A couple years back I decided to have my D34 tuned and a Vortek kit installed. I shipped it to a reputable Smith and things were just groovy. Upon return the box was damaged but the gun looked fine. I mounted a scope and zeroed it. No problems. It shot beautifully.
A few weeks ago I decided to take the scope off and shoot it bare. When I zeroed the iron sights I noticed the back sight was screwed left almost to the limit. A quick check revealed the scope too was zeroed almost to the limits of the windage screw. A careful check with a straight edge showed a very slight, almost imperceptible bend to the right. It must have been damaged by UPS when they shipped it back. I just didn't realize it.
I did some research and decided to bend the barrel back to center. I made sure the front sight was plumb and centered the rear sight. I made up a maple jig that fit the barrel then set the whole mess in my bench vice and proceeded to add pressure.
A straight edge across the top from the front post through the rear sight told me exactly how much bend I was giving it. I would apply force until I got a bend and then test fired a pattern.
I started slow and the first few tries the barrel would just spring back to the same POI. But after a brief learning curve I started to make headway. The gun started out shooting 4" right at 10 yards. After 13 "bends" I got the pattern right in the middle of the dot.
I optically centered the scope using a mirror and mounted it on the rifle. It was 4 clicks right and 10 clicks low at 25 yards.
The entire process from making a jig to sighting the scope took less than 2 hours. The gun shoots as good or better than it did before. No affect on accuracy at all.
I sweated and fretted the first few bends. That barrel was WAY over to the left when I put pressure on the jig. But it sprang back nicely. When it was all said and done you couldn't tell it was ever bent. Now when passing a straight edge across the (centered) sights it comes across the center of the receiver at the rear. When I started the process it was at the extreme left edge.
I was so happy with the results I decided to bend a hatsan 95 barrel that had snapped up and bent. It was easy. 3 bends and it brought the POI back down to zero at 25 with an optically centered scope. The iron sights jibe perfectly. I didn't touch the scope adjustments at all to get zero. The rear iron sight is pretty much centered in its vertical travel. Horizontally it zeros exactly in the center.
What a hoot. I would have never thought you could bend a barrel back straight again with a stick and a vice. Well I was wrong. You can. It's not difficult at all and it's a bunch better than dealing with adjustable mounts and scope shims.
Attached is a photo of the rifle and the jig I made to straighten the barrel. Just a piece of maple cut to length with a lug at both ends. I cut a saddle in the front lug for the barrel. The rear lug is square and rests against the pivot block. It's as simple as clamping it in a vice and turning the handle until you think it bent a little. Then test firing and repeating until the rifle's POA and POI are in the same spot.
A few weeks ago I decided to take the scope off and shoot it bare. When I zeroed the iron sights I noticed the back sight was screwed left almost to the limit. A quick check revealed the scope too was zeroed almost to the limits of the windage screw. A careful check with a straight edge showed a very slight, almost imperceptible bend to the right. It must have been damaged by UPS when they shipped it back. I just didn't realize it.
I did some research and decided to bend the barrel back to center. I made sure the front sight was plumb and centered the rear sight. I made up a maple jig that fit the barrel then set the whole mess in my bench vice and proceeded to add pressure.
A straight edge across the top from the front post through the rear sight told me exactly how much bend I was giving it. I would apply force until I got a bend and then test fired a pattern.
I started slow and the first few tries the barrel would just spring back to the same POI. But after a brief learning curve I started to make headway. The gun started out shooting 4" right at 10 yards. After 13 "bends" I got the pattern right in the middle of the dot.
I optically centered the scope using a mirror and mounted it on the rifle. It was 4 clicks right and 10 clicks low at 25 yards.
The entire process from making a jig to sighting the scope took less than 2 hours. The gun shoots as good or better than it did before. No affect on accuracy at all.
I sweated and fretted the first few bends. That barrel was WAY over to the left when I put pressure on the jig. But it sprang back nicely. When it was all said and done you couldn't tell it was ever bent. Now when passing a straight edge across the (centered) sights it comes across the center of the receiver at the rear. When I started the process it was at the extreme left edge.
I was so happy with the results I decided to bend a hatsan 95 barrel that had snapped up and bent. It was easy. 3 bends and it brought the POI back down to zero at 25 with an optically centered scope. The iron sights jibe perfectly. I didn't touch the scope adjustments at all to get zero. The rear iron sight is pretty much centered in its vertical travel. Horizontally it zeros exactly in the center.
What a hoot. I would have never thought you could bend a barrel back straight again with a stick and a vice. Well I was wrong. You can. It's not difficult at all and it's a bunch better than dealing with adjustable mounts and scope shims.
Attached is a photo of the rifle and the jig I made to straighten the barrel. Just a piece of maple cut to length with a lug at both ends. I cut a saddle in the front lug for the barrel. The rear lug is square and rests against the pivot block. It's as simple as clamping it in a vice and turning the handle until you think it bent a little. Then test firing and repeating until the rifle's POA and POI are in the same spot.
