Used rifle barrels are they worth the trouble of making them fit your receiver

[Zeak]

I see used barrels on the inter-net for sale and some are pretty cheap. I know you can get lucky and they will fit your receiver with out doing nothing. My ?, if one is to tight or to loose how do you make them work.  Zeak

[quickdtoo]

.

[stimpylu32]

Zeak

You bet its worth it , some of my best shooting barrels were ones that needed to be tweeked to fit my frames . and the more frames you have to work with , the better the odds that you will not have to do anything .

And asTim so nicely put it    , check the FAQs for barrel fitting how-to's , easy and fun .

stimpy

[MSP Ret]

easy peasy, ezy pzy, EZ PZ. As my children would say when they were young, it's easy peazy!!!! And
well worth it as well !!!! It can even be fun and enjoyable, as well as VERY cost effective....<><....

[petemi]

No, they're not worth it...all trash and garbage.........just be sure you call me before you throw one out!!!!   As everyone has said, they're good value, fun to work with and can be made to fit well without a gunsmith in most cases.  Gobble up all you can get reasonably.  Pete

[indydave]

where are good places to look for them?

[stimpylu32]

Right here on the H&R Classifieds , some of the other gun forums will also have a few , and don't over look pawn shops and gun shops ( they sometimes get in guns with more than 1 barrel and will sell the extras )

Now that e-bay has stopped selling barrels they are starting to show up on Gun Brokers as well as Guns America BUT the prices can be a tad on the HIGH side .

stimpy

[Jagguy]

I have been tempted to get a used barrel, but most used barrels seem to go for $100 - $120 shipped. Most of the barrels that I want go for $87 new plus $35 for shipping both ways and factory fitting. So except for the time factor I really don't see the benefit to buying used. Am I missing something?
-greg

[quickdtoo]

Many fit with no modifications, enough that make it worth it, those members that have multiple frames have a good chance of a perfect fit on at least one frame. About half of 43 H&Rs I own were assembled from parts, try ordering a 7x57, 35 Whelen or 7.62x39, or any custom barrel from H&R. 

Tim

[Dave Weiss]

I bought 2 that didn't fit and I didn't want to mess with them. I was able to sell both (at a slight loss), but it's something I won't do again. It's a lot of work to make them fit "properly" and I lacked the confidence to make that happen. I'm ANAL about things being just so...

>>>===> Dave

[LaOtto222]

I have two frames and 6 barrels. All of them either came on the frame or the frames were sent into H&R for fitting. I like the idea of factory fitted barrels. I think I could work with a barrel that was tight and make if fit OK. I do some minor gun smithing of my own including fitting barrels to bolt actions. I have bough a short chambered barrel for a Remington 700 and fitted it to my action. Done uncounted trigger jobs including the Handis I have. So I am not afraid of tinkering with a gun. If the barrel was too loose, I do not like the thought of trying to add material to it to make it fit. Fred has a barrel that he turned into a 6X47 that did not fit correctly and he has added material to the barrel at the hinge pin lug. He has shot it loose at least once that I know of and had to redo it. I guess I just do not like the idea of making a barrel fit.

I also have this feeling that gives me the nix on used barrels. If a guy has a barrel for sale, I just get the feeling that there must be something wrong. I am positive that there barrels sold that are perfectly fine, because the guy is hard up for money, getting a divorce or for some other good reason. There may be other reasons too and I do not like that thought - I get this nagging feeling that if it was such a good barrel, why is it for sale? I know I am in the minority here about the barrel fitting and buying used barrels. It is just my quirky nature I guess. This forum is full of stories of people buying used barrels and having them fit fine or fitting them to their frames and shooting good. I just do not want to take that chance on a barrel that costs almost as much or as much as a factory fitted one.

[stimpylu32]

I'm at 20 frames now with 25 barrels and only a hand full were gotten as complete rifles , most were mix & match parts .

Try to get H&R to fit a 22 mag Rimfire barrel to a SB-2 frame so you can send it out for a new chamber , fat chance . Sometimes the only way to get what you want is to get it 2nd hand .

stimpy

[LaOtto222]

Like I said I am in the minority about fitting barrels here. If I want a custom something then I go in a different direction. A T/C or Savage

[45north]

I am at one frame and three brls. One factory brl 22 hornet, one used 30/06 that fit perfectly, and my last one that is a lost cause. It will not fit, way to loose. It makes me wonder why a contender frame will work with a hundred different brls. but it's hit and mis with H&R on used brls.
45north

[stimpylu32]

45north

Its all about the specs , that the maker calls good enough and also how the actions are made , as for TC's , I have a friend that is a nut when it comes to them .

With over 100 barrels and yet he has 4 frames , why ? because he has found that even with the tighter specs of the TC's , not all the barrels will fit every frame properly . Granted , you stand a better chance of a TC barrel fitting than you do an H&R but  you will also pay as much for a TC barrel as you do for a whole H&R rifle  .

stimpy

[45north]

stimpy,
  You make a good point, $ 250.00 for a T/C brl or $ 250.0 for a handi rifle. still I will never own more than one or two handi frames. But I would not mind if the price was $25.00 to $ 50.00 higher for the accy brl and $ 50.00 to $ 100.00 more for the whole rifle if I knew the tolerance standards were increased commensurate with the price increase.
45north