What are the facts? I sent a #1 to Ruger about six years ago and had a new barrel put on as the old one wore out. The cost was $135 and they reblued the entire rifle for free.

I contacted USARC about ten years ago on rebarreling a old M-70 and they said no. They refered me to a custom smith.

I would say it just depends on what they are in business for. The big manufacturers are out there to do "mainly" one thing, crank out guns as fast as they can and make a profit. It seems like there are a few just beginning to get into the custom rifle business to a very limited extent. As a large company, they would have a hard time competing with the a gun smith that does barrel replacements, trigger jobs, etc. The larger companies may also lack the expertice to do some of these common tasks.

What year did you replace that barrel on your Ruger No. 1? I haven't seen a blank for $135 let a lone a finished and installed barrel. Cheapest factory barrel I know of for a rifle is for my TC Encore at $219.

Savage will rebarrel recent rifles for $180 at last quote. They won't touch anything that was built before the reorganization. HTH, Dutch.

I had that #1 done about 1995. It was a 7mm Mag #1A and now it's a 30/06. That was the total cost.

I contacted Ruger last year about my M77, 7mm RM. They would rebarrel in the original caliber only.I wanted to switch to 338 WM they said NO

While the major rifle makers might rebarrel a rifle for you, why would you want them to? With the exception of savage, not one of the major rifle makers uses barrels that are suited for anything other than tent staking, especially ruger. I'd spend the little extra money and get a decent barrel put on.

boltman,

The new barrel I got from Ruger is excellent. The rifle shoots everything I have tried into one MOA. It might do better if it mattered but that is more than satisfactory. Not only that but the chamber is just right also.

An aftermarket barrel would not match the rifle, would cost a fortune and may not even shoot as well.

I ended up with a different caliber as they don't make a 22" 1A any longer in 7mm Rem Mag. I had ordered a 30/06 anyway in 1967 and when this rifle came in the dealer told me to take it or he would keep it for himself. There was a wait back then for a #1.

Is it just me but when I see an used rifle for sale with non factory barrel I reduce the value to that of the action and stock.

Interesting comment, boltman. The only truly defective barrel I've ever had came on a new savage 110L in .270 win. It had a groove at the back that allowed the cartridge base to expand into it when fired. That required pushing out the spent round with a cleaning rod after every shot. Savage never admitted any fault but did replace the barrel for $100 plus shipping. That was about 6 years ago. I'm aware of at least one other savage barrel with a similar problem. That one was a weather warrior in 7 MM Rem. On the other hand my Ruger #1 in .22-250 is the most accurate and dependable firearm I've ever owned.

Don,
Don't bite into the barrel snob mentality. Unless I am building a rifle from scratch or one is totally shot out and I really want something different as far as non-standard length or contour the accuracy is derived more from straight and square than barrel manufacturer. I have only had one really bad barrel and it was a Shilen. It had a gap in the rifling that they said was not their problem and refused service even though the gap was 8" up the barrel. I replaced it with a factory take-off and just kept going with .5" groups. I have three factory take-offs that all shoot .75"-1" with several types of ammo. Just make sure the receiver and threads are straight and the lugs and boltface are square and you are good to go.

Don Martin29,

I agree with Boltman. You are unlucky Don that you don't live near me as nearly every rifle that passes through my hands arrives new and has the factory barrel removed and quite often before even shooting it. Sometimes I will shoot it just out of curiousity to see how the "out of the box" gun goes with just bedding.

Match grade barrels may not be required for some people or desired by some people but to say barrels that come on M70s and the rest are superior to these barrels is ridiculous.

On the other hand, if you are talking about junk after market barrels, then I don't know what they are like. I suspect they are like factory barrels.

Mike

Gentlemen.
Thru the years I have had Remington rebarrel three .270;s the coast has not exceeded $75.00 the last might have been 6-7 years ago. All have shot at leas one inch or better when bedded properly. I still have my orginal .270 I bought when I was 13 years old as a model 721. Needless to say it alone is on its third barrel. The first two barrels were totally shot out when replaced.
George