Safe Practice to Consider

Many of us including myself in the past have taken our iron sights off when we mounted a scope. We felt leaving those threaded sight holes on the barrel open because they would not be an issue. Well they can pose a problem if left open. The screws actually re-enforce the integrity of the barrel. A good practice is to find and fill these holes with a set screw that sits flush with the barrel if looks is what you are after. Until you find these screws at least put the sight screws back in until you do.

Having seen numerous pictures of barrel ruptures especially some with the 10ML-II one split of the barrel always seem to run through the rear screw hole. Coincidence, I don’t think so.

This picture is not to discourage anyone owning a 10ML-II because no firearm is infallible when the wrong or uneducated person operates it.

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Ed

This is nonsense. That picture clearly shows the bulge right in front of the charge which indicates either an over charge, improper bullet seat or possible obstruction. Find me some credible examples of untampered/modified screw holes contributing to similar failures in any other firearm. Do you have any idea how many firearms are fired everyday with exactly the "threat" you dreamed up? Have you ever read a disclaimer from any firearm manufacturer advising of this risk? There is also a split under the barrel where there is no screw hole....:ashamed:
Have you ever heard of an action failing because it was drilled to mount a scope? Trust me that action is under extreme stress at ignition.

I see what you getting at Ed...but...I wonder if the integrity is not lost when they drill the blind hole. Since a screw is not bonded to the barrel, we could say it's free floating in the threads, I don't think it would be returning any integrity to the barrel itself. I would think you'd need to fill the hole with a bonding epoxy to offer any return to the stability in that area.

Mind you the screws would offer protection from moisture migrating into the hole causing further structural damage if the holes were not plugged, so yes I would not leave them open.

add: Ed..just ignore the troll in the room :)

Do you really think that epoxy becomes a molecular part of the smelting process? Do you really think a stainless steel barrel like this blown up Savage ML 10 suffered a catastrophic failure from rust? There are millions of severely pitted firearms that are fired safely every day. There are millions of firearms that have ports in the barrel to cycle actions. You people need to get a grip.

Actually no. What you people need to admit is that the Savage ML10 is not to be played with by amateurs.

I don't know what caused the barrel to rupture in the example Ed provided and I cannot say where the barrel failed exactly. But I do know of several examples of a barrel bulge or ring that has occurred with the savage muzzleloaders and every time the ring was in the area of the rear sight, maybe that could be a indication of the potential problem. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize there is less metal in the barrel once the sight hole is drilled thereby making it more vulnerable there.

My question would be. Why bother removing the irons if they don't interfere with the scope?

I can see what you are getting at though Ed. I'm not convinced the hole is causing a weak spot that will cause a barrel blowout under proper loading conditions but rather a path of least resistance scenario when the blowout is inevitable.

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Originally Posted by smokeeter

I don't know what caused the barrel to rupture in the example Ed provided and I cannot say where the barrel failed exactly. But I do know of several examples of a barrel bulge or ring that has occurred with the savage muzzleloaders and every time the ring was in the area of the rear sight, maybe that could be a indication of the potential problem. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize there is less metal in the barrel once the sight hole is drilled thereby making it more vulnerable there.

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If it were that simplistic do you not think that the design would not have been changed? There are multiple lawsuits involving millions of dollars over this. Lawyers and engineers squaring off in court over money. Look at that picture closely. The peak of the bulge ( the failure point) is actually behind the screw hole. You people are not only misinformed but probably dangerous to be around.
You people realize that barrels are rechambered and many times rebored completely which removes a hell of a lot more metal than a screw hole yet this doesn't cause failures. This gun was obstructed, wake up!

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Originally Posted by oaknut

rather a path of least resistance scenario when the blowout is inevitable.

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that's it exactly...

I still want a 10ML someday and when I do get one I am sticking to the recomended loads. I would like to keep all my fingers & eyes...

I take my iron sights off because they look dumb when it has a scope on it. :)

LOL

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Originally Posted by bellerivercrossbowhunter

I still want a 10ML someday and when I do get one I am sticking to the recomended loads. I would like to keep all my fingers & eyes...

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Really it's no different than the thousands of guys that re-load their own CF ammo. Some guys are happy to buy what CT sells off the shelf for their gun and nothing wrong with that. Some enthusiast like to re-load their own ammo so they can maximize on the performance of the bullet they want to shoot. The inherent danger is mitigated with experience and education.

Fortunately I was able to leave my front sight and rear sights on my ML ( the Shotgun scope mounts behind the rear sight) just so I have a back up in case I damage my scope. I can take it off and use the fibre sights.