444 Marlin. Odd gouges in chamber - failure to eject - brass marks.

[Spyder]

Older Marlin from 1970. See photos, but it has really odd gouges in the inside of the chamber which, when fired, cause the brass to flow in to the void and make it very difficult to extract.

The shorter Hornady Leverevolution brass ejects, but still marks the brass the same, just not the really bad spot near the mouth which I assume causes the extraction problems.

I fired a couple of the Hornady rounds out of it on paper and it is accurate, and then fired a couple rounds of R-P factory stuff and noticed the brass marks when it jammed up and had to be beaten open.

What the heck could have caused this, and...I assume...not repairable without finding a replacement barrel?

['ol shooter]

Maybe flame cutting from a case failure? Ask around on the Marlin Forum, maybe someone there can offer a repair strategy.
The chamber on my .444 Sporter is fine and it's still a PITA to cycle the action.

http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/

[Pofoo]

Somebody shooting 44 mag?

[TKM]

That's officially the weirdest thing I've seen today.

The naked screaming weirdo lost out by a hair.

[Spyder]

My first thought was that someone had a stuck case after a head separation and that they jammed a bolt down in the chamber to pull the stuck case out.

A good gunsmith I know said the only thing he could think of was that when it was made way back 50 years ago, swarf got caught in the reamer and made those grooves, but the pitch didn't seem right, and asked if it looked like it had been shot much...which would go hand in hand with that theory. It seems to cycle fine. No more difficult than my 45-70 or any of my other many Marlins...though I haven't done them side by side yet.

I don't know what caused it, but it's very annoying. Numrich has a 22 1/2" barrel (these came with 24" back then) for 1975 and later guns, and I don't know if it would fit this one or not. I haven't had time to try and source the proper barrel anywhere else, and won't for the next several days.

But it's an interesting odd find, for sure. Hopefully someone has ideas, and hopefully it helps someone else out in the future too.

Pofoo, that's possible I suppose, but I wouldn't think that it would gas etch in a perfect 2 ring spiral like that all the way around. It looks like a really course thread pattern to me.

[Spyder]

That's officially the weirdest thing I've seen today.

The naked screaming weirdo lost out by a hair.

I take it the naked screaming weirdo was shaved?

[G-forceJunkie]

Short of someone getting in thee with steel tools (seperated case head?) i'm guessing it's a bad chambering job from the factory. Dull reamer, packed up chips, etc.

[rromeo]

I don't know what happened, but if you need a barrel, Numrich has them for $60. It's for a 444S, so 22" , not 24" like yours , but it is a new barrel.

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/454470

Edited, because I just saw that you know about the Numrich barrels. If it's before 1975, it was made for barrel bands, like yours, and should work, but maybe just a little fitting required. Late '75 and later used the forend cap, so they would be harder to make work.

[prob]

I’d snag one of those $60 barrels and be done with it. I can think of no easy or cost effective remedy to repair those gouges.

[mrlonewolf]

Cut your losses and have a cold one.



Lonewolf.

[rromeo]

And I will add, losing the 2" of barrel length affects the originality of the gun, but you won't be disappointed in the performance.

[Spyder]

I don't know what happened, but if you need a barrel, Numrich has them for $60. It's for a 444S, so 22" , not 24" like yours , but it is a new barrel.

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/454470

Edited, because I just saw that you know about the Numrich barrels. If it's before 1975, it was made for barrel bands, like yours, and should work, but maybe just a little fitting required. Late '75 and later used the forend cap, so they would be harder to make work.

This rifle is a 1970, those barrels are for Sept '75 and later, so it is not a direct fit?

ETA: I see, those ARE pre '75, the other one I found was post 75. I did not find the pre-75 when I looked earlier.

Now...what's it take to swap a barrel on one of these? It's not a project I've done before... ETA: quick looking, it takes tools I don't have and time I won't see in the near future. Guess I should shop around for a smith that can do it for me.

And I will add, losing the 2" of barrel length affects the originality of the gun, but you won't be disappointed in the performance.

Yea. I'm already screwed on it staying original and functional unless I stumble on the right barrel on ebay. Which there isn't one currently.

[rromeo]

Yours being a 1970, does it have the medallion in the stock?

[Spyder]

No medallion. It is the funky high comb stock, but without medallion.

[Fjold]

It looks like a chip was caught in the reamer flutes during the manufacturing and it gouged the chamber..