# "Barrel Lapping"



## Ga.Bowhunter (Aug 13, 2010)

Well I tried my hand at lapping the barrel on my 50 cal. Can't wait to get out and see how it shoots now.


----------



## SASS249 (Aug 13, 2010)

How?


----------



## Ga.Bowhunter (Aug 15, 2010)

220,400,800,1500. Clean it good inbetween.


----------



## Ga.Bowhunter (Aug 15, 2010)

Don't  overdo it. Just 4 or 5 times down and backw/each grit. Read about it Hunting mag. Thought I try it. Said it will improve your groups 75% tighter. And your range.


----------



## SgtPat (Aug 16, 2010)

what did you put the lapping compound on?


----------



## Ga.Bowhunter (Aug 16, 2010)

I used emery cloth. With my cleaning rod. Seemed to work real well. Like I said I was very careful not to take to much out. Was in car acc. yesturday so won't be able to shoot till Sat. To check my groups, to see if it helped.


----------



## SgtPat (Aug 16, 2010)

Where did you get that proceedure from?


----------



## RickD (Aug 17, 2010)

be interesting to see if it helps


----------



## 7Mag Hunter (Aug 17, 2010)

RickD said:


> be interesting to see if it helps



Me too.....Never thought of lapping a BP gun....I have used
the Tubbs fire lapping bullets on a .270 one time, and it
did improve accuracy a good bit.....


----------



## Flintrock (Aug 17, 2010)

What kind of rifle are you working on ?
What kind of groups were you getting before ?
What load are you using ?
.
Lapping may help a little but I think finding the right load/bullet is 
necessary .


----------



## majg1234 (Aug 18, 2010)

I lap too but with rubbing compound,red,white and then flitz applied with a cleaning mop... about 5 passes of each with cleaning between  each one ...do this for all my CF rifles and for ML rifles does help a good bit it is like "breaking in the barrel"Most folks report better repeatable accuracy after about 100-300 rounds down range this does it with out shooting that many rounds down range


----------



## SASS249 (Aug 18, 2010)

majg1234 said:


> "Most folks report better repeatable accuracy after about 100-300 rounds down range this does it with out shooting that many rounds down range




Yea, but where is the fun in that??


----------



## SgtPat (Sep 5, 2010)

How did it work out?


----------



## polaris30144 (Sep 16, 2010)

Best lapping material ever made is an old hornets nest.An old timer told me to put a wad of hornets nest on top of the powder, then seat the patched ball. It only took about 15 shots and my patches were not blown out or cut anymore. The accuracy improved a great deal also. I did this to 5 different .50 caliber and 2 .54's and was impressed by the gain in accuracy. I was shooting 70 grains of ffg in the .50's and 90 grains in the .54's.


----------



## Dub (Sep 16, 2010)

One thing is for sure...my muzzle loader will not get fire lapped from range shooting.  In fact, the barrell should last a lifetime or more.  It's a lot of work....shoot twice & clean....shoot twice & clean....etc, etc.      Just kidding....it's a fun labor.


Let us know how it works out.  I could see giving this a whirl in a ML for the reasons mentioned above.


----------



## kvistads (Sep 16, 2010)

Do yourself a favor and get a brass cleaning jag one size smaller than the bore you're working on.  Example: .40 cal. for a .45 barrel.  Then go buy some green Scotch Brite at your local grocery store and cut some pieces or strips the same width as the jag.  Wrap the jag and soak with 3 in 1 oil.  Push the range rod with the jag wrapped with oiled Scotch Brite in and out the barrel for several hours while watching TV.  Clean with patches soaked in Simple Green and water.  Your bore should feel super smooth while pushing a dry patch down the bore.  Now go shoot one hole through the other!


----------



## SgtPat (Sep 16, 2010)

kvistads said:


> Do yourself a favor and get a brass cleaning jag one size smaller than the bore you're working on.  Example: .40 cal. for a .45 barrel.  Then go buy some green Scotch Brite at your local grocery store and cut some pieces or strips the same width as the jag.  Wrap the jag and soak with 3 in 1 oil.  Push the range rod with the jag wrapped with oiled Scotch Brite in and out the barrel for several hours while watching TV.  Clean with patches soaked in Simple Green and water.  Your bore should feel super smooth while pushing a dry patch down the bore.  Now go shoot one hole through the other!



Is this proceedure for a smooth bore?


----------



## kvistads (Sep 17, 2010)

SgtPat:
Sorry, that's one aspect of muzzle loading I know nothing about.  To this day, I've never owned a smooth bore.  I've always wanted one - heard they make nice squirrel guns.  All jokes aside, I don't see why it wouldn't work.

The barrel lapping routine I'm speaking of using the Scotch Brite was told to me by Donald Getz - owner and proprietor of Getz Barrel Co at one time.  I think he has turned it all over to his son John - I hope I have that right?  Without a doubt, they produce some of the finest, most accurate muzzle loading barrels ever.  I know at one time they used to keep a long back order because their barrels were so sought after.  There are others, but nobody ever questioned whether a Getz was any good or not.

You might have to experiment with the jag size a little.  I think I used a worn (undersized) jag for my lapping.  One thing's for sure, it does in deed work!  I would be extremely careful around the crown of the muzzle while doing it though.  It is best to have a bore guide on your range/cleaning rod while barrel lapping.  This way you can keep the crown clean.  The crown means everything when it comes to how a gun groups.  Many times a barrel can be improved by just re-crowning.  Good luck.


----------

