Anyone re-barrel one or have it done?

ne - surprise

Now I am not a gunsmith, but I once played one on TV. And no DPCD, I am not a doctor, although many people want me to treat their ails pro-Bono. Good luck with that, I can give you a precise diagnosis with great confidence just like your real MD.

I have always been a fan of the B78, Low Wall, and High Wall. I’ve been told by some doctors of gunsmithing that Brownings are not their favorites to rebarrel. I’ve owned several and all have been super shooters. I want another but the prices have just become as crazy as I am.

Never owned a B78 that shot worth a damn.

Not sure what it takes to put a new barrel on one.

We had a 30-06, 25-06, and 45-70. The 45-70 was ok, the other ones would have been a lot better with 22 inch barrels.

Due to the extractor cut in the breech face, it is necessary to disassemble the entire action. The chambering and threading (metric) is all pretty straight forward. Re-assembly is a bitch; most of the parts need to be installed at the same time and you will need a spring compressor of some kind and and extra pair of hands. The twin hammer springs are a bitch. The furnished field manual assembly guide is not the answer to assembly.

By the way, that guide states "the barrel is not replaceable, you must replace it with the action" which I found out after I had it done.

Yes; rebarreled several of them; JK said it well; it is a bitch to re-asemble; you do need three hands. But installing a new barrel is very doable.
Totally unlike the original Browning/Win High wall though. Miroku design.

I've got a B78 that was rebarrelled to .280 Rem. It's a very nice gun and a great shooter. Trigger is pretty good. I've heard from several that they are a real pain to get right. Some won't even touch them.

I bought a B78 with a varmint weight barrel in 6 MM Remington the first year they came out. It still shoots under MOA. It has accounted for a large number of coyotes, a few whitetails and one Antelope. I would prefer not ever disassemble/assemble one again.

There is a B78 in 6mm Remington in El Paso at Cabelas if someone is interested.

Please do not send me PM's asking for their phone number or for me to go look at it for you.

Not sure why people think this is an ok thing to do.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
Never owned a B78 that shot worth a damn.

Not sure what it takes to put a new barrel on one.

We had a 30-06, 25-06, and 45-70. The 45-70 was ok, the other ones would have been a lot better with 22 inch barrels.

Had one that shot 20 round groups inside 1 MOA, in 45-70
510 Gr. Brooks 457125, 72.5 grains Swiss 1 1/2
Pistol primers, newspaper disk over primer, milk carton wad over powder .1 compression.

Mine in 6MM topped with a 2-7X Burris could do 1/2 MOA all day long, and it was "box stock"~!

Recently tried to disassemble a Miruko .17WRM to refinish.
It is not possible, talked with my Trinidad classmate who has worked at Browning for 30+ years, "Use a bigger hammer".

Mine was not big enough...cannot disassemble.

I took a M-78 apart 30 years ago, it took me two days to reassemble, said 'never again' but didn't take my own advice.