[jes]

barrel relining

I've had a couple relined, and it worked great, but they were old rifles from the black powder era, badly corroded. Unless a barrel is corroded or perhaps has a bulge in it I don't know if I'd do it. It's pretty hard to wear a 22 rimfire barrel out from shooting. Just my opinion>

 

[fabpeter]

I dont think I'll be shooting out a 22LR barrel in my lifetime!

Not sure about 17HMR and 22WMR.

Peter.

 

[dumac]

I agree with not shooting out a .22 LR barrel although have sadly witnessed the results of a .22 rifle barrel not regularly cleaned. The area just in front of chamber had heavy erosion, pitting and irregular sizing. Once cleaned , the accuracy was terrible.
Dumac

I dont think I'll be shooting out a 22LR barrel in my lifetime!

Not sure about 17HMR and 22WMR.

Peter.

 

[da357mag]

I agree!

I dont't think it is possible to "shoot out" a .22 rimfire barrel, if it has happened I haven't heard of it. Think about some of the BRNOS that have been
mentioned on here, some are older than I am! and they still shoot fine:bthumb: Doug

 

[ra-63]

I seriously doubt if I could wear one out either but I have one that is seriously pitted/rusted. Would the.22 mag or .17 cal be more likely to wear because of the amount of powder?

 

[kseatm]

Have had one rifle lined. You'll need a lathe to do it, so it probably should involve a gunsmith.

As to if you should... if the rifle was well cared for, doubt you'd have to reline it. I got an old Mossberg that couldn't hit a barn if you were in it. After closer inspection, the bore was terrible, the leade area was worse. Had it relined, and it is much better. It will cost some money, and the only reason I relined this rifle was to keep the markings on the outside of the barrel. Normally, would just replace a barrel with something from one of the aftermarket shops.

For a CZ, the barrels are hammer forged. Should last several lifetimes under normal use. If you need to reline one, TJ's makes hammer forged liners that do very well.

Most of the 452's are threaded, but I think the 452 HM2's are pinned. The 455 barrels are easily replaced, so if you have one of those, just get an aftermarket barrel should you want one.

Again, with normal use, you shouldn't wear a barrel out. But, if you're looking for something more in the accuracy department, that's another matter. I would have no qualms with replacing or setting back a barrel if increased accuracy was my goal. But get a good gunsmith or someone who has a very good reamer and can cut and polish the new chamber. You're wasting money if you don't get that area right.

JMO

Kenny

 

[gmd1950]

Jacketed bullets used in some .22wmr and all .17hmr and .17m2 ammunition will wear faster but I'd be surprised if it mattered before 50,000 to 100,000 rounds.

 

[chip king]

I bought a early model 52 Winchester that looked pretty good on the outside but the bore was rusted and pitted from end to end. As purchased it was at best a good paperweight so I had the barrel relined by a local gun smith. IIRC this was a Brownells liner and the liner was $37.50 and $50.00 to install at that time. When it was completed you had to look hard to find the seam between barrel and liner and it was once again a shooter. A lot of young Scouts got their firearm safety training and their first taste of position shooting with that gun. When my work moved me away from the area I donated the 52 to the local troop and I suspect they are still learning on it.

--- Chip King ---

 

[sewmacoil]

Old thread but just saw it now. Am relining barrel for Savage 23a now. Easy to do and works well. Rimfire barrels can be shot out and many were when fairs, carnavals, and amusment parks had shooting galleries. These rifles had to be replaced in as little as one year due to the large volume of ammo expended. The 23a i am relining had a rusted bore but is in good condition otherwise. ra-63 relining a collectable firearm will hurt its collector value but will make a shooter out of the many old rifles with bad bores that you can find out there. My 23a came from a garage sale. This finding neat old rimfires that can be fixed up is habit forming. That is the reason my two Boys and I have well over a hundred now. My Wife calls it an addiction. Good luck

 

[2mene22s]

I agree with not shooting out a .22 LR barrel although have sadly witnessed the results of a .22 rifle barrel not regularly cleaned. The area just in front of chamber had heavy erosion, pitting and irregular sizing. Once cleaned , the accuracy was terrible.
Dumac

I don't think that's caused by not cleaning- that is caused by the priming compound- it contains glass- this is common in rifles with a lot of use- used to be common practice on target rifles to set them back past the damage and rechamber. More barrels are harmed by poor cleaning than helped- some of mine haven't been cleaned in years
As far as relining, it is fairly easy to do but requires a substantial investment in tooling-pilot drill - reamer -head space gauges for a one time job . Glue ins are easy if you ever did a solder in job.

 

[gmd1950]

Need to remember that many old rifles were shot extensively with corrosive ammunition as well, lots of barrels died that death, a reline will bring them back.:t

 

[OldSwede]

I'm remembering a time years ( and years ) ago when I spent an evening next to a galley shooting booth in a local carnival. I was amazed by how much ammunition was being expended. They had a kid whose only job was reloading the pump action .22's and he didn't sit down all night. I'll bet each one of those gallery guns was shot more times in that one evening than the average of my .22's have been shot since they were new. I remember the kid saying that the barrels were "hot" and THAT is an accomplishment with .22 shorts.

 

[2mene22s]

Most of those "Gallery " rifles were used with special ammo - 22 shorts loaded with a special bullet designed to disintegrate into small particles without ricochet or splatter. they were much harder than the std bullet with the addition of zinc. That would explain why the gallery guns wore even more quickly than just use. Here's a quote from a court transcript in a law suit about injury from back splatter.

Kant-Splash bullets were manufactured of approximately 90 per cent lead, approximately 9 per cent zinc, and approximately 1 per cent oil; that these substances were compressed by squeezing them in a hydraulic press.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Last October I got a Stevens Favorite in from a local grandpa who wanted this rifle gifted (for Christmas 2011) to his 11 year old grandson. It was granddad's gun and it was a real mess when I got it.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

You can just see the liner in the muzzle after rust bluing. I wish I could share the picture of Jake's face when he opened up the gun case and saw this rifle. Precious. And he shoots it very well.

 

[Sporter]

The barrel lining has become better over the years but is generally done to very old rifles that a virtually impossible to get new barrels for, especially if you want to retain the original profile and stamping marks. Having the liner epoxied in is cheaper than getting it, and the drilled barrel, tinned with silver solder. If properly done, the latter method is preferred by higher end gunsmiths. Although they shoot better than a rusted or worn out bore, the liners generally have shallower lands and grooves than the factory original bores. They are a bit more ammo sensitive to get decent accuracy.

 

[OldSwede]

Wow. You have some talents, my man....:bthumb:

 

[Sporter]

Very nice job, SGW. Awesome to see these oldies get salvaged.

 

[pump .22s]

Very nice work SGW....one of the great pleasures in life is bringing an old gun ( or car, etc.) back to life....especially to be passed down to a family member. :bthumb:

As has been pointed out....relining works well for restoring barrels from old guns for which a factory replacement barrel is not otherwise available. I have a Winchester 1906 that was relined at some point. It shoots as well as another one I have that had a factory barrel replacement and with a bore that is still in excellent condition.

I see guns that have been relined, but even a casual glance makes it obvious it was relined...you can see it in the end of the barrel. On the other hand, I have seen them in which you had to look extremely close and know what to look for to see the liner. Whoever did my 1906 did a very nice job.

Some guns lend themselves well to relining....like the 1890 Winchesters, but I have heard conflicting information about relining guns like the Remington Model 12 with its tapered breech end.

 

[Anchor Zero Six]

I agree with those stating its viable for restoring an older gun to shooting condition.

If mearly repairing a neglected but still modern rifle a rebarreling would be the route to go. Unless performing the work yourself smithing costs will be close if not more than a rebarrel job however that dosnt factor in the cost of a premium blank vs a liner which will be considerably far apart in cost.