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jhm
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Looking for a Hepburn
Jan 1st, 2023 at 9:25am
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I have wanted a Hepburn for many years but never found one I could afford and now that I have retired my income is much less. Guess what I am getting at is can a "fixer upper" or original action be found at a reasonable cost? Happy new year everyone...



JMH
  
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marlinguy
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Ballards may be weaker,
but they sure are neater!

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Re: Looking for a Hepburn
Reply #1 - Jan 1st, 2023 at 11:34am
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They can, but it will require luck, timing, and attending lots of gun shows, or looking at local gun stores before you'll score one that's affordable.
Then there's the issue of whether it's cheap enough to not get upside down into it by the time it shoots well, and looks decent.
I looked for a Hepburn for a long time until a friend offered me a project he found. It was a newly rebarreled action in .45-70, and two chunks of wood to build stocks from. But the price was very reasonable at $700.
I had the barrel cut to 30" and crowned. Then I sent the wood off to Crossno's to be shaped, and fitted it to the gun. After that I polished out barrel and receiver and gave them to Dale Woody to engrave the gun, and color case and rust blue it. Meanwhile I put the finish on the wood, and dug up a globe front sight, and a long range tang sight.
I've purchased a few other Hepburn rifles since, but still happy with the first Hepburn project rifle. And although I'd never sell it I'm sure I'm not upside down in it.
I found another at a local gun show a couple years ago that was a pretty decent gun, and only issue was it had a 26" barrel that I guessed was shortened. But it was $650, so I grabbed it. 
Found another at the same show that has set triggers, and was $750, but barrel was chopped to 22", so fitted a new barrel to it.
They're around, but it takes a lot of looking to find them reasonably, and once they get found and fixed up there's fewer project Hepburns around.
The top gun is the engraved .45-70 project I built, and middle is the rebarreled Hepburn. Bottom is an all original Match B I got maybe 4 years ago.

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Bent_Ramrod
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Re: Looking for a Hepburn
Reply #2 - Jan 1st, 2023 at 4:19pm
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I’ve seen one reasonably-priced one in 45 years of gun show attendance.  A friend snagged that before I got to it.  I later found a pricier one missing forend, lever spring and a bulge in the barrel for slightly more than reasonable.

Rolling blocks are about the only Remingtons likely to be found at low prices.  Military or copies.
  
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