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1885 low wall re-barrel

9K views 112 replies 20 participants last post by  Paul39 
#1 ·
I have a late production model 1885 low wall in .22 lr. It does not have the kind of accuracy I am looking for. I am thinking of having it re-barrelled with either a Badger, Douglas or Green Mountain octagon barrel with a match .22 lr chamber. Have any of ya'll done this yet? If so, how accurate is the rifle now? Which barrel maker did you use? Who did the re-barrel job?

Sincerely,
Dave (Bubba) Thornblom
 
#2 ·
1885

You might try working with the forend as tension or binding can cause real
problems. My 1885 didn't have this problem,but I have had it with other
two-piece stocks in the past.
If you do find a good man for the job, please post it. Good gunsmiths are a
scarce item around here.
 
#3 ·
1885 low wall

This rifle has the fore arm attached to a fore arm hanger. The fore arm doesn't touch the barrel anywhere.

I am continuing to test different types of ammo with this rifle to try to find something the it might like. So far green tag does 1/2" groups at 25 yards,
9/16" at 50 yards and 1 7/16" at 100 yards, all 5 shot groups.

Might try some more expensive match ammo. Wolf .22 lr stuff does about the same as above.

Sincerely,
Dave (Bubba) Thornblom
 
#6 ·
1885 winchester low wall .22 lr

A couple of months ago someone posted here that Lee Shaver was doing trigger jobs and lapping barrels on these new 1885 low wall .22lr's and those who had Lee do this work were very satisfied with the results.

What all is involved in lapping a barrel? Has anyone here had any luck fire lapping barrels?

Sincerely,

Dave (Bubba) Thornblom
 
#7 ·
I too have a 1885 that won't hit a barn wall if you're inside the barn. I called Lee Shaver and he told me to slug the barrel and call him back. I did and the slug was real tight just in front of the chamber, then got loose, then got tight again. Lee said that is typical of these barrels and needs to get the tight spot out in front of the chamber. He suggested I try (haven't done it yet) fire lapping it. The issue is just get that first tight spot out, he says some guys have had good results, some not so good. Lee says he has put liners in with very good results, he charges $150, way cheaper than a new barrel. I will try the fire lapping, just haven't gotten around to it.
 
#9 ·
Try some Wolf MT, I think you will like it. In mine green tag shot the worst, as a matter of fact it shoots bad in all my rifles. Wolf shoots real real good the only down side to them is the goop they have on the bullet and the smell after firing them but the group sizes are worth it.
 
#40 · (Edited)
In mine green tag shot the worst, as a matter of fact it shoots bad in all my rifles.
Yeah, me too Rex. At the time I was experimenting with green tag, I come across one of the last bricks of the old Federal GMM UMB with the dimpled case heads. The Green Tag couldn't hold a candle to this stuff. Closest I've come in recent years has been with Lapua- the most consistent is the Polar Biathlon ammo. That stuff is pretty hard to come by around here, and I have to keep an eye out for it at shows.

I had an old Marlin pump re-lined by a smith that does reasonably o.k. work. The wait was ten months. The guy was back-logged, and also got into some serious health troubles after taking on my project. Would I that I could afford a mill and lathe, and a few other tools of the trade...

Regards,

Doc Sharptail
 
#12 ·
tim s said:
Fire lapping might smooth the bore, it will not remove the dimensional inconsistancy. Find someone that knows how to lap a bbl.
Hmmmm, that's kinda what I thought too, but I took the word of a known expert on the 1885's. And I also think regular lapping would be easier than fire-lapping in order to remove the one tight spot right in front of the chamber. I'd tackle it myself, please tell me how?
 
#14 ·
hdj2520 said:
How About Relining And Rechambering?
That's what Lee Shaver said is best, but it costs $150 and these Redman liners are pretty good, much better than the old liners (I heard that somewhere else about the Redman). I suppose in the long run that's what I should do instead of farting around with lapping, my barrel has a couple more loose/tight spots, but further down the bore. I really like the rifle, but I'm looking for extreme accuracy, less than 1" at 100 yds.
 
#15 ·
I recall reading somewhere about the old german shooters preferring a hard
liner in a dead soft barrel. I'm not sure if it was suposed to dampen vibration
or what,but those schuetzen guys didn't do wnat didn't work.
Any,best of luck with it.
Now if somebody would make a set trigger for it.
 
#16 ·
1885 low wall .22 lr

Hey Douglassr,

Same here, I really do like this rifle. I feel that winchester had a great chance to produce a great rifle, but they muffed it by not installing a "real" barrel and chamber. Sure, it would have cost a little more, but they could have had one of the most accurate rifles around if it had been done right.

Actually, with what they were charging for these rifles new, they should have had match barrels and chambers.

Sincerely,
Dave (Bubba) Thornblom
 
#22 ·
k-hornet

Vincent said:
From everything I have seen David White does exceptioal work. I intend to have him rechamber BOTH of my Hornets to K-Hornet. I would not trust this super accurate 527 to just anybody.
I don't mean to get off the subject, but I'd like to know how the k-hornet/527 project turns out. I've been wanting to try it, but I worry about feeding problems.:confused:
 
#23 ·
1885 winchester low wall .22 lr re-barrel

Hey Douglassr,

Well sir, it is March 18, 2007. A lot of us are curious about the progress on your 1885 barrel reline work by Mr. Shaver. Have you gotten it back yet and if so, HOW DOES IT SHOOT?

Sincerely,
Dave (Bubba) Thornblom
 
#26 ·
Here's how I did it. I pulled a few bullets by gripping the shell in pliers and rocking the bullet free with my fingers. I suppose some folks would say this is dangerous but I don't see how as long as you don't bang the rim. I put oil on the slug and started it in the chamber and then pushed through with a cleaning rod. I made note of where the loose spots were and where the tight spots were. I did this three times (using a new slug) to confirm the results. The first loose spot one my barrel was just in front of the chamber, so that was it for my decision making. I figure the bullet has to engrave and start spinning right at the chamber to achieve any kind of accuracy. Thanks, Douglas
 
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