My barrel looks Stoned..A tale of WTF!

[BallisticianX]

I wanted to share an oddity, mystery, and mind boggling experience for your viewing pleasure. So Im in the middle of a just because project. Im taking an older worn bargain find S&W model 17 .22 revolver and building an open rimfire steel gun. I converted it from 6 to 10 shot, drilled and tapped for a scope mount, and tricked out the action so on and so on. The last thing I wanted to improve is the feel. The slim original 6" barrel is too light and just doesn't point well for me. So in the name of the bargain theme of the project I sought out a used 6" full underlug barrel most likely from a 617 donor in stainless. Not keen on the two tone balance of that I got lucky (or so I thought) and stumbled on a 6" blued 17-8 full underlug barrel at MidwayUSA. I called them to inquire and was told it was a brand new factory barrel and only one left in stock...I snagged it. So I get it last night and found that it was not all wrapped up in the brown wax paper all smothered in cosmoline as it typically is from smith. Rather it was dry inside a plain white almost tissue paper. The finish was  "plumb brown" looking all 1776 musket like. Initially Im not too happy oh but the best was yet to come. I held it up to the light to inspect the bore and No light shown thru. With a flashlight I see an obstruction with a gray shine to it. Figured its a lead slug. While wondering what in the hell a lead slug is in a "new"  barrel I dribbled some oil down the bore at both ends and got my rimfire brass punch out rod and proceeded to drive it out. Oh it was in there and almost warranting a hand sledge to move it. SO the moment you've all been waiting for, the kicker, and mind boggling part; the obstruction was a white stone, like that of novaculite. Measuring a 1/4" long and perfectly formed to the lands and grooves. Both ends jagged like snap off ocurred. The grey color at both ends was just marred metal from a previous pound out attempt. Whatever it is its hard and impact resistant as it didn't shatter under the hammer blows. The bore sustained a visible dig ring , cant say how bad but I can see the shadow enough to tell. So Im pretty well agitated and borderline livid at this point. Figuring this experience was brought to me by a garden variety neanderthal that returned the unit after his failure I called Midway. I gave them the story and asked why they sold a previously ordered item without an inspection. They told me they keep return records and none exist for this item and it had to have been shipped that way from S&W and they have never heard of that before. Hmmm, ok I ll play the blame game. I give old Smiffy a call and give them the saga. Boldly they declared they don't use any stone or ceramic anything in the bores and final inspection checks bore condition so an obstruction would be noticed and off course they never heard of that one before. Ok fair enough on a believable defense. So I'm baffled how I am so lucky, the gilded golden one, chosen to be granted the only stone plugged barrel ever in existence. So feel free to share your thoughts on this and of course crush my accolades of being the "one and only" if you've ever had a stoned barrel, and go!   

[Hi-Power Jack]

If I were ever that lucky, I'd get myself to the closest casino in a hurry.     

 

BTW, you might Google the word "paragraph".      

[RJH]

So are you sending the barrel back to midway?

[Powder Finger]

sounds like custom vans.

one had a short and after tracing it down behind the worst panel to remove in the world......

in felt pen was written "so you finally found me" on the sheet metal.

[BallisticianX]

15 hours ago, RJH said:

So are you sending the barrel back to midway?

Yup, barrel is going back today. Im officially abandoning the bargain model 17 build, this projects has fought me the whole way with a bad omen per say. So I restored it back to its original specs and Im just gonna off it and buy a 617. Sometimes a "just because project" is not worth it. 

[Harlow]

This is not the first time I've heard of some truly weird stuff coming out of Midway 's warehouse. Curious what the story really is on this barrel.

[BallisticianX]

47 minutes ago, Harlow said:

This is not the first time I've heard of some truly weird stuff coming out of Midway 's warehouse. Curious what the story really is on this barrel.

Me too but Ill probably never know. Another place for weird happenings is Numerich Gun Parts. They are 10 miles away from my home and when they had a walk in counter I was there often and had a lot of odd issues. 

[Absocold]

Man buys a used Desert Eagle 50AE. Fires gun. It doesn't cycle, not even a little bit. Man brings gun to my shop and tells me his tale of woe about someone selling him a defective gun. I soothe the troubled man that I can solve his problems with my mystical skills in the gun arts - for a small fee.

 

These guns are gas-operated and the gas port is likely clogged. An easy fix. I'll just work a drill bit in the port by hand to dislodge the carbon buildup.

 

NOPE!

 

It seems someone tried to do the same thing with a metal pick and broke the end of the pick off in the port. And it wasn't coming out either. Had to drill the stupid thing out and be super careful not to bugger the port while doing it. That five minute job took me over two hours. I've fixed a lot of "like new, only dropped once!" guns but this one really ticked me off.

 

And don't let S&W shine rainbows up your skirt, I've had to fix quite a few of their brand new guns. I can't tell you how many mis-clocked revolver barrels I've seen. Quality checks my butt.

 

At least they're not as bad as Taurus these days. "Is it vaguely gun-shaped? Ship it!"