luv2safari,
My '88 Commission rifle's barrel was "given a good bath", relubricated, slugged & the chamber cast shortly after I got it from a garage sale, for 20 bucks, as it was filthy/oil-SOAKED. ====> It had accumulated so much dirt/crud over the years that I first had to use a brush & soapy water to see what I had bought.
(The previous owner's widow said that it had been "hanging up in the barn" for "a long, long time".)
After I finally/thoroughly cleaned it up, it looks "near new"! = The chamber is "within specs" & the bore is actually .319 & shows NO signs of pitting. ===> As I said, it shoots homebrewed .320 PBCB at .32-40WCF ballistics beautifully out to well beyond 200M.
(Every time that I take it out to the local military range, uncase it & shoot it, it draws any number of young soldiers' attention, who want to look at & "hold" my "old relic". - They are generally DELIGHTED that I let them shoot it. Homebrewed CB/Red Dot reloads are CHEAP enough to let any number of them try it out.= Any number of younger GIs have gotten interested in classic/antique military rifles & in WWII history by firing the old '88.)
Note: While the old-school .32-40WCF was designed in 1884 as a "match cartridge" for BP-SS rifles, the .32-40 has cleanly taken many thousands of WT & other similar sized game over the last century plus, so I'm sure that my PBCB loads at about 1400FPS will still efficiently do the job on our small TX whitetails, coyotes, bobcats, etc.. = Game animals are no harder to kill in 2018 than they were in 1884.
Btw, the original reason that I mentioned the '88 was that it is "chamber-stamped" with the "S" that supposedly means that the reissued 1888 rifles were re-bored for WWII issue to second/third line troops, to police formations & the late-war home guard. = I don't even want to consider what might happen if S-bore/full power ball ammo was fired in that .319 bore. - SOME of the surplus WWII ammo is way TOO HOT for ANY of the Commission rifles.
(One wonders HOW the H that the chamber got "S-marked" but NOT rebored??? - I've wondered if it "got missed" at the arsenal OR if perhaps the importer marked it "to sell better".)
yours, tex
Last edited by satx78247; 05/11/18. Reason: grammar, clarity
