Can Anyone Explain These Barrel Scratches?

[Sargent Tom]

Saw this 22 bolt gun for sale. The entire rifle is perfect except for this area (not even one more scratch)(actually a nice rifle that could be "crowned". My guess is there was a rattlesnake in the rocks and he was jabbing at it.

Must "click" on pic to enlarge. What is your guess????

 

[alwslate]

The front sight looks like it has taken a hit on that side also. The
gouges could have been caused by many things. I would guess that
the rifle took some kind of fall and that was the impact part of the
gun. Maybe something like being dropped from the back of a pickup
truck onto a gravel road or concrete parking lot.

 

[walnutred]

I had a rifle with similar scratches. I shot a large dog that was on the property attacking my daughters pets. The dog came up and bit the end of the rifle barrel.

 

[hoc9sw]

Looks like wear from having been carried hap-hazard over time. I had one like that from climbing in the rocks a lot.

 

[Doug627]

It looks like a firearm deeply loved by its owner and borrowed by a friend that has no idea how it happened. The friend thought it looked like that when he borrowed it. It looks like it was dropped into some rocks.

 

[g8rb8]

I do not think anyone will be able to definitively determine the etiology of the scratches. I like your rattlesnake theory. I like the theory that Bubba borrowed it. I like the theory it dropped on rocks ........ and maybe the scratches would have been much more jagged and in smoothing them some bluing was removed.

How about a drop of blood from a face-sucker from Aliens?

 

[dant]

misuse of the gun, improper storage, maybe pushed it into a gun case that had "other" things in it, also some folks used to stand up their guns in the corner, muzzle down , especially after they sprayed the gun down with any kind of oil , so the oil would NOT back flow, into the butt stock and cause oil rot....never will know for certain , if only they could talk

 

[hoc9sw]

Or carried uncased behind the seat of a truck for years.

 

[snake803]

Carried in the passengers side front seat of a truck. muzzle down on the sandy floor
JIM........

 

[mojave30cal]

Maybe it was used as a crutch after a hunting accident.

 

[Drm50]

Transportation rash, 4 wheeler, pick- up, tractor, ect.

 

[Chuck24]

Redneck teething ring

 

[Sargent Tom]

Maybe it was used as a crutch after a hunting accident.

Lots of good ideas so far. But this one would explain the rounded muzzle and the deep cuts.

 

[H Richard]

Those were not caused by a single incident. Multiple times it has encountered impacts with gravel or similar incidents. Doesn't seem like a rifle that was well taken care of, what does the rest of it look like?

 

[Sargent Tom]

Those were not caused by a single incident. Multiple times it has encountered impacts with gravel or similar incidents. Doesn't seem like a rifle that was well taken care of, what does the rest of it look like?

That is the strange part. The rest of the gun is good shape.

 

[Sargent Tom]

Hey, maybe everytime he went hunting he needed to chuck it over a fence, before climbing over it himself

 

[arjay]

Having stored my 22 in my truck when I was young,I'd say the bluing wear was from being shoved into something like a scabbard.Maybe there was some gravel or debris in the end of it.

 

[Sargent Tom]

It looks like a firearm deeply loved by its owner and borrowed by a friend that has no idea how it happened. The friend thought it looked like that when he borrowed it. It looks like it was dropped into some rocks.

That story reminds me of a young friend who was meeting me at the outdoor range here. He stopped at his grandfathers house and asked to borrow his guns, lol. He was told no.

I quickly gave my grandson a nice rifle (CZ carbine) so he would never ask to borrow my other guns.
Then they moved to Tenn.

 

[ralph7]

You got my curiosity going, how about a pic of the whole rifle?

 

[islamoradamark]

maybe it was a really short dude carrying a long rifle