Recently bought this thing from a pawn shop.
After bringing it home and giving it a good clean ( there was quite a lot of lead fowling caked to the bore ) I noticed a couple of marks on the on the inside of the barrel.
One seems like a very very shallow chip or skid, in between 2 grooves in the rifling. No catch seems completely smooth.
The second is a scratch about an inch down the barrel from the forcing cone. It doesn't seem too deep but shining a light down the front of the barrel makes it pretty apparent, I guess it's about a little more than a quarter inch long and the width of a human hair.
Both of these marks are in between the grooves and go in the same direction as the rifling.
Other than the barrel Everything else is in very good shape.
Other than those two imperfections the bore looks excellent.
I am probably being paranoid but might either of these marks make this gun unsafe to shoot?
Sorry about the lack of good photos

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the scratch looks way worse than it is in these pics :/ sorry I can't get a clear one

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Hi S1243569:

Firstly, welcome to the Forum. I simply cannot see the possible defect you refer to in your post from the photos you have attached. From experience, what I can tell you is that you would be surprised at how scarred or dirty a barrel might be, and how well it can shoot. Assuming there is no catastrophic damage or flaws, you might consider firing it with standard velocity .38 Special ammunition first to see if there are any problems with accuracy and or function. An even more conservative approach might be to bring the piece back to either an independent gunsmith, or the pawnshop where you originally bought the revolver for inspection and advice. Finally, I think you meant to say "lead fouling" rather than "lead fowling" as fowling refers to the act of shooting or trapping birds.

Best of luck,

Dave

I would take it to a gunsmith first.
I have a 686 that i noticed a horizontal line through the vertical lines of the rifling.....i was concerned. So, i went to a local gunsmith (Bain and Davis) . They checked it with a bore scope and told me it was a tooling mark. However faint, never has it affected accuracy.
The pictures look a little fuzzy on my end. Looks like there might be some lead around the force cone? You did mention it was heavily leaded.
The gunsmith may also determine that.
The chances of that two piece barrel being warped or bent or scratched......those are hard stainless pieces! Maybe residual lead.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Good morning,

I shoot a LOT of cast lead bullets in my revolvers. So much that some of my guns have never had a single jacketed bullet fired through them.

Since you mention that the barrel has heavy lead fouling I suspect what you are seeing is still hard caked powder and lead. It may be in combination with copper fouling from jacketed bullets being previously fired through it.

I can tell you from much experience that getting all of powder and lead residue can be very difficult and a lot of work especially when it has been allowed to hard cake like yours.

What did you use to clean the barrel? For tough jobs like yours I use Shooters Choice and MPro7 and JB Bore Paste. I usually clean my revolver once a year to give you some idea how often I worry about lead fouling or to put it in simpler terms your barrel is clean enough for me.

Personally I would not worry about it and go shoot it. If you use jacketed bullets the remaining fouling will be removed by the friction of the bullet.

How does it shoot ?

Can you return it and get your money back ?

Marks on the inside of the barrel will not be a safety issue or hazard.
I tried my best but couldn't see the "imperfections" , if it shoots accurately and all else is to your satisfaction I would keep it, the older model 66's are sweet !
Gary

Some very experienced shooters above with some very good advice. To put your mind at ease, I would have it inspected by a gunsmith. The 'smith can also inspect the entire gun to ascertain that all is OK. If OK, perhaps a professional cleaning would be in order. Good shooting!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Is this a 4.25" or 2.75" barrel 66-8?

I can't see any detail in your pics either so we can only speculate on it's severity but I seriously doubt it would be a safety issue.

Unless the previous owner had a squib & damaged the barrel removing the bullet I'd think you could try some jacketed bullets & see how it looks afterward.

But if you're concerned still take it to a gunsmith for evaluation.

.

__________________
Waiting for the break of day

If it shoots fine, then forget it. All the rifling does it puts spin on a bullet. So take it to the range and see if it puts spin on bullets.

Cordially,

Ashlander