doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Best Gunsmiths for Sleeving Barrels

Who are the best guys to do barrel sleeving?

Is it really possible to be almost invisible?

What good and bad sleeving experiences are out there?

I have a quality 12b SLE with 12/75 chambers whose barrels were cut from the original 30 inches to 25 5/8 and want to put 29 or 30 inch tubes back on it. I realize the sleeving affects the final value, but the gun is a loss as it is and I got it cheap.

I would contact this guy

http://www.johnfostergunmaker.co.uk/sleeve.htm

In lieu of sleeving perfectly good barrels for ruffed grouse / churchill method / heavy cover hunting, why not have another set of barrels fabricated?

A gun with two sets of unsleeved barrels is surely more versatile and valuable than a gun that was sleeved solely to give you greater length.

Further, the sleeve job is going to be costly because you're going to need a new rib since the current one has been cut short. All the more reason to pursue another set of barrels instead.

Any suggestions on who could do this and approximate cost? Thanks.

CPA:
Both Hugh Lomas http://hglomasgunmakers.com/ and Kirk Merrington http://www.kirkmerrington.net/ (both Brits) here in the United States can do an excellent job for you. I would trust them both completely. Contact them about pricing and time frames.
Mark

I have a Parker Simmons did years ago, looks very good.

bill

I am unsure that two sets of barrels is a doable option for a gun whose manufacturer (Jules Bury) has been gone since WWII. I am not sure new barrels could be done for less than double the value of the gun. Sleeving with a new rib is probably around $3k when all is said and done and even that is underwater versus the value.

So, what is your purpose in seeking to lengthen these barrels? Is it merely to get the barrels back to original length so you can shoot it at 30 inches rather than 25 5/8, i.e., aesthetics? Or is it to try to get a little more money for the gun when you (try to) sell it, probably sooner rather than later?

Or is there more wrong with the gun than just shorter-than-original barrels? Like pitting?

If you're already in a loss position with the gun as is, you're not going to make the loss go away by pumping $3k or so into sleeving the barrels. That would be true anytime, but especially so in today's sxs market. Probably the best expenditure of money you could make in the gun, assuming the barrels are ok pitting-wise, would be to send it to someone like Mike Orlen to get flush choke tubes put into it. (This assumes that, in cutting off 4 plus inches of barrel, the chokes went with it.) You can get that done for less than $200. Throw in a set of chambermates 12-to-20 or 12-to-28 and you sell someone a combination shotgun that will meet most every small game situation here in the states, and you can sell it at a price that will make sense (to the buyer) in this economy (and minimize your losses). And you can pitch that it's a high-quality maker, too.

It's a shame that such was done to a Bury, but it's uneconomic to go much farther - assuming the barrels are usable as is.

OC,
If the gun has sentimental value and you really want longer barrels, disregard the issue of final value, up or down, when deciding whether or not to sleeve them. If there's no sentimental value, you might consider selling it and finding a gun more along the line of what you want. But a short barreled gun over a pointer should be all you need, unless you're a well above average sized guy.

I am not really focused on breaking even on the gun; my intent is to keep it for the long haul. While I do not want to get ridiculous, $2-3k fixing it up will not kill me

Currently the gun is butt heavy because of the amount of weight lost by cutting the barrels. While I could lighten the butt and add some weight to the forearm, the barrels are shorter than I would like.

The reason I purchased the gun (expecting the barrels had been cut) was because it is almost the twin of another gun I have in 16 gauge having been engraved in a similar pattern by the same engraver who did my 16. As a pair lying next to each other they are lovely.

I agree over a dog for close work the current configuration would work but as I see it today the unaltered 16 fills that role in both weight and choke and setting up this gun for heavier longer range work makes sense to me as a pair they complement instead of duplicating each other.

The odds of finding another 12 like this one on the market that matches the 16 are tremendous. I know of only one other similar gun in existence and it is not on the market and not likely to be.