Barrel Relining on a 1916 DWM

[checkfeo]

Last month I had the barrel relined on this 1916 DWM. The bore was very nasty, shot out, and would not print within 8 inches at 25 feet.

The Luger itself wasn’t bad, all matching, but the blue and straw were mostly gone, with some pitting and light rust spots all over. Not nice enough to be a collector item, so a shooter it would be.

Tom Heller (luger doc) talked me into having the barrel relined rather than having the barrel replaced. That way I could keep all the proofs and numbers. After reading all I could on having a barrel relined, I gave him the go-a-head.

You can see from some of the pictures, the muzzle end and the liner. The pictures are extreme close up and show all the flaws, but just looking at the barrel, it’s hard to tell. I don’t think most people would even know unless it was pointed out to them. I suppose I could fill it and polish it so it wouldn’t show at all, but why bother?

The bore of the chrome liner is highly polished, (like my new Kimber Gold Match barrel) but I don’t know the diameter or twist rate. Maybe Tom knows or I’ll just slug it when I get to it. Reading about relining, they drill out the barrel and then epoxy or silver solder in the new liner. Then cut-in a new chamber, extractor groove and face off the muzzle. Some people say the Luger barrel is too thin to reline, but apparently it’s not. The price is about the same as having a new barrel put on, but this way you get to keep the SN# and proofs. The blue job was satisfactory and did get rid of the rust, but the straw is just metal without color.

I have put about 150 rounds of my reloads through it so far. (147gr. Berry’s Copper Plate RN over 3.6 Accurate #2. 885 fps and 1.155 OAL) It’s 100% functional with no failures of any kind. Group size is now about 2” to 3” at 25 feet and gets a little tighter every time I shoot it. I did have to drift the front sight left 1/32” or so to center the shots left and right, but the 147gr gives me the right height.

I don’t know why there isn’t more talk about relining or why there aren’t more people doing it today. Maybe it’s becoming a lost art, like everything else, but all-in-all I would have to say, it was a nice job and I’m very happy with the results.