Perhaps this quesion might be bet on "gunsmithing". but here goes:

Picked up a 94 rifle in 25-35 built in 1916 Shows plenty of "enjoyment", which I plan to pretty much leave alone...but the barrel is really toast!

Better to leave as is or reline?

Reline or rebarrel and continue the enjoyment.

If you are going to " leave it alone " a new barrel would most likely look out of place, I'd reline.
I have a 99 Savage in 25-35 which I also really " enjoy "....

Roger

Line it.

OK.....best to preserve the logos, lettering, etc...I'll re line...Thanks

You could try http://www.winchesterbarrels.com/

Have you fired the rifle? I don't know how really bad the bore is - one man's toast is another man's shootable bore. Many of us who shoot the old lever rifles have been able to get acceptable results from some ugly looking bores. To have a chance of shooting well, these old pitted bores need jacketed bullets. I had a .45-90 with an ugly bore. First range trip with it, I was firing some PMC .45-90 lead-bulleted rounds, and at 25 yards, only some of the rounds even hit the target. My own 300 grain jacketed bullet loads will group just under 2 inches at 50 yards.

quote:

Originally posted by cantshootalick:
You could try http://www.winchesterbarrels.com/

Have you done business with winchesterbarrels .com?

Ross SDS Good idea! But..my brain just won't wrap around that crappy bore..HAR!

Just about the time I decided to relinne, John Taylor advises that a new barrel is needed because of higher pressure.

I'm in new territory here...any thoughts

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Ross SDS Good idea! But..my brain just won't wrap around that crappy bore..HAR!

Just about the time I decided to relinne, John Taylor advises that a new barrel is needed because of higher pressure.

I'm in new territory here...any thoughts

yep! relining a 25-20 is one thing, a liner in a 25-35 is something else.

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Ross SDS Good idea! But..my brain just won't wrap around that crappy bore..HAR!

Just about the time I decided to relinne, John Taylor advises that a new barrel is needed because of higher pressure.

I'm in new territory here...any thoughts

So the issue here is the liner won't stand up to the pressure?

I was thinking that your rifle was designed for smokeless power high velocity loads. The neat thing about .25-35's is the extra meat in the barrel. The hole in a .25-35 is a lot smaller than the hole in a .38-55 barrel. This is dramatically apparent when I have examined Model 1894 extralightweight barrels. I've seen .38-55 ELW's and even seen a couple where the front sight was dovetailed. I recall reflecting how very little material there was between the dovetail cut and the bottom of the barrel groove.

Let me add, it's not impossible to find an original takeoff barrel out there. Sometimes luck can come though.

25 20 28000 25 35 33500 30-30 42000 30 Luger 45000...Have you noticed the super thin wall thickness on a 30 Luger?


PSI can drive me nuts!

Just turn your liner big enough to handle it and bore the barrel accordingly. Or find someone who has the correct roll stamps. I'm sure you know a guy.

John

You can't reline a 25-35. You can rebore to 30-30.

quote:

You can't reline a 25-35. You can rebore to 30-30.

Then why do they sell 25-35 liners? Track of the Wolf

You can find original barrels in decent shape on GB, Ebay, etc once in a while.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
You can't reline a 25-35. You can rebore to 30-30.

"can't "is kind pf a final....Im certain you have a darn good rason to say so. Can you elaborate?

I'm sure you can reead that I'd like to keep the original barrel..you just can't duplicate the wear pattern on a new barrel.

But...safety is number one!

When you reline this do you bore out the chamber?

Base diameter is .422 how thick is the liner IF the chamber is bored out?

I bought a 120 year old model 1894. The barrel was a mess. They called it dark.

Well, this one was dark and a half.

After weeks of cleaning, and I am not exaggerating, I finally got down to the surface of the moon.

I took it to the range.

I was amazed.

It shot just about as well as I could with the old iron sights.

Of course, the bore fouled so badly, it took about another week to get it clean afterwards.

quote:

Originally posted by richj:
When you reline this do you bore out the chamber?

Base diameter is .422 how thick is the liner IF the chamber is bored out?

Yes chambner is normally bored out Would seem to be wise to make a pretty snug fit!...Like to hear if there's some other wisdom on this


Michael: Thanks for the info...I have also seen such results. but.....Again can't readily accept the idea of a "Dark" bore

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
I bought a 120 year old model 1894. The barrel was a mess. They called it dark.

Well, this one was dark and a half.

After weeks of cleaning, and I am not exaggerating, I finally got down to the surface of the moon.

I took it to the range.

I was amazed.

It shot just about as well as I could with the old iron sights.

Of course, the bore fouled so badly, it took about another week to get it clean afterwards.

Were you shooting lead or jacketed bullets?

Duane, Track of the Wolf has 25-35 liners in stock. O.D. is 1/2 inch. Guess you already know that maybe.
How's the chamber? If still good, can you install the liner up to the neck/shoulder junction and just recut the neck? Maybe I am mistaken. In short, a skinny chamber wall of .039"? Hmmmm.

Track of the Wolf answered my e mail
" We recommend cutting the new chamber in the liner. No issues have ben noted with normal 25-35 loads. Liner can be epoxied, loc tited or soldered"

I don't think hey would put this in writing if they didn't feel they were on solid ground.

quote:

Originally posted by Ross SDS:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
I bought a 120 year old model 1894. The barrel was a mess. They called it dark.

Well, this one was dark and a half.

After weeks of cleaning, and I am not exaggerating, I finally got down to the surface of the moon.

I took it to the range.

I was amazed.

It shot just about as well as I could with the old iron sights.

Of course, the bore fouled so badly, it took about another week to get it clean afterwards.

Were you shooting lead or jacketed bullets?

Jacketed. Bore is pitted and copper fouling is pretty awful. Still, it shoots well.

Duane,
Go shoot it first, lots of those old win. and marlins shoot 3" and under with bores that look like a tramp stemmers stove pipe!! I have two 25-35s with ugly bores that still win turkeys with a good handload, a Hornady 117 gr.RN and a dose of Leverrev oe H-380 powder, 30-30 that shoots an inch every time (3 shot)..Shot deer and elk with one of them in my youth with no problems. Get down this way and come and shoot.

Oh Hell...I'd love to whack a a deer (or?) with that rifle, but if and when I do, it will hve a re lined barrel. Just can't help it!

Now that is good news. Sounds like a fine plan. No worries.

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Track of the Wolf answered my e mail
" We recommend cutting the new chamber in the liner. No issues have ben noted with normal 25-35 loads. Liner can be epoxied, loc tited or soldered"

I don't think hey would put this in writing if they didn't feel they were on solid ground.

Gun bores are strange animals at times.

I got an old parade M 1917 from Michigan the source said was so nasty from rust and never being cleaned he didn't want me to see it. So, he hacksawed 6" off the muzzle and left it that way, crooked cut and all.

Hell, all I wanted was the action!

Before I did anything with it. A fellow CMP shooter asked to play with it awhile. He used hard cast 165gr RN's and 15gr Red Dot and won nearly every match he fired it in CMP.

Looking down the bore it looked like a rusted out water pipe. Years later I used the action to build a .358RUM.

A buddy bought a new bore scope and brought it by one day. I got out all my rifles for a look.

My original M17 Eddystone I paid $15 for back in 1958 full of cosmoline. Fact is, if you have a copy of the book: "Model of 1917" the serial number shows it was in that big pile of China lend lease guns.

I shot it many times til I'd bet it would have glowed in the dark. Blistered my hand lots of times as that was my only rifle and used it with 110gr RN's on prairie dogs for years. Then in 1973 had it rechambered to .300Win.

Of course the bore was alligatored all the way to the muzzle. Like you Duane, I just couldn't stand knowing how bad it looked even though with 200gr GK's it kept them all in 1/2--5/8" as long as I wanted to keep shooting it.

Had a new barrel put on and unless the gunsmith fired it, it hasn't been shot yet. I may never shoot it again as my health has gone to hell. At least I know it's fine again.

George

Never fix an old Winchester until you shoot it. If it aint broke don't fix it...Same with old Duble rifles, with terrible bores..Just too many of them still shot regardless of the bores... believe long heavy for caliber slow velocity guns tend to shoot reasonably well to outstanding, Ive just won too many turkeys, bacon and hams with mine..If they dont shoot well, the go down the road and Ie had these two since I was 10 or 12..My grandads guns.