Can a barrel be turned around backwards?

B

BumbleBug

New member
Hypothetical question: Assuming a used barrel has a muzzle of sufficient diameter, could it be re-contoured, threaded & chambered to fitted to a smaller ringed action? The crown end becomes the chamber & barrel cut-off at the throat becomes the muzzle. Direction of bullet travel & twist would then be reversed.

Any one ever hearing of this done? Are there some gotcha's to such a project?

TIA...
 
There is a legend that the bullet should go through the barrel in the same direction as the rifling button. That the surface texture of the bore has a "lay" that matters. I have not seen it applied to cut or broached barrels, and doubt the effect is great even with button rifling.
So have at it.
But why?
 
Direction of bullet travel & twist would then be reversed.
Click to expand...

LOL Are you an engineer, by chance? :rolleyes:

No, direction of travel would be reversed, but not the twist. Same as if you take a right-hand threaded bolt and turn it around it does not suddenly become a left-hand threaded bolt.
 
I suppose anything is possible if you're willing to do the work.
but I'd ask why turn the barrel around? Just cut off the chamber and throat till you get to good rifling.

Then I suppose you could then then the barrel out to fit what ever your trying to do (within reason)

I've heard of rifles being counter bored (if the muzzle end is eroded), and I've heard of them being rechambered (same bullet diameter) and I've heard of them being bored out and rerifled to a larger caliber.

but I've not heard of anyone flipping one around and doing all that work, but I don't see why it wouldn't work if that's what you wanted to do.
 
As I stated, it is a hypothetical question. I was wondering if it was something the old machine rest shooters may have tried. A barrel is subject to the most heat at the throat & the least at the muzzle. I don't know if any close examinations of the changes in the steel structure have been made along its length. With ends swapped would it perform as well as a brand new barrel?

From a practical stand point, benchrest shooters have some pretty chunky barrels of premium quality & cost that they deem to be throw-aways after 3,000 rounds. You would not swap ends but these could be re-contoured into AR barrels. Using the 6mm PPC as an example, the usual optimal length for that caliber is between 21" & 22" which allows plenty of barrel for a re-chamber. Not sure of a barrel extension's diameter but for a AR15 the whole chamber length would have to be removed to fit a smaller case like a 6x45. The normal twist would be 1/14".

I got a hold of one of these used-up benchrest barrels & put it on an old hunting rifle action. To say it shoots amazing is an understatement.

Just curious & thinking out load.
 
With ends swapped would it perform as well as a brand new barrel?
Click to expand...

Probably not.
The greatest erosion and wear is to the throat where pressure and temperature is greatest, the muzzle end gets the least wear.
So if you reversed the barrel, you would be cutting a chamber in the best remaining length. You would have to cut off not only the old chamber but a considerable length of rifling to get a good muzzle.

Why not do what a lot of target shooters REALLY do and cut off the breech end and ream a new chamber in the most worn section? Some say an inch or two can be enough.

Ed Harris once experimented on .22 sporters. He rebarreled a variety of inexpensive .22s with the forward 20" of 27" BSA Martini target rifle takeoffs. As you found with that "used up" benchrest barrel, there was a lot of life left.
 
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