03A3 barrel question

[a1fabweld]

A friend of mine recently gave me his 03A3 dated 5/43. He wasn't much of a gun buff & thought I'd like to have it. It's been in his family for years. Anyway, it's in pretty good condition but the bore is pretty rough. I ran some "Wipe-Out" foaming bore cleaner through it to knock down some of the buildup. I ran solvent on bore brushes numerous times followed by patches. After all this, the bore looks like you dragged a cotton ball down a wire brush. Lots of fibers stuck to burrs in the barrel. The rifling is still very visible though. The guy I got it from said he shot it a few years ago without issues. I'm hesitant to shoot it though. Any suggestions?

[kendog4570]

The bottom line for bore condition is "how does it shoot"? Good lookin' ones dont shoot for beans, and ones that look like sewer pipes can still group well. You will never know until you put some rounds through it.
Strong rifling is always a good sign with a Springfield.

[a1fabweld]

Thanks Ken. I'm not sure if I should even fire the thing? Maybe I'm just chicken, but I've never shot a rifle with this crusty of a bore. It concerns me a little.

[gunboat]

push a lead slug through it -- see how it looks ands measures -

[a1fabweld]

HUH? Literally push a lead bullet through the bore? I've never heard of that.

[gunboat]

It is called slugging - Use a common 311 diameter lead bullet and a solid ram rod. I do not advise a wood dowel as they can splinter and jam up the works.
you can check the bore diameter by miking the bullet, and see if it truely rough by just looking at the slug.
If the bore is actually rough you can make a lap and polish it a bit.
You can also fire lap it -
Or you can just shoot the rascal and see if you can hit the side of a barn.
A few fmj down range may slick it up -
If you are bit reluctant to pull the trigger, see if you can get mikey to do it -
my ha-penny

[Rock6.3]

If a 30 caliber jag and patch will go down the bore, then a 30 cal bullet will fit too.

[a1fabweld]

If a 30 caliber jag and patch will go down the bore, then a 30 cal bullet will fit too.

Good Point. Hadn't thought about that. Thanks fellas.

[Fjold]

"30" caliber jabs are smaller to allow for the patch material to fit. It's probably pits in the bore catching the fibers from your cleaning patches. Shoot a couple of rounds through it and it willl help smooth it out. If the bore is pitted from corrosive ammo there is no fix but many guns still shoot well that way.