Why re-barrel?

You don't usually do it to save money. You may do it because you have an emotional attachment in the rifle, or years of familiarity built up. You may do it because you have favorite hunting bullets and you'd rather use what you want than have the barrel dictate what it will shoot. You may do it because although you can get sell your old Remchester and buy a new one for the price of a new barrel you might have to consider that the recoil pad, tweaked LOP, trigger work or custom trigger and bedding job on your old rifle combined cost more than a replacement barrel. You might do it because your shooting volume has lead you to consider barrels as expendables like brakes or tires. You may do it because your custom build cant be replaced for the price of a Remchester. Likewise for more expensive factory rifles.

Theres probably more, but that will do for now.
 
I wanted a stainless 700 in 358Win. The only way to have one is to have one built, so I did.

Also wanted a faux TI long action in 257Roberts. Had to go the same route as the 358.
 
May not make financial sense in some cases, if has to be custom made and gunsmith is three days travel away.

Sometimes you do things just to make yourself smile.

Try that, it is worth it.
 
I am rebarreling right now reason is I can not get what I wanted in a factory rifle. Wanted 6x45 heavy barrel bolt gun good luck finding that. Also thinking of another one in 6.5-06 also can't buy that off the rack
 
Usually as others have alluded it's to get something you otherwise can't, a stainless .458 Win Model 70, or a 32" .257 Bee for instance. That's really not a great mystery though. As a final thought, to many folks the cost of a rebarrel is cheap, and they like to tinker. Can be a little dull being stuck with what's available off the shelf. :)
 
Sure. I had several rebarrelled because the Action was just what I wanted, but the rifle was unavailable in the chambering I wanted.

Another got a new tube because it had only a 9¼ twist, and would not spin the bullets I wanted to use fast enough for stability.

Several more saw new barrels because they were shot out, and no longer would shoot well. (Yes, I do own a borescope, lol)

One is pending because it has been shot with too much corrosive ammo in the past, and the bore looks more like a stovepipe inside.

But really, there does not need to be a solid rationale for rebarrelling. Many simply do so on a whim.. :) Dave.
 
I rebarreled because I wanted a .375 Ruger in a Mauser 98 action. Can't buy one of those at the store. Bill Leeper did the work.

More recently, I decided I wanted a Brno ZG-47 in 9.3X62. They exist but not in my price range even if one can be found. So a acquired one in .30-06 that had seen better days(broken stock). I sent it off to Bill Leeper along with a McGowan blank with instructions to duplicate the barrel profile and move the factory sights to the new barrel. Thanks Bill.
 
In keeping with the theme, I've been planning on rebarreling my mid 80's howa 1500 .30/06 to another caliber. For the life of me, I can't decide on a caliber. I thought of going .35 whelen but I have another .30/06 and not sure if the difference in on game performance is worth it. Thought of 6.5/06 ( yes I hand load) but I own a .270 and the diff between the two is almost negligible. Now looking at maybe .25/06 or abandoning the idea in favour of building something on a short action platform. Been in contact with Bob Jury about a barrel and once I decide how I will proceed, I will order from him. Geez, and I thought the wife was indecisive. Lol
 
nomad 68 said:
In keeping with the theme, I've been planning on rebarreling my mid 80's howa 1500 .30/06 to another caliber. For the life of me, I can't decide on a caliber. I thought of going .35 whelen but I have another .30/06 and not sure if the difference in on game performance is worth it. Thought of 6.5/06 ( yes I hand load) but I own a .270 and the diff between the two is almost negligible. Now looking at maybe .25/06 or abandoning the idea in favour of building something on a short action platform. Been in contact with Bob Jury about a barrel and once I decide how I will proceed, I will order from him. Geez, and I thought the wife was indecisive. Lol
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Wait about a week and I'll send you pictures of my Vanguard Series 1 with a Bob Jury barrel in 9.3x62 :)
 
petew said:
I don't see why people are doing this when you can buy a new or very good used rifle in the desired caliber for the cost of re barreling.
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Re barreling is far cheaper than a new rifle when you start buying your rifles from the other end of the gun counter. Probably does not make sense if bargain rifles are your thing. Mainly it is done to get a cartridge that is not offered. Sometimes it is done for accuracy. Sometimes with an end use (sheep rifle or match rifle). Sometimes boredom. Occasionaly cause the old one wore out although many .257WBY 7STW 26 or 28 Nosler are barrel burners.
 
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