Bobby Hoyt barrel freshening

[Winchester97]

I recently got a Green Mountain 1" Renegade .50 LRH barrel cheap, as it has a pitted bore. I planned to have it re-bored by Hoyt to .54 or .58. Keeping it as is would definantly not suit my taste, as I'm no fan of a rough bore. However, I was wondering how much material would be taken off by having it "Freshened". It looks as if 90% of the pitting is in the grooves. Would it still be a .50 cal. Would Maxi-Balls still perform the same? Would it be better to just go for a .54/.58 rebore? Anybody who has had this done would be much appreciated to chime in.

 

[52Bore]

It all depends on how deep the pitting is in order to clean it up.
Be sure your Breech plug face is large enough.

 

[longcruise]

I've had several bored by Hoyt and am 110% satisfied.

Freshing will probably end with a larger bore and difficulty getting bullets or molds for bullets designed for faster twist. I would go with a 54 or 58 round ball rig.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Maxi-Balls depend on having the driving bands fill the grooves. Deepening the grooves by freshening the grooves may lead to gas cutting and a loss of on target accuracy.

 

[rich pierce]

It is new to me that Bobby Hoyt does freshening of rifling. By this I mean recutting the existing lands and grooves just enough to clean out pitting and restore accuracy. I am well aware he drills and reams out old rifling completely then cuts new rifling if requested. Has anyone here had a barrel freshed by Bobby Hoyt? To repeat, I do not mean drilling, reaming, and cutting new rifling.

 

[erhunter]

He does refreshen a barrel if possible. Just tell him your bullet or ball you want to shoot in your barrel and he'll give you his advise. You can trust him. I had a bad barrel from a 2001 Lyman and he rebored it to 54 from 50 caliber. He did a fantastic job on it and is very accurate! If the pitting or rust is to deep he won't be able to freshen it but will have to rebore it.

 

[dave951]

You could just get Bobby to reline it

 

[Winchester97]

It all depends on how deep the pitting is in order to clean it up.
Be sure your Breech plug face is large enough.

 

[Winchester97]

thanks for the comments, as mentioned, a re-line would also be a good option for this barrel...It sounds like that would be the only way to keep it a standard .50cal. Really leaning towards making it a .58 after some more thought.

 

[hawkeye2]

Ship it to Bobby, tell him what you are going to do with it and ask for his recommendation. Follow his suggestion and I'll guarantee you'll be pleased with the results.

 

[hanshi]

I recently had him fore a .40 barrel out to .45 and he did a magnificent job. Do as hawkeye2 suggested and you won't regret it.

 

[Ajijaak17]

He bored my 1” TC Hawken from a .54 to .58 1:60 twist. Way cheaper than a new barrel and man can it shoot.

 

[Okie Hog]

Mr. Hoyt bored a trashed .54 New Englander barrel to .58 caliber for me. It has rounded groove rifling. It shoots round balls really great.

 

[Winchester97]

All great replies here. Mind is made up, .58 roundball rifling it is. Thanks to all for your time.