What does it cost to get a barrel lined?

[freakonaleash]

I can find all kinds of '86's with bad bores. What does it cost to get a liner put in one? Who is good at doing this sort of thing?

[Nobade]

Think about how thin that liner would be over the chamber of an '86. That might not be something you would want to do. Depending on the cartridge it's chambered for, reboring might be an option.

[Sasquatch-1]

Check with Bobby Hoyt in Pennsylvania. If you run his name contact info will come up.

[freakonaleash]

Check with Bobby Hoyt in Pennsylvania. If you run his name contact info will come up.

I do business with Bob Hoyt all the time. He's my favorite barrel maker, I've been using his barrels for 40 years. I'll have to call him and talk this over with him.

[sharps4590]

It's going to depend on whether or not the gunsmith has the drill bit, the reamer and finish reamer and the go-no go gauges. It can run up to $400-$500. Bear in mind, relining the bore will decrease the value of an original '86. I'm not saying don't do it, I've done it myself with a couple rifles; a '92 Winchester in 32-20 and a Jeffery Rook rifle that had originally been 255 Jeffery and had been re-chambered to 25-20 sometime in the dim, distant past. Both rifles became very good shooters once the reline either settled down or got broke in, I don't know which. The '92 took 50-100 rounds before it started shooting a group and the Jeffery took around 200 rounds. I almost gave up on it before it started shooting. Anyway, it's something to consider.

[John Taylor]

I do more than a few liner jobs and I hear quite often that the collector value will be gone if a liner is installed, I disagree. If a rifle comes in that can no longer be shot because the bore is bad there is not much collector value left unless it is a super rare model (which probably would not be shot anyway). If a person wants to shoot an old gun but the bore is shot out, a liner would allow the gun to be put back in action. Several years ago a customer sent in a Remington rolling block that he wanted to shoot but there was rust in the bore. His idea was to have it lined so he could shoot it but most of his friends said he would loose all collector value. Now he has a very expensive wall hanger that he can't shoot because he listened to his friends. Collectors will not pay much for a rifle with rust in the bore. Collectors want an old item that looks like it was never used. There are several companies that make replacement barrels for old guns with all the correct markings and if done right collectors can not tell if the gun was ever worked on. Some of these guns go for very high prices at gun shows. Many collectors know who is rebuilding these rifles and stay away from them. I look at it a different way, if a rifle is properly restored and a collector wants it then it is worth what he is willing to pay for it. Several yeas back I had a customer send a Volcanic that was missing most of the internal parts. I was able to make the parts so the action would function even tho it would never be shot again.
To answer the original question, I get $400 for lining most 22 rim fires and $500 for most center fires. Cost of liners and labor have gone up over the years.

[Shawlerbrook]

Great info ^^ from an expert. I couldn’t agree more.

[Bent Ramrod]

Mr. Taylor is right. Serious collectors are all about condition and provenance. They don’t go in for shot-out relics unless that’s the only example they can find, and if they do buy it, it will be for as low a price as they can manage, and then it’s only a place holder until the find an example in better condition. Then the relic is back on the “For Sale” table. And if they try to sell it for as much as they’ve spent on the better specimen, it stays on the table for a long time.

A standard example of a production gun, not particularly well-cared-for, and unshootable, remains a do-not-alter “collector’s item” only if it’s a Colt Walker or Dance revolver or a Sharps or Henry rifle. Or Davey Crockett’s flintlock with the buttstock gone from clubbing Mexican soldiers at the Alamo. Once out of such rare categories, the gun is generally much more interesting (and more easily sellable) as a shootable example of a neat antique than as a corroded, unshootable conversation piece.

There was a guy at the Colorado Gun Collectors’ Show who had a fantastic collection of Sharps-Borchardt target rifles. Some of these had been converted to varmint rifles when found, or been found in poor or partially-dismembered condition. He had patiently combed the market for barrels and other parts to restore them to some semblance of their original state.

I didn’t tell him that he’d ruined the “collector value” of the bits and pieces of “originals” he’d found. My mind was too thoroughly boggled as I gawked at the display.