Example pictures & pricing of 'barrel work' by Bobby Hoyt - PA

[Lefty38-55]

Many friends have sent barrels to Mr. Hoyt to have work done. He can do anything (within reason) ...

• Check and bend a barrel to be straight
• Check the integrity of a breech plug or fabricate and install one. Note Bobby reports that he has YET to have a breech plug, even on old originals, that he cannot remove ...
• Convert a smoothbore to be a rifle, by adding cut rifling
• Boring out a smoothbore or shot-out rifle bore and adding a rifled liner (where possible, cut rifling is a less expensive and better alternative than a liner)
• Boring out a rifle to be a smoothbore
• Honing out a sewer pipe smoothbore barrel to be like new
• Lengthen a barrel (RickyStL had one done and you can't even see the joint line!)

And now it was my turn! I recently sent him 2 barrels, as received back from him, shown below:

#1, a smoothbore Baker barrel to have the breech plug integrity checked, and then have it either rifled or have a liner installed to be a 62-cal rifle bore. The breech was sound, the barrel was straight enough, and the breech and barrel walls were thick enough to rifle ... so she's now a rifle bore of about 1 in 70" twist, not as slow as original Bakers, but hey ... at least I have a 62-cal rifle in the stable to shoot. And a cool one at that! On barrels that aren't straight or can't be straightened, he drills and adds the rifled liner. The work for this barrel cost me $80 and 17.80 for its partial share of the shipping, for a total of $97.80.

#2, an original 'old' barrel smoothbore, to have the breech plug integrity checked, the existing touch hole welded closed (so I can re-drill a new one, where the old barrel was added to make the arm look complete) and to hone the barrel smooth so as to make it shootable, provided that the breech and barrel proved sound. The work for this barrel cost me $60 and 13.35 for the partial shipping (determined by percentage of the total work price), for a total of $73.35.

We believe this barrel to be an old European musket barrel. It was added to what appears to be a 1500s snapping matchlock, where the lock was unoperable, yet the stock is adorned with horn inlays and such decorations. I'll be making a new 'snap matchlock' action for it soon!

I sent them about ~2-months ago and am pleased with the turn-around - as it wasn't until March was over that he was accepting new orders - but I am absolutely THRILLED with the outcome and exceptional work and value for the price charged. Now a caveat - whereas every barrel is DIFFERENT ... so you could allegedly have the same type of work be done and be charged a quite different price, so please be aware of that and that time = money, so if it takes him more time ... youse gotta pay ...

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Very nice.

My Cossack rifle has a Hoyt barrel.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Do you know what his workload currently is? I have a barrel or two that I'd love to have him do something "creative" to. But, I hear he's like six months behind on work/projects. ???

I would love to have my 1861 Springfield rifle barrel (replica) bored just enough to clean up/remove the three groove minie' ball rifling, and then have it rifled for round ball.

Also, would you have any idea if he can do an "improved" breech plug to the TC barrels, that have that long and contorted flash channel?

 

[Lefty38-55]

Best to call him, he’s ‘old school’, early in the morning … once his machines are running he doesn’t pick up the phone.

(7One7) 64Tw2-6SixNine6

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Well, that's the other thing, word on the street is that he's very hard to get hold of. I hesitate to call the guy before he gets out of bed. !!! I've thought about just sending him my barrel with an explanation, and my phone number. But that might not end well, and at best result in paying postage for the barrel's two-way journey with no result. On the other hand, you and others seem to have got a hold of him and had work done, so perhaps I have made a psychological mountain out of the proverbial mole-hill.