At the same time, I can’t abide a having a tool of any kind that doesn’t function properly. So if the news of “shot out” comes back, what are my options? Can I have the barrel bored and sleeved (and does that really work)? Up-bored to some larger diameter 30-06 based round (338?).
I found a thread on another forum where the poster had an old M70 30-06 barreled to 35 Whelen. On the first or second round of factory ammunition the barrel blew. The poster blamed the barrel maker of course. I blame them both but the responsibility for knowing better lies with the barrel maker because he is the guy who can be sued.
I absolutely do not recommend reboring and re using old centerfire rifle barrels. Barrels are a pressure vessel and when you are talking about 50,000 psia and up pressures, no barrel was ever expected to survive an infinite number of pressure cycles. I have F34 Green Mountain barrels in both 30-06 and 35 Whelen. As I discovered measuring a SAKO Finnbear barrel, the F34 contour is a copy of the SAKO.
The 35 Whelen barrel is three ounces lighter. So, to rebore, you take an old tube, made from old materials, and remove maybe three ounces from it, and expect it to last another 5000 pressure cycles? It might, and it might not. Removing material weakens the barrel, it does not make the barrel stronger. If your recently weakened barrel blows, it will be your hand and face that will be missing. I think there was a recent thread where the poster had a Marlin barrel blow, and he had severe hand injuries.
The shooting community does not seem to understand that the barrel takes more stress than the action because more of the cartridge case is in the barrel. Barrels are absolutely safety critical items, they should not be taken for granted, and when they blow what happens afterward is very unpredictable. The smartest, safest, thing to do, is when a barrel is shot out, is to replace it with a nice, new barrel made of modern steels. The heck with trying to reincarnate vintage metallurgy.
I have run into a couple of posts where the "gunsmith" was warned not to rechamber old M1917 barrels into 300 H&H or 300 WinMag, and the rechambered barrels blew. Prior to WW2, Howe in his book "The Modern Gunsmith" warned against rechambering M1917 barrels to 300 Magnum (300H&H?) because he was aware of rechambered barrels that blew. In my opinion, old centerfire tubes should not be rechambered, but left in their original cartridge, and and not be reused by reboring or sleeving.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Hummer
http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=134137
Bottom line is cases melt between 110,000 and 115,000 lbs PSI. Before they melt they sustain plastic deformation to differing degrees. The case head on the blown M16 above was gone but the bolt held. The case is the safety valve. It should fail before the barrel fails unless there is something else going on like bore obstruction. Case in point is the pics floating around the internet of the guy that left the boresight in the muzzle of his 300 Win Mag.
Bad barrel steel is the culprit in a number of cases which is caused by poor steel grade or ingredients. The P14 rifle is one such known to have bad steel and they are known to split using standard production 303 ball ammo generally starting from the muzzle. This is published in the Brit ordnance archives and it was orignally classified but has been declassified and I have a copy. All three vendors rifles had same problem on the P14s.
In Hatcher's Notebook he tells of marginal barrel steel in 1903 barrels dring WW1 and still used.
P O Ackley taught at Trinidad back in late 40s, early 50s and he told the gunsmith students to never use a military barrel for a magnum conversion because of the margine steel which is fine for standard 30.06 but not good enough for magnum pressures.
One of the students couldn't afford a new barrel so he took a 1917 barrel and opened it up for 300 Win Mag. Barrel sustained a catastrophic failure and sheared four fingers on left hand where he was holding the stock.