Experience with reboring a rifle

12 August 2014, 19:50

AlanFaulkner

craigster:
Even though you did not ask the question of me, I will give you my answer. Cost. Period. No one has ever been able to tell me where I can buy a new quality barrel, have it fitted, blued, and have sights installed for less than or equal to, the cost of a rebore. And that does not take into consideration if the barrel needs to be turned to a special contour.

12 August 2014, 20:18

dpcd

If you do the work yourself, there is never a reason to re-bore unless you have a special barrel that you want to keep for some reason.
Look at some pre-threaded and chambered barrels at Brownells if you want to try it and do not have the equipment. I assume your 22-250 has a mag block in it so that will have to come out for a 280. Often it is better to sell your rifle and buy a new one.

12 August 2014, 21:50

Ole Miss Guy

..."Often it is better to sell you rifle and buy a new one." So true.

13 August 2014, 00:18

Glen71

quote:
Originally posted by craigster:
Glen,

Why the rebore rather than rebarrel ? Barrel contour ?

Yes. It is a nice 1950's era sporter with an Apex barrel and the stock has been shortened for him. Just didn't want to restock it.

13 August 2014, 00:21

Glen71

quote:
Originally posted by Ole Miss Guy:
..."Often it is better to sell you rifle and buy a new one." So true.

IF it is an off the shelf rifle, that would certainly be true. I don't choose to own any like that, though.

13 August 2014, 04:47

dpcd

Of course, no true sporting gentleman would be caught dead in the field with an "off the rack rifle"; I know I certainly wouldn't. For the majority of the hunting public, however, that is reality.

13 August 2014, 07:34

craigster

quote:
Originally posted by AlanFaulkner:
craigster:
Even though you did not ask the question of me, I will give you my answer. Cost. Period. No one has ever been able to tell me where I can buy a new quality barrel, have it fitted, blued, and have sights installed for less than or equal to, the cost of a rebore. And that does not take into consideration if the barrel needs to be turned to a special contour.

Dubell charges $475 for a rebore/rechamber. ITD Custom will install on your Mauser action a Douglas barrel and drill tap for front site for $325, +/-, depending on barrel contour.

13 August 2014, 09:05

xausa

quote:
Originally posted by craigster:
Dubell charges $475 for a rebore/rechamber. ITD Custom will install on your Mauser action a Douglas barrel and drill tap for front site for $325, +/-, depending on barrel contour.

Dubell charges $395 to rebore and recut the neck and throat, which is all that is required to go from 6mm Remington to 7X57. I have used his services frequently and have never been disappointed.

Does the $325 price you are quoting include bluing the barrel?

13 August 2014, 15:23

Boxhead

These guys charge $225 with return shipping and have many, many good reviews. Hard to beat that.

http://www.35caliber.com/2.html

13 August 2014, 15:27

Boxhead

quote:
Originally posted by Boxhead:
These guys charge $225 with return shipping and have many, many good reviews. Hard to beat that. I won three rebored rifles, all done by Cliff Labounty with two having keeper barrels and one not. I also have two custom Ruger Blackhawk's that were rebored by Al Seigrist. All shoot very, very well.

http://www.35caliber.com/2.html

13 August 2014, 16:59

theback40

A friend of mine just had JES rebore a worn commercial mauser that was 9x57 to 9.5x57. It was done very well and promptly.
I have it here now working on some loads for him. Iron sights, but it shoots as well as I can shoot any iron sighted gun nowdays.

13 August 2014, 20:06

mart

I've done two. One was with Cliff LaBounty. A 1941 Winchester 70 from 30-06 to 35 Whelen. The other was by JES Reboring. A Sedgley Springfield in 30-06 with a bad bore to 375 Whelen. Both rifles shot as good or better rebored. The 35 Whelen is especially accurate. A buddy of mine just had one done by JES and is thrilled with it. Turn around is very fast with him and the work is excellent. His prices are unbeatable.

I researched reboring considerably before sending my first one off to be done. Most of the old timers I talked to who had experience with reboring, said if the barrel shoots well before it will shoot well after. That has proven to be true for the two I've had done.

As one of the posters stated, there's no way you'll ever rebarrel a rifle for what you can get one rebored. Then there is the stock work if the new barrel is bigger than the original. A rebore is an economical way to get into a new chambering or fix a worn out barrel. It allows one to keep the old barrel, which may be a very desirable thing in some cases.

Mart

15 August 2014, 21:59

Alberta Canuck

quote:
Originally posted by mart:
I've done two. One was with Cliff LaBounty. A 1941 Winchester 70 from 30-06 to 35 Whelen. The other was by JES Reboring. A Sedgley Springfield in 30-06 with a bad bore to 375 Whelen. Both rifles shot as good or better rebored. The 35 Whelen is especially accurate. A buddy of mine just had one done by JES and is thrilled with it. Turn around is very fast with him and the work is excellent. His prices are unbeatable.

I researched reboring considerably before sending my first one off to be done. Most of the old timers I talked to who had experience with reboring, said if the barrel shoots well before it will shoot well after. That has proven to be true for the two I've had done.

As one of the posters stated, there's no way you'll ever rebarrel a rifle for what you can get one rebored. Then there is the stock work if the new barrel is bigger than the original. A rebore is an economical way to get into a new chambering or fix a worn out barrel. It allows one to keep the old barrel, which may be a very desirable thing in some cases.

Mart

Mart's advice is good. Reboring has long been popular, for numerous reasons. There are many reports from when that was even more popular, saying rebored rifles are often MORE accurate than they were in their original state of being.

I have had numerous rifles rebored and never got a bad one, though that can happen (just like a brand new barrel may once in a while be a real bummer).

The best one I ever had was John Buhmiller's personal across-the-course '06 on a Springfield action, which I bought in the very early 1960s and had rebored in the 1970s to .358 Norma Mag. If it wasn't for the recoil, it would have been a winning match competition rifle after being rebored.

15 August 2014, 23:12

Bill/Oregon

Mart: A left-handed Sedgley?

16 August 2014, 21:21

mart

Bill,

I wish. It was a sad looking right handed Sedgley that sat on Gunbroker at a ridiculously low price because of some poorly done side mount holes and stock modifications for those holes and some light surface rust. I bought it for $180.

It turned out to have a rough bore. It shot well as a 30-06 even with a rough bore but the head space was just a touch long, just closing on a no go gauge. I figured it was a good candidate for a 375 Whelen.

Sedgley did left handed conversions and I have seen a couple of left handed Sedgleys offered at auction but both ended up going for more than I was willing to pay. I bid on one of them till it hurt and it still went too high for me. the other started out way beyond what I would have paid.

16 August 2014, 23:17

max(hm2)

I had cliff labounty rebore a 308 win in a Remington 760 carbine to become a 358 Winchester. it was more accurate as a 35 caliber.

17 August 2014, 16:13

xausa

My first rebore job was in the early 1960's by P.O. Ackley, reboring a M1917 Enfield from .30-'06 to .35 Brown Improved Whelen. It worked fine, and when that gun was stolen in a break-in at my gunsmith's, I had Ackley do another for me, which I still have.

My only failure was by Cliff LaBounty, who broke off a reamer in a .220 Swift barrel I was having opened up to 6mm. He returned the barrel, but that was it, and I never sent him a replacement. I understand Clearwater Reboring (Jim Dubell) bought Cliff's equipment when he retired.