Barrel a lost cause?

[arrowfrog]

Hello everyone.  I ran into an issue that has prompted me to stop lurking and jump into the fray.  I'm posting this at another forum as well, so I apologize in advance to any of you who have to see it twice.

I recently came into a Ruger that I assumed would become a project gun (i.e. the deal was just too good to be true).  It is an MKII Target Bull Barrel that was worked over by SOCOM Mfg when they were in business, and it is in surprisingly pristine condition.  This would be because the fella who had it before me somehow managed to run the front sight screw clean through the barrel and never got the chance to shoot it much.  The protrusion is very minute, but it is clearly there.  I'm OK with cutting the barrel back or replacing it if I have to, but I am hoping that I can make it into a serviceable plinker in it's current state. 

Any tips on fixing a problem like this?  Would it be reasonable to try and remove the protruding material and polish?  The rifling appears undamaged.  I would try and pull the screw and polish it that way, but I swear they must have used red Loctite.  Any ideas would be much appreciated.  Thank you very much to those of you who took the time to read my post, and thanks to all for building such a great forum!

Adam

p.s. Here's a pic
[img width= height=]http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Gvh-qe4tw7c/SQ0jTeO7a4I/AAAAAAAAATQ/NdPIxp8x5JM/s512/markii.JPG[/img]

[John Traveler]

Hi Adam!

A damaged bore in the condition you described requires one of two fixes:

1.  counterbore the muzzle to remove the damaged section and form a new inner muzzle crown.  The counterbore should be done with a piloted reamer, even a chambering reamer, to get the new crown past the damaged rifling.  This was frequently done by the Swedes (and others) to repair rifles and carbines with damaged muzzles.

2.  lap the bore.  This is less likely to produce satisfactory results, and should be attempted as a last resort before replacing the barrel.

Removng the barrel and front sight is relatively easy if you first heat the barrel using a hot air blower.  The front sight screws and the barrel tenon are secured using Locktite adhesive.  Heating to 400 degrees Fahrenheit will break the bond.

[torpedoman]

heat it remove the screw file enough off to get rid of the protusion and reinstall and shoot.

[Badnews Bob]

+1 for filing the screw, get in there and clean up the hole in the barrel if you can, It shouldm't hurt a thing.

[trotterlg]

Having a hole into the barrel is no big deal, all gas operated guns have one, it just isn't an issue at all.  Get the screw out and put in a new shorter one and you will be good to go.  Larry

[arrowfrog]

Awesome!  Thanks for all the input.

I imagine that I will try to subconsciously blame any fliers on a known imperfection rather than on the goof holding the gun, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to try this in phases.  I will shorten the screw until I am happy with it and then run through a brick of ammo.  If it's not grouping well after 500 rounds, I will counterbore like John Traveler suggested

Thanks again,
Adam

[Badnews Bob]

Consider this, Ported barrels have a bunch of holes in them, They seem to shoot okay.