The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Re-Boring .243 to .257Roberts

Bart B. · November 20, 2012, 07:23 AM

A rebored/rerifled barrel will never shoot as accurate as the original did. Rifling tools tend to make bigger groove diameters at each end of a bored and reamed barrel blank; they're belled a bit at their ends. Some top quality match barrel makers air or hole mic gauge their barrels and put a mark on their outside at each end where the bell starts. That's why 'smiths cut off the first inch or two of a new barrel's muzzle and the chambering reamer takes out the bell at the breech end.

I suggest contacting Ruger about getting a replacement barrel with the same contour so you stock will fit it. You could probably get two or three of them for the cost of having a smith rebore/rerifle your old one.

There's been a few 'smiths that relined a barrel with a rifled tube that's been fit to a shot out barrel after it's been gun drilled and reamed to a bigger hole. But usually for barrels using low pressure cartridges. My brother had his 16 gauge - 7x57mm Mauser three barrel drilling's shot out rifle barrel relined with a .22 K-Hornet chambered tube but he never loaded the ammo up to max SAAMI pressure specs; mild loads only.

November 20, 2012, 07:23 AM	#6
Bart B. Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 2009 Posts: 8,927	A rebored/rerifled barrel will never shoot as accurate as the original did. Rifling tools tend to make bigger groove diameters at each end of a bored and reamed barrel blank; they're belled a bit at their ends. Some top quality match barrel makers air or hole mic gauge their barrels and put a mark on their outside at each end where the bell starts. That's why 'smiths cut off the first inch or two of a new barrel's muzzle and the chambering reamer takes out the bell at the breech end. I suggest contacting Ruger about getting a replacement barrel with the same contour so you stock will fit it. You could probably get two or three of them for the cost of having a smith rebore/rerifle your old one. There's been a few 'smiths that relined a barrel with a rifled tube that's been fit to a shot out barrel after it's been gun drilled and reamed to a bigger hole. But usually for barrels using low pressure cartridges. My brother had his 16 gauge - 7x57mm Mauser three barrel drilling's shot out rifle barrel relined with a .22 K-Hornet chambered tube but he never loaded the ammo up to max SAAMI pressure specs; mild loads only. Last edited by Bart B.; November 20, 2012 at 09:54 AM.