Barrel Obstructions?

[Varshirone]

Brand new shooter here. Just brought home my first rifle today and took it to the range to break it in. Guy next to me in the rifle lane had a barrel obstruction and bulged his barrel. Said he was just out hunting and didn't have time to clean it. Now that experience has got me all paranoid. My question is what's the best procedure for checking for barrel obstruction in a rifle when you are out with no tools whatsoever?

[gewgaw]

Scissor the upper open and look down the barrel from the chamber side. (If you have an AR, that is.)

But really, I think you'd know it if a bullet didn't come out the other end when you pulled the trigger. I want to know what kind of hunter didn't notice that his last shot never left his barrel... hmmm. Barring a stuck bullet or a big gob of hardened lacquer from years of shooting crap ammo, it's pretty damn hard to get your barrel to bulge from any other kind of obstruction.

That guy was lucky he didn't get a big kaboom in his face -- you woulda had shrapnel flying towards you if that happened.

[Varshirone]

I think the guy was firing a .30-30 or a .30-06 from what I remember seeing on the box of ammo he had on the table. Would mud do that to your gun? I'm shooting a .22LR bolt action so another question would be if a barrel obstruction did happen to me, would it be just as deadly or would the damage be minimal?

[domokun]

Clear the firearm, remove the bolt, then use a bunch of small segments of wooden dowels and knock the obstruction clear with a mallet. If you don't have the right tools, then you'll have to call it a day and go fix it unless you have a backup to use.

[Full Clip]

Mud can absolutely do that, as the blockage results in a temporary, but extreme, overpressure, hence the bulge.
If the previous round had been a squib that left an actual bullet in the barrel, he would have had a big kaboom.

[Beelzy]

Mud can absolutely do that, as the blockage results in a temporary, but extreme, overpressure, hence the bulge.
If the previous round had been a squib that left an actual bullet in the barrel, he would have had a big kaboom.

There is the answer, the clown mudded his muzzle when he was done hunting.

What a maroon.

[jazman]

There is the answer, the clown mudded his muzzle when he was done hunting.

What a maroon.

Well, it's hard not to get dirt in the open end, cause when you use it as a walking stick you don't want to get the handle deal dirty. Much better to get the metal end thingy dirty and than you can just wash it out with the hose later! He just forgot the hose part.
To the OP, if you are worried about it get yourself a Boresnake (you will want to have one anyway, great tools), and feed it through your rifle before shooting. Cleans and lets you know of obstructions at the same time.

[gewgaw]

Bottom line: don't be without tools! Even if it's just a boresnake.

[BamBam-31]

Or a simple patchworm and patch if all you want to do is ensure that your barrel is clear of obstructions. Borelights also help. Patchworms/boresnakes/Otis kits don't take up a lot of room in your range bag.

[aplinker]

Or a simple patchworm and patch if all you want to do is ensure that your barrel is clear of obstructions. Borelights also help. Patchworms/boresnakes/Otis kits don't take up a lot of room in your range bag.

If you're shooting an AR, they have a kit that fits in the PG.