After seeing a lot of folks discussing rebarreling their guns I was wondering about the costs. By the time you buy the barrel, have it blued, and pay a gunsmith to fit the barrel it seems like it would be cheaper to just buy another rifle. Are the savings in doing the gunsmithing yourself or do people do this just to get a gun made with a superior barrel?

To look at it another way; Take a good condition Remington 700 and replace the barrel. You now have invested the cost of a Sako and still have a Remington. (Or Savage, Ruger, Marlin...)

What's the deal???

Mort Canard

[ 01-25-2003, 04:37: Message edited by: Mort Canard ]

You can rebarrel a typical rifle for 1/2 what a new rifle would cost. The barrel will be of higher quality, and you can choose calibers not offered in the factory configuration. many people also have rifles that have been customized, with aftermarket stocks, triggers, etc. They can retain these with the new barrel. If that isn't what you want, go to WallyWorld, and buy a $300 rifle there.

Factory barrels are chambered to much more liberal tollerances then custom barrels properly fit and chambered to a rifle.

You might be able to get a factory gun to print small groups after extensive load work, but a good barrel fit by a competent smith will be guranteed to shoot small groups.

Some people do it to get a wildcat chamber, or a chamber that is not available from the factory.

Then there are the lefty's who don't have as many factory options as us right handed shooters.

Or you might have a rifle with excellent wood, and an action that the factories refuse to make in the same quality that they used to.

For the average hunter, that none of this might matter too, It would most likely be cheaper to just buy a used or new rifle. Savages, and Rem ADL's are not too expensive, and shoot very accuritely.

I guess you could ask people why they would buy a car or truck that can go faster than the speed limit. Do they need it? Wouldn't a Yugo get them from point A to point B? If you could keep it running.

So is $300 to $500 (depending on the make of barrel) about right for a rebarrel job from a gunsmith with installation and blueing?

I have no doubt about the better quality of an aftermarket barrel but am wondering about the costs. How much money would you be willing to throw at a $4-500 gun and when would you be consider it worthwhile? I am guessing that you can't get your money back out of a rebarrel job on resale. So is the only reason to rebarrel a gun, to get a gun that you can't otherwise buy over the counter?

Mort Canard

For me rebarreling was to get something not offered AND something that would shoot better. All of my rifles that have been rebarrelled are those things. From a Martini cadet in 17 Ackley Bee which isn't quite done, a Rem 700 with a #7 Shilen 22-250, and a 26" barreled 280 Ackley on a Win model 70; they all do what I wanted and do it better (for me) than they did with original equipement.

Mort

You are correct, it is better econmically to just sell your old rifle and buy a new one.

But people rebarrel for a lot of other reasons. A factory Remington barrel would never equal the performance of a Shilen, Krieger, Hart, Pac Nor,etc. etc. Not only accuracy but being consistant, easy to work up loads, not being finicky, and easy to clean.

Sometimes it may be a rifle with a stock that is nicely figured. Maybe they had the gun a long time and it fit them well or they had lots of confidence in it. Or maybe you want a non standard caliber. You get the picture. Sometimes the cost of the project may not be the most important part of the equation.

I usually tell customers when pondering some sort of project, "You can never economically justify custom gun work, you do it because that is what you want".

Go to http://www.customstockmaker.com/links.html and look under barrel makers. Many of the barrel shops will also fit and blue everything for a fairly reasonable price. Also:
http://www.montanarifleman.com/orders_rilfeman.html
http://www.ahlmans.com/customriflebarrels.html
But basically you're looking at $300-600 depending on what barrel you want.

Thanks to all! I think I have a better idea of the reasons to rebarrel and the costs. It doesn't seem the cheapest way to accuracy but may be the most certain.

Mort Canard

[ 01-25-2003, 06:17: Message edited by: Mort Canard ]

Mort - it can be a tough decision. Basic question boils down to if you want to keep the old rifle, only make it better than it was from the factory, or if you have your heart set on something else.

I'm currently rebuilding a Rem 700, keeping only the action. Would have been much less expensive to sell mine or trade it and buy a new rifle. I carefully weighed those options, and decided to have the old gal rebuilt, better than new. Regards, Guy

Three years ago I got a $50 Turkish Masuer at Big 5 with rotten barrel. Now three lathes, two milling machines, two metal shapers, oxyacetalene bottles, arc welder, carbide grinder, metal band saw, dozens of barrels and reamers, etc, I am ready to rebarel.

For $20k, I could have got a NEW rifle.
But I love Mausers.

if you invest in a blueprinted action/custom barrel it usually not the only rifle in your box.
if resale was the issue then no one would do it.
it would probably be the last one you sell out of the safe and the first one you grab. once you have the stock of choice fitted and the barrel of your choice on then you are set. dont like the caliber anymore, rebarrel it. you will then only be buying a fitted barrel. you will only be buying the labor once for the action.
plus it is yours. only one like it. it may be a remington or whatever but it is yours. that always makes me smile............
woofer

I personaly dont sell one rifle to get another, I use to but found that I "lost more rifles than I gained" meaning... I wanted the old rifle back for one reason or another, rebarrel or what have you. I dont where others get there services done but it typicaly cost me less to rebarrel. Though ill tell you guys, I shot a cooper rifle not to long ago and THAT IS ONE SERIOUS OUT OF THE BOX RIFLE FOR THE MONEY.

I also... shop around, gun shows, windows, personal adds, you would be surprised how many people you can "bilk" firearms off of. To many people, firearms they have have little value to them. I bought a winchester94 25-35 that is in unbelieveable condition for 50 bucks. The widow wanted to give it for yard work her husband was the original owner. I did the yard work and paid her 50 I was so excited.

[ 01-26-2003, 07:52: Message edited by: smallfry ]

Mort-

Just sent you a PM...

Thanks again to all. To one who is a bit of a high powered rifle novice this rebarrel business looks a bit strange, but I understand it a bit better now.

Cold Bore, I may not have been exactly correct in the comparison but that is the way a lot of folks might look at it. The Sako or Cooper or Blazer may or not shoot better than a custom barrel job. I hope you will forgive me if I was indulging in a little overstatement to shake loose some discusion.

Chuck Graber

I see it like most anything else, you are paying for its use as well. If a rifle is needed for competition, hunting or just out having fun shooting tagets and what not what's it worth to use the one you want each time you go?

If I kill a moose every year with one it ought to be worth at least a hudred bucks or more just to have the rifle I want to do it. Maybe it's worth only ten bucks or something each time out at the range or just out riding around on the wheeler to have a rifle to hunt yotes, it all adds up to being worth something. Ain't nothin free, even death.

My rifles will always pay for themselves in the end by being availible when ever I need them and IF it's ever sold it will be just pure profit. I agree there's not much cash return on just rebarreling, shooting it a while and selling it, BUT if you have it long enough it will be worth it in the end. Want to talk about a major UNinvestment, buy a new car! We all do that and why? Some buy the one that lasts while others buy the under ten grand gas mizer and run the wheels off of it commuting in just a couple three years then get a new and different one.

I want a rifle to shoot real accurate so I can practice not constantly try to find a good load that sometimes doesn't even exist, for some rifles. Every box of bullets and pound of powder I buy I'd rather it go to hunting and practice not just to wearing out my barrel.

I want the most I can get from every cartridge, so I'll buy longer tubes at the same time and use the most suitable case to accomplish good brass life and accuracy, this can be had at any time in a custom barrel, just do it. More often than not your luck will be better in Vegas than at the gun shop hoping to buy a new super accurate factory rifle.

Your chance to take and your money. I'll pay a little more for a lot better chance myself.

There are lots of guys here who have nothing good to say about them, but for someone who wants a rifle built THEIR way but doesnt want to take out a 2nd mortgage to do it, E.R. Shaw makes it a reasonable option to a factory rifle. But if a guy wants nothing less than the best with all the bells and whistles then matching the cost of a factory rifle is a tough proposition indeed.

Cold Bore,
Yes I got your message. Many thanks for the info.

Mort Canard