Rebrreling. Is is worth the money?

[Bravo 4]

The other thing about building a rifle is you can have it built the way you want it and that's worth a lot. I have re barreled most of my factory rifles and have been sorry that I did (Even the ones that shot good).

So you were sorry about re barreling? Or was that a typo that was supposed to say
was NOT sorry?
Just curious; I don't have a dog in this fight but I value your expert gunsmith opinion and want to make sure I am reading it correctly.

I agree that if a factory rifle shoots good and is gonna be used for hunting then leave it, unless you don't like it. However, if it's gonna be used for competition (or shooting prairie dogs) then you better go run it hard to see what it'll really do. I think that's where you may see a difference in quality...when things heat up. A barrel that will stack 3 shots may not do it with 5, and one that'll do it with 5 may not do it with 10 or 20. I could care less if my hunting rifles (deer, elk and such) won't shoot really good 5 shot groups, as long as they will put the first (maybe second and third) shot into the same POI consistently.

 

[J E Custom]

So you were sorry about re barreling? Or was that a typo that was supposed to say
was NOT sorry?
Just curious; I don't have a dog in this fight but I value your expert gunsmith opinion and want to make sure I am reading it correct.

It is a Typo. I didn't have my second cup of coffee and did not proof the post. It should have said "I was not sorry".

One of the first rifles I re-barreled was a factory Mod 7 in 7/08.
It almost looked like a toy (With an 18 1/2" barrel and the small action and stock) but I was responsible for the demise of many white tailed deer, hogs and other game. I had a 100%
success rate and I really had no reason to mess with it. But I liked the action and the cartridge so much I couldn't leave it alone.

I decided to give it a 20" barrel with a heavy taper to help with running shots and accuracy.I also placed it on a varmint laminate that fit me much better. these changes added almost 4 lbs
to the rifle and made it a dream to shoot for running targets. it also went from a very respectable
3/4 MOA rifle to a sub 1/10 MOA.

It has become one of my favorite rifles to hunt deer and hogs with and has an un tarnished record
on running shots.

It has been responsible for changing my philosophy about heavy Custom barrels and laminate stocks for better balance. And I have not been unhappy with any rifle where I have followed this Philosophy.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention

J E CUSTOM

 

[1100 Remington Man]

Some times its not the money to a point, but it's the loss of a rifle for months
I wanted my Rifle a Model 70 XTR 264 Win Mag with a sporter barrel to have a heaver barrel like maybe a # 4 or 5 Fluted and 26-27 inches long in 8 1/2 twist since my factory barrel is only 24 inches long and I wanted all the performance I could get out of this caliber. I would like it to shoot Hornadys new 6.5 143gr ELD X
In truth I don't think I would gain much my rifle currently groups under 2.5 inches at 300 Yds. with Nosler's 120gr 6.5 BT. which has worked well on Deer and Antelope.
Even though I have it set up the shoot to 700 Yds as It is but, I never had a shot that far with my longest being just over 500 Yds.
I would like a little heaver barrel for recoil but not a lot as when I hunt I walk a lot as last fall in Southeast Montana I put on 9-14 miles a day walking.
I have a Remington 700 VSSF II in .223 Rem with 26 inch barrel with a Leupold VX III in 4.5x14 40mm and this is as much weight as I care to carry long distance.
I just wish there would of been a Gunsmith around where I lived when I Cerkote my rifle and put on a HS Precison stock and glass bedded it, would of liked to have done barrel at the time but with long waits for a barrel and not knowing a good Gunsmith to do the work.
I just stuck with what I had maybe some day.

 

[engineer40]

I spend my money on beer and women... The rest I waste.


I have 2 custom barrels on order. These will be my first non-factory barrels. One of the rifles I could get 5 shots under .3 most of the time. But much more than 5 shots and they started stringing all over the place. Seemed like it didn't even matter if I waited multiple minutes between shots. Since I started reloading this year, every time I go to the range lately I am working up loads and will always be shooting over 5 shots. So I really ordered the custom barrels to help my reloading hobby, not my hunting hobby.

I can't remember the term the guy used, but I'll just paraphrase and say the metal in my new barrels are going to be "double stressed". Should definitely help with the shots starting to walk. Oh and 1 barrel will be 1 inch at the muzzle and the other barrel will be .825 at the muzzle so that will help too.


And I'm joking in that first sentence. I rarely drink and only 1 woman spends my money.

 

[jeff 300]

I say no way wast of money if they shoot that good by more ammo n keep on shooting. If you just want a new gun with a custom barrel then I would sale one of them n build a true custom imo for what you can buy a custom action for vs what it cost to true up a factory action they r not worth it. I'll never spend money getting a factory action tried again cause at the end of the day u still only have a action worth 350-400 with 700-800 in it but that's just me. You r seeing more n more smiths only using custom action n not messing with factory stuff.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I say no way wast of money if they shoot that good by more ammo n keep on shooting. If you just want a new gun with a custom barrel then I would sale one of them n build a true custom imo for what you can buy a custom action for vs what it cost to true up a factory action they r not worth it. I'll never spend money getting a factory action tried again cause at the end of the day u still only have a action worth 350-400 with 700-800 in it but that's just me. You r seeing more n more smiths only using custom action n not messing with factory stuff.

So those $600 already blueprinted 700 actions from PTG (which include a PTG bolt assembly) cost as much as a $1,300 custom action?

Extreme Remington 700 Long Action (LA) Blueprinted Action & Bolt, FP Assy - Pacific Tool and Gauge

Show me a smith that is ONLY using custom actions and won't blueprint a factory action...

Also, custom rifles cost in the $3,000+ range, right? And if the gunsmith is charging the same amount, but not having to mess with the action, then you are basically paying about $1,000 (or more) for him to simply chamber, thread, and crown a barrel... If you're ok with paying someone $1,000+ to do a $150-250 job, then I guess that's fine, but it sounds like a ripoff to me.

 

[Bravo 4]

Show me a smith that is ONLY using custom actions and won't blueprint a factory action...

Kirby Allen, last time I had a conversation with him he was too busy to mess with a factory action rifle. I asked him about rebarreling a rifle he had built for me several years back on a 700 action and the answer was negative.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Kirby Allen, last time I had a conversation with him he was too busy to mess with a factory action rifle. I asked him about rebarreling a rifle he had built for me several years back on a 700 action and the answer was negative.

I have never heard of a gunsmith that won't rebarrel or blueprint a factory action. That's shocking to hear, especially from someone as prominent as Kirby.

 

[JJMoody]

Don't want to stir the pot, as I'm sure the outcome will be well worth the extended wait time, but I really am excited for the Curtis/Russo Axiom to finally get into production. $750ish dollars for a no frills custom job? Yes please. i know some guys are tired of all the waiting, but like I've told some of my construction customers/crew, "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when are you gonna have time to fix it?" Guess its a little off the topic of the original post, but "Yay innovation!" There are a lot of quality options being put out there any more.

So those $600 already blueprinted 700 actions from PTG (which include a PTG bolt assembly) cost as much as a $1,300 custom action?

Extreme Remington 700 Long Action (LA) Blueprinted Action & Bolt, FP Assy - Pacific Tool and Gauge

Show me a smith that is ONLY using custom actions and won't blueprint a factory action...

Also, custom rifles cost in the $3,000+ range, right? And if the gunsmith is charging the same amount, but not having to mess with the action, then you are basically paying about $1,000 (or more) for him to simply chamber, thread, and crown a barrel... If you're ok with paying someone $1,000+ to do a $150-250 job, then I guess that's fine, but it sounds like a ripoff to me.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Don't want to stir the pot, as I'm sure the outcome will be well worth the extended wait time, but I really am excited for the Curtis/Russo Axiom to finally get into production. $750ish dollars for a no frills custom job? Yes please. i know some guys are tired of all the waiting, but like I've told some of my construction customers/crew, "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when are you gonna have time to fix it?" Guess its a little off the topic of the original post, but "Yay innovation!" There are a lot of quality options being put out there any more.

You are 100% correct, and I had completely forgot about the Axium. Those new Curtis Axium actions are the only exception I can see that would make it worth the extra money to go custom, if you're on a budget. For $750, it is just over half the price-point of most custom actions.

A lot of folks, like me, don't make a lot of money, so we can't afford to drop $1,100-1,500 on just an action. And if I can pickup a cheap used ADL donor rifle for $350, then that is the best starting point for a budget build, in your average person's situation.

 

[Bravo 4]

I have never heard of a gunsmith that won't rebarrel or blueprint a factory action. That's shocking to hear, especially from someone as prominent as Kirby.

I'm not bashing the guy at all, he is the go to guy if you ask me. But when everyone seems to go to him he has a lot on his plate and probably doesn't want/need the added work that messing with a receiver may need (?). I don't know, I'm not a gunsmith.
He has enough work that he can pick and choose what he wants to do. A buddy of mine waited over 3 years for his rifle build, as when I had mine built it was more like 6 months time. He is busy, but busy for a reason.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I'm not bashing the guy at all, he is the go to guy if you ask me. But when everyone seems to go to him he has a lot on his plate and probably doesn't want/need the added work that messing with a receiver may need (?). I don't know, I'm not a gunsmith.
He has enough work that he can pick and choose what he wants to do. A buddy of mine waited over 3 years for his rifle build, as when I had mine built it was more like 6 months time. He is busy, but busy for a reason.

I'm not either, I've talked with Kirby several times on here. He seems like a great guy. And I can understand him being busy with his reputation for building quality rifles.

It's just shocking to hear that any gunsmith would refuse to work on factory actions. I mean, I've been around professional (and well-known) gunsmiths for 1/2 my life, and never heard of that before.

Also, no way in hell I'm waiting 3 years for a rifle to be built...I don't care if God himself was building it.