A fine day at the range

[Kurt]

Carol said this morning that it's going to get up to 50 today I want to go and shoot. ? 
Man it didn't take me long to dig out a couple .22 hand guns and the .44-100 rifle I been working on to shallow up the deep grooves that barrel came with. I been lapping the lands tops for more then a year to get the bore/groove more in the ballpark for cartridge rifle then muzzle loader barrel. I been lapping with brass slugs I turned down to a tight bore fit only and been hand lapping on and off for a year to just get the lands down to shallow up the grooves and I think all the hours paid off.

When Carol and I finished emptying several hundred rounds of .22 ammo on the pistol range shooting the laydown steel I had her spot for me to get on paper at 200 yards. I only had a few two year old rounds that I had left over that were loaded with 93 gr of 2F OE and a couple with 90 gr of 1.5 swiss with a 507 gr elliptical KAL bullet. Once I hit paper I raised the sights and put the last 4 of the 2F OE rounds I had left at 4 O-clock off the x ring and made a sight change and shot the three at 12 O-clock with the swiss load and called it a day. 
I think the hours of pushing and pulling that slug through the bore has paid off. Before lapping I hardly was able to keep the holes on the whole target. 
It was a good day with just enough of a breeze the made the windmill just barely move.
I just love it when things are starting to work. Those 4 holes shot with the 2F OE are 3/4" vertical 9/16 horizontal 

[Nuclearcricket]

Kurt, nice shooting and you are a much braver man than I am. I have lapped just one barrel and it was unchambered. I did it the old fashioned way with a cast lead lap. At the breach end I ended up taking out some of the rifling but the barrel came out nice and shiny. A lot better than it was before I started.
For what you were looking to accomplish perhaps a couple of the adjustable barrel lap heads that screw on to a rod might have been a good investment. As they wear, they have an adjustment screw that expands them so you get more use out of them. They are available from MSC and other tool suppliers I am sure.
Nice to see your hard work did pay off, looks like you have a winner on your hands now.
Sam

[Hanz]

That's what I'd call a great day!

Nice shooting with the BPCR.

.22 Handguns are a favorite to spend some time.

[Hiwall55]

Looks like time well spent on that barrel. Nice shooting Kurt.

[Kurt]

Sam, it didn't take much courage for this project. When I ordered this barrel at .438/.446 it came .438/.450 plus. I had this barrel shipped right to CPA with out checking it first. Well when I got the rifle home and shot it I had a hard time keeping it on a sheet of printer paper at 130 yards with vertical it shot so I made a cast and found the deep grooves. I could have made this work if I used a over sized GG but the reamer I designed tight for a PP only bullet so a GG is not an option, besides with a .438" bore and pushing a .450" bullet through the finning that base would end up with would never work.
I called the barrel maker and told him the problem and with out hesitation he said send it back and he replaced it.
After think about if after a couple weeks I called and asked if he still had the barrel and if he did I would like to buy it to work with it to see if I can make it shoot because it already fits the action and I could rebore it to a .45 caliber. He said I don't think I can get the bore clean for a rebore for a .450/458 so the other option is a liner. We agreed on a price and he sent it back.
I will keep in mind about the adjustable lap slugs.

[Nuclearcricket]

Here is a link to the laps in case your not familiar with wht they look like.
https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn/Abra...79&page=25
probably best to purchase a complete lap and if need be later on you could buy just the barrel.
Sam

[Kurt]

Thank you Sam.

Those would be the cats meow. Good length too.
If I need to do a little more I will get a couple.

I used to do the lead cast slugs for the GM barrels that needed some help and that worked just fine if you wanted to lap the whole land and grooves but one needs to index the core so it goes back in the same grooves it was poured in.

[Nuclearcricket]

Yep, and it sucks when you over stroke and it pops out, can be a real pain to get back in. Those barrel laps are nice for just doing a bore or a hole. Also you can have several the same size and use them for different grits of compound. The little piece you see in the front of the lap is a tapered plug that screws in and is used to expand the lap. That part as well as the shank are reusable. I have a couple of those laps left over from my work days and do use them on occasion. Lapping compound is up to you. Mostly I have used Clover brand but I just can't for the life of me ever seem to remember which it is that is is that breaks down and becomes finer as you use it. I do know one type of grit has very sharp edges and the other is kind of round in shape. The round will break down and give progressively finer abrasive and thus a finer finish. I do know for a really fine finish go to a diamond compound. It will not cut all that fast but work it long enough and you can get up to a mirror finish.
Sam

[Kurt]

Clover is all I use. I started with 120 valve grinding compound and 400, 600 for the final polish. The 120 cuts fast. I think 200 and 400 would have been good enough for the polishing.
I like the 400 and 600 for making sizing dies to put a glass finish on them.