barrel diameter for .35 calibre?
- Thread starter Salty
- Start date
Salty said:
My .35 Whelen is built with a Douglas premium #2 standard sporter barrel that measures .600" at the muzzle(23" barrel). A rule of thumb that I've seen if to have at least 1/10" of metal at the muzzle so a .358" bore would need at least .558".
Here'a link to the Douglas dimension chart
http://benchrest.com/douglas/dimensions.html
Salty said:
A light normally contoured barrel can be as thin as one tenth of an inch at the muzzle. Not many factory 30-06 barrels are less than .600" at the muzzle.
One problem with rebore is the muzzle needs to be shortened (for better accuracy) after boring so you will end up with a shorter barrel.
Thanks a lot guys. The rifle in question is a 23 1/2" barreled Husqvarna and its .588" at the muzzle. I see its doable but a little on the thin side me thinks. I guess I should just rebarrel something else to get my Whelan, and live with my boring old perfectly functional 30-06 Husky as is 
Salty,
1) Reboring is less expensive than rebarrelling and has the advantage that you don't have to do anything other than just drop the barrelled action back into the stock. No inletting, rebedding or rebluing required.
2) A Ron Smith rebore will probably be at least as accurate the original barrel, perhaps even more so. He is one of the finest cut-rifling barrel makers in North America. His barrels have won the Scheutzenfest more than once.
3) Shortening a 35 cal barrel, if it needs to be shortened, is not a big deal. The expansion ratio of the 35 is considerably higher than a 30 cal. I have never had any of mine shortened after reboring, and they all shoot at least as well as before they were rebored. Most shoot better!
4) River Rat on this board had Ron rebore a Husqvarna 7mm mag to 358 Norma Magnum three years ago. It has a gain twist and shoots 250 gr bullets at 2900 fps into an inch all day long. The muzzle diameter is 0.585" and it was not shortened.
He also has another 358 Norma Mag that is a very light contour. I don't know what the muzzle on it is, but I am certain it is less than 0.600 and it also shoots very well.
5) Bert has two 358 Winchesters. One is a rebored 308. Muzzle on that one is 0.560" and it will put five Speer Spitzers into less than an inch and a half. It has a special ramped front sight and the barrel on it was not shortened.
6) The difference in cost between installation of a new top-quality barrel and reboring will be around $200. Ron is currently charging a bit less than $300 for a rebore.
7) Just do it!
Ted
1) Reboring is less expensive than rebarrelling and has the advantage that you don't have to do anything other than just drop the barrelled action back into the stock. No inletting, rebedding or rebluing required.
2) A Ron Smith rebore will probably be at least as accurate the original barrel, perhaps even more so. He is one of the finest cut-rifling barrel makers in North America. His barrels have won the Scheutzenfest more than once.
3) Shortening a 35 cal barrel, if it needs to be shortened, is not a big deal. The expansion ratio of the 35 is considerably higher than a 30 cal. I have never had any of mine shortened after reboring, and they all shoot at least as well as before they were rebored. Most shoot better!
4) River Rat on this board had Ron rebore a Husqvarna 7mm mag to 358 Norma Magnum three years ago. It has a gain twist and shoots 250 gr bullets at 2900 fps into an inch all day long. The muzzle diameter is 0.585" and it was not shortened.
He also has another 358 Norma Mag that is a very light contour. I don't know what the muzzle on it is, but I am certain it is less than 0.600 and it also shoots very well.
5) Bert has two 358 Winchesters. One is a rebored 308. Muzzle on that one is 0.560" and it will put five Speer Spitzers into less than an inch and a half. It has a special ramped front sight and the barrel on it was not shortened.
6) The difference in cost between installation of a new top-quality barrel and reboring will be around $200. Ron is currently charging a bit less than $300 for a rebore.
7) Just do it!
Ted
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Why Not just about covered every thing,Just my 2 Cents.I have had a couple of rebores from Ron Smith one was the 7mag to 358 and also had a grain twist done.He did a P17 for me and rebored it to 340 Weatherby.Both guns were very accurate.I have a 358 Norma on A Springfield muzzel is .560 I have owned this rifle for over thirty years and it will still shoot right around a
1".There is not a thing wrong with reboring a rifle.It,scheaper and will do the same job.
1".There is not a thing wrong with reboring a rifle.It,scheaper and will do the same job.
guntech said:
I dunno if this is applicable to cut-rifled barrels. Taking 1/2" off & re-crowning (or simply re-crowning) might be all that's necessary.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think we're talking 1/4 MOA rifle here. 1-2 MOA is probably more than adequate for this cartridge & it's intended use
Ron Smith is doing/has done a rebore for me... a 99 Savage from .308 to .358W. I went the rebore route over the rebarrel for the reasons covered by Why Not. Work was done through Corlane in Dawson Creek. It's been over a year now, but I know Corlane has the barrel back in their shop to do the chamber, shorten and recrown the barrel, and to give all the metalwork a powder coat. To be fair, I did tell them at the outset that there was absolutely no rush for this project...though I am anxious to get it back now and get it ready for this coming fall.
