Anyone bought a TC barrel lately? I just got a brand new 30-30 AI barrel and I see some roughness in the bore, I really cannot tell what it is but it won't clean out(yet). Maybe it is rust? I may have to send it back. This makes me want to just find an older one instead of getting another new one.

I have several TC barrels and it seems like they all wouldn't shoot very good for the first 100 rounds or so. I remember thinking my 44 mag barrel was a lemon until I put a couple hundred rounds through it. I thought I was going to have to settle for medioce accuracy, then one day it just started shooting good. Same with my 30-30 barrel. Maybe you just need to give it a chance.

But it has very visible rough spots in the bore. There is some sort of corrosion in there. If I pay $235.00 for a brand new barrel, I want it to look the same all the way down the bore. All the other TC barrels I've ever purchased looked perfect.

skid2964,
All the barrels that I have purchased for T/C have what I call "tool chatter" marks. They are perpendicular to the direction of the rifling. Some never go away even with much shooting and cleaning. I once had a .223 Remington Super 14 barrel that was so bad it was ashame. I had neary 400 rounds through it and dang near gave up on it. I had thouroughly cleaned it using Sweet's 7.62, J&B Bore Cleaner, and steel brushes during this period. The barrel would actually turn a copper color from copper fouling! Finally, one day I clamped the barrel in a vice and UNMERCIFULLY cleaned it using a rubbing compound and J&B Bore Cleaner. I figured I really had nothing to loose as it was a piece of fecal matter anyhow. I actually went to oversized steel brushes and I must have gone through that bore hundreds of times. That done it. It is now an M.O.A. shooter out to 200 yards using Hornady 50 SPSSP bullets and H-335 or WC-844. Good-luck...BCB

I'm w/ BCB. Had a friend w/ 26" ss .223 barrela and he was ready to toss the thing because of 2 MOA groups no matter what loads he tried. I told him before he turned it into a garden stake to let me try.

I cleaned in completely and tool marks were very visible. Then I used JBs for 200 passes, changing the patch and paste every 10.

I grabbed some 40 gr. Nosler BTs that were loaded for my contender just to get an idea of what was accomplished. I fired the first round before I noticed it was on 3x and I was afraid his cheap scope would change impact if I took it up to 9x, so I shot the 5 round group at 3x. .935 at a 100 yds.

He's done some work w/ it and regularly groups around .75 or a little under.

Hmm, this discussion is making me more interested in moving up to a Bullberry for my next purchase. My TC barrels do OK - at least as good as I can shoot with iron sights anyway. Both of mine are older, however. I wonder if the Fox Ridge barrels have the same condition as the stock barrels?

I learned one thing after buying a bore scope . . .
Don't look at most barrels, they are kind of disappointing.

Two of my TC's 357 Max and 7mm TCU look like they are threaded the full length. Whoever made those barrels obviously did NOT let lack of quality (or any) reaming after drilling the bore concern them.
I have considered fire lapping, but they are too . . . WAY TOO rough to attempt using lapping to make a correction.

TCLouis-You are correct: a borescope will truly open one's eyes.

Factory TC barrels are rough, and there's no denying it. Some are good shooters while others are mediocre. ANd if I get a mediocre barrel, I am definitely NOT going to spend the time and cash it takes to run 200 rounds through it to smooth things up (and that won't guarantee a "fix" anyway). That's why (and how) I justify the additional expense of custom barrels.

Some of the older Contender barrels from TC are fantastic in the accuracy department, and these are generally in .223, 6mm TCU and 7mm TCU. Perhaps the smaller chambers provide a narrower margin of error for the stabbing of the chamber (that's about what it amounts to at TC & the Custom Shop), but whatever the reason, many of these easily do sub-MOA. But then there are some of the newer barrels and those horrid 4 to 6 inch groups...

I've had barrels from Ingram, Bellm, Virgin Valley, Van Horn, SSK, Bullberry and Trapper Gun Works and never had a single accuracy issue with any of them. I'm sure anyone can let a lemon out of the shop, but the odds are generally in the customer's favor when you deal with the true custom makers.

The problems with this new barrel go way beyond "chatter marks", etc ... It has a roughness that looks like it was caused by some sort of corrosive process (rust etc.) I will be returning the barrel to midwayusa for credit.

I wanted this barrel for Hunting and IHMSA(unlimited) use so I think I will just get an aftermarket barrel. I hear Virgin Valley is no more so what is the best option? Bullberry? SSK?

I will still need a barrel for IHMSA production class, I will look for an older TC barrel for that purpose.

If you are going Bullberry plan on a 4-6 month wait...if you're lucky. Typically Fred uses Shilen blanks and you won't find 'chatter' marks in those...in fact they are like a mirror finish....makes them very accurate and easy to clean.
I did just get a new TC factory barrel in .204 Ruger that looks very nice for a factory finish and it seems to shoot quite well too.

I saw the same thing in two new TC barrels that I had that were SS. I traded them for blued ones (had no trouble finding folks to trade straight up) and they look fine, as does every other one I have. Of course mine are mostly 15 or more years old.