It is amazing what some owners of old airguns inflict on them. I have encountered incorrect or broken mainsprings, breech washers replaced with cork and improvised piston washers. Then there have been broken pivot pins, screw heads sheared off and cylinder jaws splayed.
When it comes to airgun barrels, these too have been found with faults of varying severity. If present on a nearly new rifle or pistol then costly replacement is often the only satisfactory remedy.
However, on an old gun which sits in a collection with only occasional use for plinking, or where an owner is not able to obtain, or can’t afford to buy a replacement, then a barrel can sometimes be repaired to an acceptable standard.
WHAT BENDS BARRELS?
I’m talking break-barrel airguns here, and most problems fall into two categories.
Firstly, a barrel bent downwards due to excessive force being exerted by an individual cocking the gun with brute force rather than mechanical sympathy.
