Zain, is it fairly easy to get a hold of someone to do simple machine work for you over there? It's funny, but there are likely many more lathes/mills per person in these so-called "less developed" parts of the world than our self-proclaimed "civilized" society here in the states. Gunsmiths in the US are typically months behind with other jobs, and machine work is seen as some kind of lost art or dark magic to the vast majority of Americans --gunsmithing even more so.
An acquaintance of my brother's once journeyed from Texas to Brazil on a bicycle, and it was very interesting to hear how whenever something on the bike broke, he simply paid a local machinist to make a replacement part (since ordering a replacement was always either impossible or incredibly expensive). Even in the most remote villages, he didn't have an issue finding and then bartering for these odd-jobs.
That machinegun barrel should last you a good, long time. The profile looks pretty heavy, still, so it should be plenty accurate; machine guns actually have very high quality barrels, so they can handle the high volume of fire and still deliver bullets accurately where needed. You said your other rifle was in 7mm; is that cartridge still pretty common over there? It's actually fairly hard to find at a good price, here, which is a shame since many good rifles use the also-good cartridge.
TCB
