Reboring

Eagleye

Eagleye

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Has anyone here had Ron Smith do a rebore on an existing rifle that had a toasted original bore.

I am thinking about making a 30-30 in very nice exterior shape, but with a very poor bore, into a 38-55.

Just curious about time lines and the finished product....were you happy with the result?

Thanks, Dave.
 
Oh dear, this reminds me yet AGAIN that I've had a .310 Cadet languishing in my gun room since God was in short pants that I've wanted to get Ron to rebore to .38/357. When I asked him about it ages ago I think he said about $300. Back then the wait time was nearly a year and I think some posts here on CGN recently that said it's longer now since Ron is getting on in years. But every comment on Ron's work that I can recall has been 100% positive. One of the "old masters" by the sound of it.

Hopefully someone will chime in with direct experience.
 
The 38-55 has a bore of .3775 much larger and I believe the barrel is slightly larger in dia. It has a twist of one in 18 or15. May be able to do it, don't know for sure. Another option is a new barrel in 7mm now you have something special 30-07.
PS. don't forget those 303 blts.
 
Hello, Bill, hope all is well with you. Thanks for the suggestion, but I would not dream of rebarrelling this fine, vintage rifle

This rifle already has a quite stout Octagon barrel, so it should be no problem to take the larger bore/groove configuration.

I would like to stay with a chambering that would have been available in this rifle originally, so 32-40 or 38-55 are about the only viable options.

The 38-55 makes more sense, since the chamber would clean up nicely, and I am already set up for the 38-55.
 
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I had Ron Smith rebore a Winchester 70 Sporter Varmint from a .223 that wouldn't shoot for chit to a .260 Remington tackdriver. This was maybe 12 or more years ago and it was a totally painless project back then. Great work.
 
b72471 said:
The 38-55 has a bore of .3775 much larger and I believe the barrel is slightly larger in dia. It has a twist of one in 18 or15. May be able to do it, don't know for sure. Another option is a new barrel in 7mm now you have something special 30-07.
PS. don't forget those 303 blts.
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that would be 7-30 Waters :)
 
I haven't talked to Ron in years since I moved to the coast. I spent a day in his shop about 10 years ago. At that time he said re-bores sometimes turned out Ok and sometimes not. Part of the difficulty is how the cutter functions near the muzzle, it requires support from the bore to cut the rifling, so almost mandatory to shorten the barrel about a half inch and re-crown. Going from .308 groove diameter to .377 means he can clean up all the old rifling with the gun drill and finish reamer before cutting the new rifling, so I'd say go for it.

Give him a call he's an excellent guy and no BS individual. He's never been in it for the money so if he thinks it's a waste of time he'll tell you. As far as I understand his grandson Jason was taking over the business, he's a great kid, licenced machinist and match grade shooter himself, So I'd trust Jason to do the reborn as Ron's been teaching him for 25 years.


I think your project is ideal for a rebore and would defineatly be worth the $300
 
I sent a Browning 71 to him a few years back to re-bore and rechamber to 450Alaskan. It was about this time of year, maybe a little later. He told me that it would be ready in the spring, and sure enough, about the end of March or so I got the call that it was ready. Nobody does them better.
 
So, I phoned Ron up and had a chit-chat with him about my 1893 Marlin.

He seemed very positive about my plan, and said that, unless the last ½ to ¾ inch of
the chamber was very rough, it would be a great conversion.

He is quite busy at present, but said that he could probably get at it early in the New Year,
so I am excited about having this "old" warrior restored to good shooting condition.

Regards, Dave.
 
Eagleye said:
So, I phoned Ron up and had a chit-chat with him about my 1893 Marlin.

He seemed very positive about my plan, and said that, unless the last ½ to ¾ inch of
the chamber was very rough, it would be a great conversion.

He is quite busy at present, but said that he could probably get at it early in the New Year,
so I am excited about having this "old" warrior restored to good shooting condition.

Regards, Dave.
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That's what I thought he'd say. Ron just loves the challenge of re-boring a classic. You're idea of a 38-55 is just perfect. Scout out the bullets you plan on shooting and then figure out the bore/groove diameter you want Ron to do. You'll end up with beautiful cut rifling and a brand new bore in a rifle that looks the same on the outside. Wait till your buddies see the little tiny groups you can shoot with your old Marlin.
 
Hey Dave, you gonna go .378-9 or are you gonna go .375 for use with modern bullets. I bought some 255 gn Barnes originals marked 38-55, thinking they were 378 only to read the box and find I paid high dollars for just more .375 bullets. Unless casting or buying cast (as I did) it is almost impossible to get bullets in .378-9 anywhere. I have been thinking about a 38-55 on a highwall but I would definitely go .375 nowadays, that way one can shoot cast or jacketed in almost any weight one desires.
 
c-fbmi said:
Hey Dave, you gonna go .378-9 or are you gonna go .375 for use with modern bullets. I bought some 255 gn Barnes originals marked 38-55, thinking they were 378 only to read the box and find I paid high dollars for just more .375 bullets. Unless casting or buying cast (as I did) it is almost impossible to get bullets in .378-9 anywhere. I have been thinking about a 38-55 on a highwall but I would definitely go .375 nowadays, that way one can shoot cast or jacketed in almost any weight one desires.
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It's true Doug, the larger diameter slugs are more difficult to find these days. But, were you aware that Barnes makes a 255 grain bullet in 2 different Diameters?
The one you got is .375", but they make another one, specifically labeled for the 38-55. It has a shorter nose to the cannelure, and is .377" in diameter.

I also have 5 or 6 boxes of the old CIL 255 grain softpoint for reloading, that I have accumulated over the years. They measure .3775"

But despite this, I may have Ron cut this one at .375, since then the choices become much greater, as you suggested. [I already have a 38-55, but it is a 1979 repro.]
I definitely would not go larger than .377", regardless. Regards, Dave.
 
Nope Dave wasn't aware of the 2 different dias of Barnes originals, but these are very specifically marked 38-55 and then in really small print underneath they are marked .375..........I ordered them from WSS (I think) as they were specifically marked 38-55 so I figured they would be .377 after looking at Barnes website. Regardless IF I build another 38-55 it'll definitely be .375 especially in a single shot, so many good .375 bullets to play with both jacketed and cast.
 
c-fbmi said:
Nope Dave wasn't aware of the 2 different dias of Barnes originals, but these are very specifically marked 38-55 and then in really small print underneath they are marked .375..........I ordered them from WSS (I think) as they were specifically marked 38-55 so I figured they would be .377 after looking at Barnes website. Regardless IF I build another 38-55 it'll definitely be .375 especially in a single shot, so many good .375 bullets to play with both jacketed and cast.
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OK Doug, I did some research and I will fill you in on the Barnes original bullet selection.

Barnes makes a 255 grain bullet specifically for the 375 Winchester. It is longer in the nose, and is sized .375" Catalogue number is: 30496
They also make a shorter nosed 255 grain bullet listed for the 38-55, but it is also .375" diameter. Catalogue number 30497. I suspect this is the one you have.
But...they make a second 255 grain bullet for the 38-55, also with the shorter nose, but sized at .377" Catalogue number 30498. I have several boxes of these.

So if you have a 38-55 with the oversize bore, the last one is the one you want. I have a 1979 repro in 38-55, and the bore slugs at .3776", and it shoots the
.377" bullet into very impressive groups at 100 meters. I also shoot a .379" Cast GC bullet that weighs 285 grains. Just a smoking accurate slug at about 1650 fps.
FWIW, I shot my largest Whitetail deer with that rifle.

Regards, Dave.
 
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