Barrel Liner Advice

6mm06

6mm06

Well-known member
Does anyone have experience with barrel liners?

I have Remington 581-S that I am considering converting to a .17 Mach 2, at least I'm playing around with the notion right now.

Rebarreling would be the expensive way to go, but what about a barrel liner? I notice that Brownell's has them and they are cheap.

How well do they work, accuracy wise, and also chambering etc?

Appreciate any advice from anyone who has experience.

David
 
I've been looking at having a 150 year old Hawken style muzzle loader barrel upgraded with a barrel liner... One of the down sides that I've been warned about is the potential for moisture/condensation to collect between the original barrel and the liner...I'm not sure how valid the warning would be on a modern firearm..

How much of a problem that might present, I don't know,, It will be almost as cheap to have a new barrel made and allow me to keep the original, as I've run down a lot of information on the smith that originally made the rifle...
 
I have heard of people having good results with liners but have no experience myself. I must caution though that (good) is relative and subjective. I look forward to hearing a report if this is the direction you go. Good luck either way.
 
I did some searching for reports on liners, and read some good things. But, it pays sometimes to get information from people who have either done it or know someone who did.

Off topic a bit, but what about a good "rimfire" gunsmith? Anyone know of one and a contact?

I've heard the name Brian Voleker as a possibility. Anyone else have suggestions?
 
I had a liner put in an old Remington Model 4 Rolling Block .22LR years ago. The accuracy is fantastic. No problems.
Frank
 
I have installed several liners in both 22's and a few centerfires. Alot depends on the quality of the liner. Haven't really ran across any bad rimfire ones but with bigger bore {45 caliber and up} centerfires I always had to turn the O.D. on my lathe with a follower rest so it was concentric with the I.D. I guess most manufacturers dont take the time to get them dead on. If installed correctly there is really no chance of moisture getting between the liner and the barrel. A liner should work real good on an old muzzleloader. Besides rimfires I personally never use them in anything other than lower pressure older calibers like old leverguns. I have an old 1886 Winchester the I lined in 45-70 caliber and it shoots very accuratly.
 
Msinc,

I noticed barrel liners at Brownell's that are pretty cheap. Don't know about their quality, and I don't have the expertise to install one, much less to do it properly.

Do you see any problem with having my Remington 581 converted to .17 Mach 2 by way of a barrel liner? Do you recommend a particular gun smith to do the work?

Thanks.

David
 
I had the luck to work on an old S&W single shot target pistol in 22LR that had been relined by H. Pope. It was extremely accurate. But Pope would have used only the best. I do not know if it was a liner he had rifled.

Jack
 
I wish I knew how much it differs from my 581. Does yours have six rear locking lugs? Im in the middle of a centerfire conversion for mine- 17 hornet AI, but Id be happy to share what info I have on swapping barrels, if your keeping it rimfire, it would be a snap. Alot of it DIY, if you have good relationship with a local machinist.
 
I am not sure who is making the liners for Brownell's but I haven't heard anyone complaining about them. The two issues I would comment on as far as what you want to do are expense for one and the caliber itself. No problem doing it...it can definately be done. The actual liner cost is low, it's the rest of it that gets ya'.
The barrel has to be removed, rough bored with a piloted drill and then reamed to size. The liner has to be set, the crown cut and the barrel reinstalled so the chamber can be reamed and headspace set. Somewhere in the middle of all this work there is always the chance that the barrel will need to be blued.
After it's all done, just as described in above posts the gun may end up not shooting as good as it once did. Which is a real kick in the tail because it cost the same whether it ends up a tack driver or not. Dont take this wrong because I dont want to discourage you, I just want you to know as much about what all is involved as I can.
As far as the caliber goes it's your choice. I had a 17 Mach II and I dont know what you want to use it for but I will say that the bullet is so small it is good up to squirrels and that about lets it out. I was not impressed with mine and got rid of it quick.
Bottom line here is that unless you are really in love with a 581 in 17M2 you will probably be alot better off {at least finacially} to find a good used barrel and have it installed. I dont know any gunsmiths close to you that install liners, but anyone that barrels rifles and has a lathe should be able to do it, no rocket science here. At the same time I know they make it sound like all you need is a hand drill and a can of epoxy but I would seriously approach with caution the guy who claims to have done it that way. I can put the liner in and get the gun shooting and ship it back to you but the bottom line would probably kill the whole shebang anyway.
 
Msinc,

Great information and I appreciate your time and input.

As to being set on converting to .17 Mach 2, I'm not really, just a thought and consideration since I don't have one and would like one.

It sounds as if there is more work involved than I first imagined, so the costs of it may not be feasable. It would almost be as cheap to rebarrel with a good quality barrel.

I have visions of a nice re-stocked, rebarreled or lined sporter that would be a shooter. That's a project that may take some time and definitely some money. For now I'm in the thinking / planning stage.

Yotenaylor, I did read something on the Internet about converting a 581 to a 17 AI Hornet. Is that something you plan to do? Do you have the 581? I suppose it would be converted to a single shot. If you will, share with us some more details about that type of converstion, what's involved, costs etc.

Thanks guys.

David
 
Well, my costs are going to be skewed as Im doing alot of work myself, and Im lucky enough to have a very competent machinist who will simply do exactly what I ask him to do on the stuff I cant do myself.

Basically you thread and true the action, machine a barrel in a corresponding fashion, chamber the barrel and your good.

This is where the two roads diverge. Its simple to just modify the existing bolt with a dremel and cutting wheel to accept a center striking firing pin, and widen the extractors. But that leaves a smidge of the case head unsupported. This is where you need to be either all in, or cheap. Ive heard of people doing both. On 5mm Craigs this is exactly whats done and its the same bolt (591/581).

Where this gets tricky is enlarging the port and lengthening the bolt stop groove. Which can be done with a good quality drill press and a machinist vise.

Not blowin smoke, but you seem from all your posts like a level headed guy. Just strip the darn thing down and look at it. Its practically beggin to be a center fire.

Or, like I said,just leave it a 17 mach 2 and youd be golden. I honestly plan to find another to mod into a mach 2 as this seems like a gun that should have been produced.

Heres a really good link that I wish Id had when I started monkeying with it.

http://www.castbulletassoc.org/forum/view_topic.php?id=5418&forum_id=48
 
Thanks for the info yotenaylor. You seem to have quite a bit of knowledge about such things. Me, I like guns, hunting etc., but I'm no gunsmith.

I was hoping perhaps that the Mach2 would be an easy way to go, and give me a little .17 caliber that I have been wanting. I have a .17 HMR already.

As to the .17 AI Hornet, that is a round that I have been looking at with interest for some time. Sonny (Catshooter) has one that is pure death on groundhogs.

Hopefully I'll figure it out down the road and come up with a pleasing rifle. I'm not dead set in my ways, so open to possibilities.

I do know one thing, however, that the Remington 581 is one heck of a nice rifle, despite it being marketed as a cheap version. I have the 541-S that is a tack driver. Nice rifle in all accounts, except for the darn plastic, now hard to find, 5-shot magazine.

Thanks again.

David
 
AWWWW.......just take the old girl apart and let your imagination start running wild.

Then, go find a local machinist who will do what you ask him to do.

It pretty much that simple.
 


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