From: Gale McMillan <mcmillan@getnet.com>
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: Reboring a rifle barrel - Questions
Date: 3 Feb 1996 19:54:55 -0500

Thomas Grover wrote:
 
# In several magazine articles in the past year, I have seen
# reference to having a rifle barrel rebored. In other words,
# take an existing barrel, say in .25-06, and rebore it up
# to .308, or perhaps a .30-06 and make it a .35 Whelen.
# 
# I wonder how many, if any, readers of this group know much
# about this or have had it done, and what their results were?


The Practice of reboring was popular in the days before the days of 
buttoned barrels as all barrel makers had hook cutter riflers and most 
of the work had been done on the original installation (chambering, 
contouring, fitting and finishing.) It was a life saver when
rebarreling a finely engraved gun. The practice has become quite scarce 
in recent years . The last man I know who did it was Bill Atkinson of 
what used to be A&M Barrel co. He sold to Tom Houghton renamed H&S 
Precision. I would doubt if the technology was transferred. Sam Mays may 
still do it. Whether it is practical or not on a modern gun is 
questionable. First your getting a cut barrel and chances are that you 
would be getting  a better barrel with better stress-releaving from most 
barrelmakers. A lot of custom rifle makers genrally have brand new 
factory take off barrels they sell for peanuts. We sell ours for 15 or 
20 dollars and any good smithe can fit it up in an hour.

Gale McMillan.