Relining 1893 Marlin

[NapalmCheese]

I'm getting some info on relining an 1893 Marlin in .38-55. I know a few people out there still do it so I'm trolling the various forums to see who people like and what their opinions are on bore diameter. I mostly shoot cast with black powder, but I would like to be able to shoot jacketed as well. I'm thinking a .379 or .378 bore might do it.

So, do any of you know of a person doing relining jobs for .38-55?

 

[BigBossman]

I'm sure you've already seen this, but just in case....

Reboring-Relining-MuzzleBrake

Rebore your existing rifle barrel for highly accurate barrel

www.oregunsmithingllc.com

Also - might be cheaper/better idea just to have a new barrel made, or find a good original barrel and do a swap? These guys make custom replacement barrels, with correct roll stamps, markings, and patina if desired:

About

Winchester,Marlin,Remington

www.winchesterbarrels.com

 

[NapalmCheese]

I hadn't thought about a barrel swap, though everything matches on the gun right now and I'm not sure that's what I'd be after. I guess in the long run I want a gun that'll shoot.

After trying some 20:1 .380 bullets and my favorite black powders I cleaned the rifle and ran an endoscope down it. The accuracy was lackluster (about 8 inches at 50 yards) that day so I wanted to take a look. It's pretty much a smooth bore for the first half of the barrel, and the first half of the barrel slugs well over .380. I think it's a goner.

There's a cowboy shooter that really likes his .38-55s and I keep meaning to pick his brain about it but haven't asked him yet.

The guy I most often seen referred to for this kind of work John Taylor, no longer seems to be doing it. I'll see what I hear about that Oregon Gunsmith.

 

[BigBossman]

I hadn't thought about a barrel swap, though everything matches on the gun right now and I'm not sure that's what I'd be after. I guess in the long run I want a gun that'll shoot.

Well, if the barrel is as bad internally as you say, a barrel swap is not doing to alter the value much, as it is already a "low condition" gun to the collector world. If you can find a vintage take-off barrel in the same caliber and with similar patina, it would be essentially the same gun - the barrels are not serialized, after all.

The only other option is to leave it as-is, and buy another rifle to shoot.

 

[compulsivegungrabber]

I'm getting some info on relining an 1893 Marlin in .38-55. I know a few people out there still do it so I'm trolling the various forums to see who people like and what their opinions are on bore diameter. I mostly shoot cast with black powder, but I would like to be able to shoot jacketed as well. I'm thinking a .379 or .378 bore might do it.

So, do any of you know of a person doing relining jobs for .38-55?

They make liners for that caliber, in 4 different configurations, and any competent gunsmith should be able to reline a barrel. You can call Redmans and ask. Not only do they reline barrels, but they also manufacture the liners. I think they keep it to a select number of guns/calibers though.

 

[AR15barrels]

They make liners for that caliber, in 4 different configurations, and any competent gunsmith should be able to reline a barrel. You can call Redmans and ask. Not only do they reline barrels, but they also manufacture the liners. I think they keep it to a select number of guns/calibers though.

There are barrel OD minimums and the liners are pretty big for 0.375 caliber barrels.
You can reline heavy octagon or heavy half-octagon barrels.
You sometimes can't reline a skinny sporter barrel where the barrel is too thin to support the dovetail cuts for hanging the sights and magazine tube from the barrel.

 

[Malibu]

While y’all are talking about relining barrels, can anything be done with a Winchester 1892 model in .25-20W to convert to a more plentiful cartridge, or something that uses a common brass case as the parent that can be readily formed?…I have this heirloom rifle and a new box of 500 cases, but am looking to the future…

 

[AR15barrels]

While y’all are talking about relining barrels, can anything be done with a Winchester 1892 model in .25-20W to convert to a more plentiful cartridge, or something that uses a common brass case as the parent that can be readily formed?…I have this heirloom rifle and a new box of 500 cases, but am looking to the future…

Rebore and rechamber it to 32-20.

 

[ironhorse1]

I checked out barrel relining a while back. Cost was $450 and the gunsmith was not accepting more work at the time.
That did not include shipping.
Had a Winchester in 38-55 with a bad bore. Needed a 26" barrel in nickel steel to replace the original high strength steel barrel.
I got lucky and found one in 32 Winchester special on Ebay for less than $200.
I was able to remove the old barrel and the bore was perfect on the new one. The outside looked terrible so it was cleaned up and cold blued. The only difference between the 38-55 and 32 WS was I needed to open up the guide rails some for feeding.
It really shoots good too.
Lots of Marlin barrels on Ebay for under $300. Just find one that meets your black powder needs.

irh

 

[compulsivegungrabber]

There are barrel OD minimums and the liners are pretty big for 0.375 caliber barrels.
You can reline heavy octagon or heavy half-octagon barrels.
You sometimes can't reline a skinny sporter barrel where the barrel is too thin to support the dovetail cuts for hanging the sights and magazine tube from the barrel.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it would appear that the minimum wall thickness is .125, so .625 barrel diameter to be able to safely reline it? While I've relined a few of my own and friends 22's, I've never attempted anything larger.

 

[AR15barrels]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it would appear that the minimum wall thickness is .125, so .625 barrel diameter to be able to safely reline it?
While I've relined a few of my own and friends 22's, I've never attempted anything larger.

I don't know for sure, but I believe the minimum barrel wall thickness would be OVER the liner OD, not the rifled bore diameter.
So if you have a 0.375" rifled bore liner with a 0.531" OD, and you need 0.125" wall thickness over that liner, then your minimum barrel diameter is 0.781".

I have only done 22 rimfire relining jobs and those are 5/16" liner OD so that gets us to 9/16" minimum barrel diameter for relining.rifled
That covers most rimfire sporter barrels just fine.

That 0.125" minimum wall thickness sounds about right to me as that's just deep enough for most of the dovetail cuts on lever action barrels to not have to be re-cut into the liner after the liner was installed.

 

[NapalmCheese]

I don't know for sure, but I believe the minimum barrel wall thickness would be OVER the liner OD, not the rifled bore diameter.
So if you have a 0.375" rifled bore liner with a 0.531" OD, and you need 0.125" wall thickness over that liner, then your minimum barrel diameter is 0.781".

I have only done 22 rimfire relining jobs and those are 5/16" liner OD so that gets us to 9/16" minimum barrel diameter for relining.rifled
That covers most rimfire sporter barrels just fine.

That 0.125" minimum wall thickness sounds about right to me as that's just deep enough for most of the dovetail cuts on lever action barrels to not have to be re-cut into the liner after the liner was installed.

There was a gentleman on CalGuns that thinks I may not have enough barrel for it at all. My muzzle calipers at 0.682ish and the breech at 0.865ish.

I'm still going to spend some time trying to get it to shoot with cast anyway, so I'm not in a rush.