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1908 COLT 380

PROWLERJUNKY
I PURCHASED A COLT 380 FROM APPROX. 1920'S AFTER TEARING IT DOWN IT APPEARS TO HAVE A SLIGHT BULGE IN THE BARREL TOWARDS THE FRONT. IS THIS NORMAL (my .32 doesnt have this but is much older)OR DO I NEED TO TRACK DOWN A NEW BARREL.......THANKS...
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Comments

7 comments

Date Votes
  • rufe-snow
    It would be best if you could post a picture of the barrel showing the "bulge". The early pistols had round barrels with a separate barrel bushing, whereas the later pistols had barrels with a integral bushing that had a locking lug at the muzzle end of the barrel.

    It's not clear in your post, if your talking about the locking lug that the later barrels had?

    luger_4.jpg
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  • perry shooter
    Hello one thing you might try to see if it should be there IE part of the barrel is to take a cleaning rod with a tight fitting patch and slowly push down the barrel if there is a loose spot then you have a bad barrel if the patch has the same resistance from one end to the other then your barrel was probably made that way.
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  • JudgeColt
    No barrel bulge is normal. (What would be the purpose of a barrel bulge?) A pistol from the 1920s as mentioned would have the barrel boss on the end of the barrel and would not have the barrel bushing and straight barrel of the first couple of years of production. The boss on the end of the barrel of later pistols of this design would not be mistaken for a bulge "towards the front." It is quite prominent and distinct in its shape, and not uniform all the way around the barrel as a bulge generally is.

    While a replacement barrel would be desirable, it would be difficult to find an original. Perhaps you could "roll" the bulge back with a device made for that purpose. On the other hand, a bulge usually does not hurt anything except your feelings about it being there.
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  • tobefree
    You are lucky, cause these barrels are still fairly easy to find.
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  • PROWLERJUNKY
    THANKS FOR THE REPLIES,

    I WOULD TAKE A PICTURE BUT I WOULDN'T SHOW UP...YOU CAN SEE THE BULGE WHEN LOOKING DOWN THE BARREL FROM BOTH ENDS IT LOOKS LIKE A DARK LINE AROUND THE INSIDE OF THE BARREL ..(but the rifling seems fine and the bore is very bright) IT IS NOT THAT BAD WHEN YOU RUB YOUR FINGERS OVER IT..BUT IT STANDS OUT IN BETWEEN THE OTHER BARREL RIESERS.
    IT IS PERFECTLY ROUND ALL THE WAY AROUND NOT OFF AT ALL SEEMS FACTORY BECAUSE IT IS SO PERFECT...IT IS ABOUT 1/4" BACK FROM THE END OF THE MUZZLE...SHOT IT TONIGHT AND SEEMS FINE..JUST LEARNING ABOUT COLTS AND LOVE THEM AND I AM THINKING OF COLLECTING THEM SO THIS KINDA THING IS SOMETHING I NEED TO LEARN ABOUT..
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  • taperloc
    Numrich can supply a replacement barrel.
    I have a friend that bought one recently and was happy with it. It's a "drop in".
    Taperloc
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  • JudgeColt
    A barrel bulge is NOT FACTORY! Colt did not add bulges to its barrels.

    A bulge will ususally be perfectly round since the pressure is equal behind the bullet when it is stopped by an obstruction so as to cause a bulge.

    While Numrich may have barrels, they are not genuine Colt barrels, but rather just generic barrels. I would just roll the bulge back and quit worrying about it.
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