What are these gunsmiths afraid of ????

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shona

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Hi,
Can someone please explain to me why, so many Gunsmiths here in Canada
are so reluctant to re-chamber a barrel ?

I have a brand new / unfired Sendero 7mm Rem Mag that I want to have
chambered in either 7-300WM or 7mm Practical.

I am providing all the equipment ie: Reamer, Go-Gauge & Barrel.
The Reamer is Not a Mickey Mouse, Well worn piece of kit but a New one
purchased from well known specialist Dave Manson in the US.

This is a tried & tested reamer that's unlikely to fail in it's task yet all the Canadian Gunsmiths I approach are reluctant to take on this project!

My latest reply today came from a well known Ontario Smith & the one liner read as follows: WE DON'T RE-CHAMBER BARRELS !!!! GO FIGURE!!!

All I'm hearing is: You would be better off starting with a New Custom Barrel! Even if I could, the issue of getting a barrel fluted is another issue altogether.
That's all very well but, the Gunsmiths I've spoken to in both the US & UK
where I'm actually based Don't see this as being an issue at all!!!

Sadly, I can't get it done here & ship it to my Canadian property.
Too Much Damn Red Tape for sure!!!!

Thanx
shona
 
I wasn't aware that rechambering a barrel was a problem with so many smiths. It can be more work than a re-barreling job but I have been doing it for 53 years...
 
They are probably afraid of it not turning out in a manner satisfactory to you. When you start with a blank barrel, the gunsmith has 100% control. When he starts with an already chambered barrel, the errors made by the factory (lack of concentricity and alignment of the chamber with the bore) will at the very least be continued into the rechambering.
 
Hi guntech,
I personally think they are just looking for the easy option by going with a New barrel myself.
Grizzlypeg in the following post seems to share the same opinon.
The statement that, "We Don't Re-Chamber Barrels" is an absolutely ridiculous statement coming from someone calling themselves a Gunsmith
in my opinion though!!!

shona
 
Personally Grizzlypeg,
I think you are absolutely correct! It should be about providing what the customer wants Not what's easier for them to do!

shona
 
That said, I had Guntech rechamber a barrel for me and he did an excellent job, and it met with every expectation I had for accuracy. A new barrel will likely turn out better in some cases, esp if the factory chambering isn't done right. The rechambering isn't likely to correct it, as the new chamber will follow the existing chamber, for better or for worse.
 
shona said:
Hi guntech,
I personally think they are just looking for the easy option by going with a New barrel myself.
Grizzlypeg in the following post seems to share the same opinon.
The statement that, "We Don't Re-Chamber Barrels" is an absolutely ridiculous statement coming from someone calling themselves a Gunsmith
in my opinion though!!!

shona
Click to expand...


I personally don't like cleaning up old chambers with different reamers.

Some chambers are not cut true to the axis of the bore originally and it takes a lot of time/fiddling to make sure the new reamer will cut the new chamber in proper alignment with the axis of the bore.

If the new reamer isn't long enough to clean up the old neck/throat properly the barrel may have to be set back enough to do so.

Much more to this than you think. In the end, there often isn't any saving from just purchasing a new barrel, getting it fluted and fit to your rifle.

Another request I get is from people that want a new chamber cut in rifle barrel but they don't want to send the action with the barrel. They feel their barrel nut will enable them to assemble/headspace the barrel properly. Fine, as long as you don't expect it to headspace with the logo on the barrel in the correct spot.

If the new reamer can't be made to run true and just follows the old chamber/throat path, the results won't be good.

I've re chambered many different barrels and it's always been tedious at best.

Another issue with many smiths out there is they no longer do much chamber cutting of any kind, other than the bare minimum to fit a pre chambered barrel.

Are you willing to pay for the extra cost of re chambering??? Do you know if your existing chamber is cut true to the axis of the bore of your barrel?

No, I don't do work for other people. I like what I do and if it becomes a job, it won't be interesting any longer.

There are a lot of smiths out there that will do the job you request. It just doesn't fall within the normal basic charge fee.
 
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I rechambered my 458wm to 460wm, the hardest part was dialing in the the barrel in the steady rest and 4 jaw chuck. And that isnt hard at all. Im a manual machinist and i did it in less then 2 hours all said and done.

You can rechamber a barrel by hand if you want. More work and maybe not ideal but still safe and does work quite well. I wouldnt do it if you want to bench shoot but for a hunting rig id try it if needed

Ive also had a few chambers cut by a buddy at work on a cnc lathe. You can get all the mesurments from sammi drawings.

Edit: i should add im a mill surplus guy and love shooting them, so bear in mind that is thats the type of shooting i do.... im far from a bench shooter
 
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Things to consider...

As an unfired rifle, you have no idea how well that factory barrel shoots. What are your performance expectations? Some factory barrels don't work all that well and certainly will not improve when the chamber is lengthened a smidge

What type of performance increase do you expect from the 7-300WM? Extrapolating from the Lee load manual... a 7RM has a useable case volume of 5.27CC, the 300WM listed at 5.62CC... How much more fuel do you plan to burn? 1 or 2 grs more vs 7RM loads?

What will that offer you in velocity? Maybe 100fps, maybe nothing? you still don't know how that barrel shoots and where its velocity nodes are going to be.

If you really want to pursue this project, do yourself a favor and just go shoot the rifle as is. Find out if that barrel shoots to the accuracy you want or if it will badly warp after 2 rds making any further shooting futile.

Find out if the barrel is "fast" or "slow".... I think once you know how the barrel works, it will make the decision to keep going or start with a new match barrel a simple and ultimately, more economical option.

Good luck...

Jerry
 
Did you try ellwood Epps?just had a simalar job done by them a few months ago with excellent results not bad turn around time too
 
shona said:
Hi,
Can someone please explain to me why, so many Gunsmiths here in Canada
are so reluctant to re-chamber a barrel ?

I have a brand new / unfired Sendero 7mm Rem Mag that I want to have
chambered in either 7-300WM or 7mm Practical.

I am providing all the equipment ie: Reamer, Go-Gauge & Barrel.
The Reamer is Not a Mickey Mouse, Well worn piece of kit but a New one
purchased from well known specialist Dave Manson in the US.

This is a tried & tested reamer that's unlikely to fail in it's task yet all the Canadian Gunsmiths I approach are reluctant to take on this project!

My latest reply today came from a well known Ontario Smith & the one liner read as follows: WE DON'T RE-CHAMBER BARRELS !!!! GO FIGURE!!!

All I'm hearing is: You would be better off starting with a New Custom Barrel! Even if I could, the issue of getting a barrel fluted is another issue altogether.
That's all very well but, the Gunsmiths I've spoken to in both the US & UK
where I'm actually based Don't see this as being an issue at all!!!

Sadly, I can't get it done here & ship it to my Canadian property.
Too Much Damn Red Tape for sure!!!!

Thanx
shona
Click to expand...

Sounds like you're going o have to get one of those US or UK 'smiths to do the job after all. If you have a PAL, you'll have no problem bringing your re-chambered rifle into Canada.
 
Are you the kind of guy that can accept that there are many things that can go wrong; and laugh and shrug and say “Hey it was worth a try, I guess we’ll put on that new barrel’ ?

Or are you the kind of guy who would say “that ******* ruined my new rifle, and a blindman could see that step in the chamber or neck, and it isnt straight and it isnt my fault so it must be his and he still wants to get paid and thats ******** and I’m telling everyone on the internet”?


Be honest. The category 2 guys are the reason why many gunsmiths don't want that work.
 
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shona said:
Hi guntech,
I personally think they are just looking for the easy option by going with a New barrel myself.
Grizzlypeg in the following post seems to share the same opinon.
The statement that, "We Don't Re-Chamber Barrels" is an absolutely ridiculous statement coming from someone calling themselves a Gunsmith
in my opinion though!!!

shona
Click to expand...

Maybe they are not wrong, and you are.

You seem to be labouring under the idea that there is somehow a universal and accepted set of skills that are supposed to be available, every place that hangs up a shingle claiming to be a Gunsmith. Mostly, though, there isn't.

If every guy you talk to doesn't want to touch it, like as not, IF they are capable 'Smiths, there is more reason to it than you are assuming. Like not wanting to eternally have to be the name you bring up, when your clever money saving idea to modify the factory barrel, doesn't turn out right.

Really, buy a Lathe. Learn to use it. Do it yourself.

Continuing to whinge about a bunch of businesses all saying the same thing, will make you look a bit the twot, as well as being a pretty solid sign that sending you down the road instead of taking you on as a customer, is a better idea. Maybe they just worked that out and decided they didn't need the grief.
 
Dogleg said:
Are you the kind of guy that can accept that there are many things that can go wrong; and laugh and shrug and say “Hey it was worth a try, I guess we’ll put on that new barrel’ ?

Or are you the kind of guy who would say “that ******* ruined my new rifle, and a blindman could see that step in the chamber or neck, and it isnt straight and it isnt my fault so it must be his and he still wants to get paid and thats ******** and I’m telling everyone on the internet”?


Be honest. The category 2 guys are the reason why many gunsmiths don't want that work.
Click to expand...

X2

Any good Smith that has been around for longer than 2 years has at least 1 or 2 stories where they let a customer talk them into a job that they didn’t want to do or feel comfortable with and it went sideways. Net result. “We don’t do that”.... anymore...

John
 
I’ve had dozens of rechamber jobs done, most have turned out well and a couple did not. As stated most smiths will advise you that there is no guarratee though.
 
Liability. Wreck a customer barrel and you have to go through a laborious process to replace it. Wreck a blank and you cut off the chamber and/or just grab another blank and start again.
 
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