CHANGING POINT OF IMPACT

[mark hay]

Have you ever owned a gun that did not shoot where you where aiming ? I just took ownership of a clean little 410 that shoots low and right, and I don't want to mount some after market sights or a scope . Have any of you ever had a shotgun barrel bent to make it shoot straight ? No , not like the feller that was already in the woods when he dicovered his barrel had been bent by some unknown means . He claimed to have stuck the barrel in the crotch of a big forked tree and tweaked 'er back into zero . That's a little bit on the crude side of gunsmithin' for me.

[Ozarks Hillbilly]

Mark, I forgot what kind of little .410 you traded for again?

[mark hay]

Evening Ozarks,,,,,it's a Mossberg , model 183T , bolt action , full choke, 3 in. chamber.
 

[Turkeybuster]

Never tried bending them in a forked tree but that would work, usually use a vice instead but that is the way to get it to zero.
 
Put the barrel in a vice and tug on the butt stock, take it slow it doesn,t take much to bend a barrel.

[Ozarks Hillbilly]

I was thinking along the same line as Turkeybuster. It wouldn't take much to correct it by placing in a vice with soft jaw's or wrapping something around the barrel to keep from marring the finish. The hard part for me would be to figure out what way I needed to go to correct the point of impact. If it is shooting low left what direction would you need to try and move the barrel? Would you want to move the buttstock low left to try and correct the point of impact?????

[Turkeybuster]

You would want to bend it to get center first although it will still be low then you would bend it to get your elevation just take it one step at a time hope this helps.
 

[Steve_In]

Hey Mark, guys bend their smoothbore ML all the time to change poi.  I would disassemble first though.  Loosen the screws that hold the action/barrel into the stock.  Try to see if there is binding or spring when released.  No sense bending if the barrel is being torqued in the stock[:'(].  Does it have the screw on chokes?  If so check their alighnment.  If everything checks out, bend that barrel up and left.[:D][:)]

[Ozarks Hillbilly]

Mark, Steven_In brings up a good point that little shotgun looks to have more of a rifle stock on it. Mite just need to relieve the barrel channel in the stock. Or may just need to adjust the tension on the action screw's.

[Warbird]

ORIGINAL: mark hay

Have you ever owned a gun that did not shoot where you where aiming ? I just took ownership of a clean little 410 that shoots low and right, and I don't want to mount some after market sights or a scope . Have any of you ever had a shotgun barrel bent to make it shoot straight ? No , not like the feller that was already in the woods when he dicovered his barrel had been bent by some unknown means . He claimed to have stuck the barrel in the crotch of a big forked tree and tweaked 'er back into zero . That's a little bit on the crude side of gunsmithin' for me.

Hey Mark,
Don't know if you have a trustworthy gunsmith around but some may use a strap press to true up your barrel. The barrel is mounted in a jig usually secure wooden v blocks on either end of the barrel. The distance between the blocks can be changed also and a strap similiar to a tie down strap with crank handle is placed across the barrel and cranked tight to bend it. The strap is secured on both ends (cranking end and latch end) Of course the barrel is turned however needed before applying pressure depending on how the POI is. A work bench will work fine. Width of the bench and height of the blocks will change the amount of pressure you can apply too..You may be able to do this at home if the barrel isn't in too bad of shape...Hope you get it shootin for ya however you decide... Good Luck.

[mark hay]

The barrel shows no sign of being bent BY THE EYE . It shoots low and right of point of aim . I have some 'smithin' experience and after all possibilities of correction have been studied , the bending will be my last resort . If it comes to that I'll remove the tailstock from my lathe and jig it up on the bed of the lathe and set up an indicator .
Thanks for your input .