Tell me what this means.

[King Medallion]

I'm following this on gunbroker, and I'd like your opinion on this bore. What is the ring mean?




I see the bore is rough, maybe too rough, maybe would shoot just fine. Never know till one shoots it. The rest of the gun looks great to me.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1075080777

[Buck Stinson]

Can't see the outside of the barrel surface, but from the inside, it looks like a bulge.  If it is a bulge, you should be able to see a slight bump on the outside of the barrel.  Particularly easy to see on round barrels, such as this.  If this is the case, it was probably caused by an obstruction closed to the muzzle end of the barrel. 

[Black River Smith]

There would be two possibilities that I state.  It is a ring from a stuck bullet... but the outside of the barrel does not give a bulging appearance.  The second is it is just crud from sitting or hanging.

Like you state it is and iffy call without seeing first hand.  I have read where a bulge that far up the barrel may not harm the shoot-ability of a rifle.  I did buy a rifle one time with a ring just up from the chamber.  IT DIDN'T look like that pattern.

You are right that that barrel after a good cleaning and scrubbing would probably shoot just fine.

It is an original by goodness.  If I could(I cannot), I would bid as high as I could and just hope to win that good looking Original, in the last caliber you need or I would want.

Good luck to you and your decision to bid.  I hope you win.

[Black River Smith]

Can't see the outside of the barrel surface, but from the inside, it looks like a bulge.  If it is a bulge, you should be able to see a slight bump on the outside of the barrel.  Particularly easy to see on round barrels, such as this.  If this is the case, it was probably caused by an obstruction closed to the muzzle end of the barrel. 

Buck go to his link there are about 126 photos.  Maybe you can see something I do not.

[King Medallion]

I went back and looked at the pic's more closely, I don't see any bulge in the barrel, accept maybe under the front site, or maybe it has just been moved and put back in crooked?

[Black River Smith]

King,
Ok, I was going to add a comment above about the fact that the sight area is known to be a weak spot in rifles.  I do not know if it is 'specific' to Winchesters but have read enough comments on people seeing rings or even blow-outs in this area.  Yes, the sight did look canted to me when I viewed the photos but I was not going to make a comment about it, until others gave opinions.  No expert with enough of these, to know all possibilities.

If you still decide to bid, this would be a possible candidate, for being shortened back or even lined, to remove the ring...If you don't mind cutting an Original in order to get it shooting better.

[Major 2]

A question comes to my mind...

If it is a blow out at the front site, would that cause the full ring ?

I'd be looking at a new liner, opposed to cutting the barrel.

[Cap'n Redneck]

If the ring seriously affects accuracy there is also the possibility of counter-boring the original barrel in a lathe for about 1,5" from the muzzle.
Upside: You will retain the original barrel with its markings.
Downside: It will look like a smoothbore 50 cal. from the front.

I've had this done to a rifle barrel that had a tight-spot where the front-sight was brazed on.
It now shoots great.

[Coffinmaker]

  Hi King 

I normally don't lurk here, but your lead question drew my attention.  So I carefully reviewed all the Tin Types you included.
To my technical eye, there is NO bulge.  The "Ring" you see is entirely uniform and has a sharp edge.  A bulge would have no edge.  As near as I can see, it appears at some point the muzzle has been back bored for some reason and also shows the same fouling/rust damage as the rest of the bore. 
I seriously doubt there would/will be any noticeable effect on accuracy.  Depending on the result of a good scrubbing, you may get some leading from the rough texture of the bore.
Bought right, lining could be an economical option if after thorough scrubbing the gun shoots "patterns" rather than groups.  Were I a '76 guy, I'd go for it from a technical standpoint. 

[King Medallion]

I didn't bid, a little out of my budget, pre Christmas. But I did enjoy the bit of conversation.