The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Blighty wrote:Have you considered an M39?...I even have a lead on a German dealer who has a number of unissued M39s (waiting for a reply to an E-mail to confirm).

Oooh. M39's!
Would you like some sweeties?

meles meles wrote:A 32 inch 7.62x54R bull barrel was quoted at 385 Euros, oomans. That seems good value to us.

It would be 2/3rds of that price for a Border Archer, but the time frame is not obvious at this point due to changes in the business.

That's interesting, fat rat. We didn't know Border did 7.62x54R barrels, nor in stainless steel. We'll go check them out.

Are the barrels you mention blanks or pre-chambered? Certainly I am not aware of any 7,62x54R pre-fit barrels from border and I would need to check my Lothar Walther list however I very much doubt they directly supply 54R MN pre-fit barrels. This means that the barrel of your choice will need to be cut to length, threaded, chambered and crowned, fitted and then sent to Proof.

219€. Got to this one last year. You need to know where to look!

ovenpaa wrote:Are the barrels you mention blanks or pre-chambered? Certainly I am not aware of any 7,62x54R pre-fit barrels from border and I would need to check my Lothar Walther list however I very much doubt they directly supply 54R MN pre-fit barrels. This means that the barrel of your choice will need to be cut to length, threaded, chambered and crowned, fitted and then sent to Proof.

The gunsmiths I've been dealing with prefer to do their own chamber reaming, because that way they have direct control over the standard of the work.
As a result, when I look at manufacturers barrels, I tend to look at the spec being unchambered. Buying a reamer isn't a bad thing, but if it's in an unusual calibre, it may not pay for itself.

DL. wrote:The gunsmiths I've been dealing with prefer to do their own chamber reaming, because that way they have direct control over the standard of the work.
As a result, when I look at manufacturers barrels, I tend to look at the spec being unchambered. Buying a reamer isn't a bad thing, but if it's in an unusual calibre, it may not pay for itself.

OK, this is where the confusion was setting in as I read it as both LW and Border were supplying pre-chambered barrels which, given the tolerances MN's were built to seemed unusual.

DL. wrote:

meles meles wrote:A 32 inch 7.62x54R bull barrel was quoted at 385 Euros, oomans. That seems good value to us.

It would be 2/3rds of that price for a Border Archer, but the time frame is not obvious at this point due to changes in the business.

As this is a budget build...

I don't understand why a dozen or so UK gunsmiths don't club together and do a group buy on Devcon, action screws and other frequently required consumables.
Also a reamer hiring list would be advantageous. There would need to be a committee, in order to fend off the feckless cowboys wanting to join, that could bring the group into disrepute.
No I'm not volunteering to have any involvement! :lol:

I for one hate the idea of borrowing reamers, even from very good friends, I much prefer to buy my own as needed and then store them away ready for the next time. Same goes for head space gauges, however I do borrow action keys and lend mine out if I have one someone needs. Also I really do not mind if someone copies my action spanner whilst they have it in their hands.

How confident are you that 7.62R milsurp will continue to be cheap and plentiful? The build seems to be predicated on this fact. Also, if you are handloading won't that put other cartridges on a level playing field, specifically .308Win in a Remington 700.

Btw, some of the 'cheap' stuff around at the moment seems to be hotter than the surface of the sun and needing a mallet to aid primary extraction.