to get an accurate barrel wall measurement with the dent in place.

Without seeing the dent it's hard to comment about fixing it, but shallow dents are quite common and easily removed. However if the dent is really deep or shows a sharp crease at its bottom, the steel may have been stressed beyond its elastic limit and I personally would be very cautious buying the gun without a inspection/return agreement.

If you can possibly make arrangments to get the gun to coincide with the NE Classic SxS event next weekend at Hidden Hollow in NE PA - and can make the trip - there will be many knowlegeable Fox men there to look at the barrels and comment more objectively than here. Frank

http://www.hhhsc.net/

George Lander · Post by **George Lander** » Wed May 27, 2009 12:20 pm

Frank gives you good advice. A Sterlingworth with no other problems than a dent in the barrel should be well worth fixing (usually @ $100.00) Get the gun to Hidden Hollow and the Fox folks there can advise you.

Best Regards, George

Gretagrouse · Post by **Gretagrouse** » Wed May 27, 2009 1:27 pm

How common was ir for a Sterlingworth to be vored skt/Ic from the factory? It seems odd to me that it would be. But I have no idea. Thanks for the replies guys.

eightbore · Post by **eightbore** » Thu May 28, 2009 8:03 am

The choke combination would be unusual to rare in a 30" gun, more possibly original in shorter barrels. You could get a letter on the gun to confirm originality but it's not very important if those chokes fulfill your needs. A dent that far forward isn't going to present a problem unless the barrel is perforated during the repair, unlikely. Buy it if you like it.

Gretagrouse · Post by **Gretagrouse** » Fri May 29, 2009 10:21 am

Morning all,
I just talked to the fellow that had the Sterlingworth bored skt/IC with the dented right barrel. They did a wall thickness check over the length of both barrels and came up with a max of .042 up around the chambers down to .035 toward the chokes. Is there enough stock to have the dent pulled? Thanks for all the help.

Tim

FRBRIT · Post by **FRBRIT** » Fri May 29, 2009 6:15 pm

Sounds like plenty of metal to work with.