Guys, I have been watching for years for a Model 8 in .25 that I could afford. I spotted one Sunday at Guns International and reached out to the seller, Collectors Firearms of Houston, TX. The deal was done and the rifle arrived Wednesday, very well-packed.
When I dug it out of the styrofoam peanuts, I was very pleased: wood sound, metal finish almost uniformly that olive blue shade, just a bit of freckling and a quick glance down the bore with a light in the receiver suggested that it might clean up very nicely. "Good bore, strong rifling" had been their description.
But alas, when I pulled the barrel assembly off and ran a bronze brush soaked in Hoppe's down the bore, I hit a wide spot near the muzzle. Fearing the worst, the borelight confirmed a badly rung bore about inch 17 of the 22 -- and three more shallower rings between the first one and the muzzle! I have never seen multiple rings like this.
So on Thursday, I sent photos and an e-mail to Collectors Firearms with the comment that the bore they described as "good" would be described by most riflemen as "ruined," and what incentive would they offer for me to keep the rifle rather than return for a full refund.
The most straightforward option would be to shoot it and see if it is accurate; one never knows. The second option would be to counterbore the barrel down to the first ring. The next most drastic option would be a reline and rechamber, but that would be very expensive. And no machinist in his right mind would attempt to turn, mill and rifle a duplicate. Browning designed for things to work; the machining needed to make the parts seemed secondary.
Anyway, I suggested it would cost about 25 percent of the purchase price to ship the barrel to a gunsmith and have it counterbored. Collectors agreed and promptly refunded the amount this morning.
I felt compelled to lay out this case first to note how easy it can be to innocently overestimate rifling condition. One would think sellers would at least run a patch down the bore of used firearms they consign or resell, but I cannot count the number of times over the years when I have examined a rifle for sale whose bore had scarcely if ever been cleaned, and I used to bring put a cleaning rod and patches in the truck when going on the hunt at gun and pawn shops.
I of course could not examine the bore of the Model 8 before purchase, but at first glance it looked OK to me, too. I do not believe Collectors intentionally inflated the bore condition.
The second point is simply to congratulate Collectors on their prompt, courteous and fair customer service. I would buy from them again without hesitation -- except to confirm bore condition is as described.
Here are a couple of images of the Model 8. Dies, brass and bullets arrive next week so I will be able to load a sample of cartridges for testing.

I hate to say it but Id ask for a refund Id love to have a mod 8 in 25 cal as you well know Bill, but you have just bought some one elses problem, and the options just don't cut it, only option as I see it is a new barrel or cut it all off and shoot it as a carbine,,not particularly a plus IMO.

Bill.

That barrel is not one piece.
If you look at the back of the extension, in the extractor slot at TDC, you will see the joint line.
Also about 3/16" in front of the extension is the place where the barrel is threaded in, with a index mark at the bottom

So it would be possible to contour, thread and chamber a new barrel blank and fit it to the old extension
Not the cheap way to go, but very possible, just a little more involved due the the threaded muzzle and getting the recoil spring out, and reinstalled

My 8 in 25 has the Marbles tang sight, but its barrel looks like a sewer pipe
It also has the rubber butt plate, in the 21,xxx range

I happen to know a gunmaker that has a 25 Rem finish reamer and gauges
One of my projects is to restore a Rem M30S in 25 Rem that has a split barrel

James Wisner
Life Member ACGG

Leave it to Jim, He can fix anything and I mean anything that goes bang..

Mr. Wisner, I am most grateful to you for opening my eyes to the possibilities here if that barrel won't shoot the Hornady 117-grain RN.

I have not attempted to take the barrel assembly apart, but it is clear that it can be done using a little ingenuity:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZhI3T9nMb0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr6Hg7SLC10&t=286s

First, a Model 8 Remington is never going to be a bench gun, and "ruined" bores often shoot much better than they look (just as some "pristine" barrels scatter shots like a 12 gauge.)

Before taking any action toward "fixing" the barrel, I'd first see if it needs "fixing". If that dear old shell-shucker will keep three within three or so inches of one another at a hundred, then I'd call that a victory. After all, if a given shot is within 1.5" of where you aim, then no deer is going to walk away very far.

Stonecreek is right. The nature of those actions does not favor tight repeatability. The bbl on mine was in VG condition, but accurate it was not. Give it a try and see just how bad it actually shoots.

Fellas, I would be tickled with 3 inches at 100. Fingers crossed and hope to find this out next week. This will be my fifth or sixth Model 8 over the years, though my first in .25.

Ive seen a lot of old Win and double rifles with sewer pipe barrels that shot under 3"s .. I have 3 of them, a 38-40, a 25-35 and a 30-30 trapper, and
had two old 450-400s. Somethning about old slow velocity barrels perhaps.

Poor old Model 8 scattered the Hornady 117s at random. At 25 yards, four of five shots hit the 25-yard slow-fire pistol target -- oddly two a half-inch apart at 11 o'clock and two an inch apart at 7 o'clock. Bullet holes round.
At 50 yards, two out of 10 rounds struck that same 25-yard slow-fire target. The other eight apparently departed for Amarillo.

Likely no inexpensive way out to an accurate rifle.

Front assemblies (bbl assemblies w/ bbl shroud, springs, ect) do come up for sale occassionally on Ebay.
A .30 or 32 would fit just fine as well as a 25 as they all use the same case head.
A 35 uses a different bolt head and extractor.

The recoil spring weights are different but I think the at least 2 of the calibers use the same springs. Only a concern if you change bbl only and use your old spring(s)..the Recoil spring and Buffer spring both inside the bbl jacket).

The bbl itself as stated is threaded into the extension. IIRC there is also a small cross pin through the assembly.

The muzzle must be threaded for the 'cap' that retains the recoil spring. Or you can saw that portion off of the bad bbl, bore it out and fit it to the turned down muzzle of your new bbl. Silver solder in place.
Just as easy to thread the new bbl as you have to thread the breech end anyway.

Would relining the old bbl back to 25Rem be a possibility?
I don't know personally.
But the cartridge is often compared to the 25-35Win and it seems that that particular round in leveractions has been relined before.
That'd be a question for someone like John Taylor / Taylor Machine Co.,,excellent work.

https://johntaylormachine.com/

2152: Thanks for the thoughts. I have used John Taylor on several projects over the years. He does very good work.
A reline is certainly an option. I already have an 8 in .30 Remington.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Poor old Model 8 scattered the Hornady 117s at random. At 25 yards, four of five shots hit the 25-yard slow-fire pistol target -- oddly two a half-inch apart at 11 o'clock and two an inch apart at 7 o'clock. Bullet holes round.
At 50 yards, two out of 10 rounds struck that same 25-yard slow-fire target. The other eight apparently departed for Amarillo.

Sounds like it might actually be a .30 Rem barrel that was mis-stamped at the factory .

I borrowed a mod 8 25 Rem from my uncle and had it for a couple or years before he came and got it for his young son..It was scoped with a Lyman Alaskan in swift mounts and shot an honest 2-3/4 with any ammo it seemed..It was a 25-35 in disguise. LOrd I wish I had it today..I recall Jack Os wife rolling a nice buck running at 200 yards as recall..The 25 win and Rem would almost every time give me a DRT at 200 yard give or take, and still do but never shot one beyond that and most between 100 to a 150 as I recall..Ah but those were the days and all thought I was well armed..I was!