SSShooter, Not sure how my post could be construed to say that they were cut rifling barrels. The shop produced barrels had always been button rifled. When I left, they were pulling the buttons through the finish reamed blanks with a special geared/hydraulic 75 ton broaching machine that Wolfe had modified. The buttons were designed to be pulled through the barrels and had a "wiper" portion at the very end of the rod that would put a mirror finish to the top of the lands. As I pointed out in my first post, They have ALWAYS been willing to install a customer supplied barrel (Wolfe was too). Compared to the monthly number of rifles that were produced with factory barrels, these other barrels were relatively uncommon. When I left, the only way they could use a customer supplied barrel, is if it was finish profiled. Admittedly, it has been 16 years, and another career ago since I worked there, and things may have changed. What I said, was that I would be surprised if they were not still producing their own .30-.50 cal. barrels, due the the huge investment in cash and knowledge having been already made to do so. 16 years is a very long time ago, but the things I speak of were based on actual, hands on, physical experiences gained over the time I worked there. I was the Final Assembly department supervisor and the Final Inspector, and for those 16 years, every rifle (some 10,000 +) that left the factory was finish assembled, checked for function, inspected for flaws, checked for customers options, tagged as correct, and signed by me. I'm not sure how that may stack up against "knowledge" gained from a forum, you will have to be the judge of that. I stand by what I posted as that was the way it was done when I was there. If Kirk comes home for lunch, I will walk next door and ask him if those processes have changed, and post his answers. Best wishes Tom Winters P.S. If anyone is interested....I just caught Kirk at lunch, and he said they still produce their own .30 to.50 cal barrels, and that nothing in the barrel manufacturing process has changed since I was there.
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