Relining a Remington 1 1/2 to 32/40

[stevenjay1]

I have a nice RRB 1 1/2 in 32RF with a terrible bore and plan to reline it. I have give this some thought and would rather go with 32/40 Rather then the 32/20. I know the 1 1/2 was never chambered for the 32/40. Before I move forward with this project. Is the 1 1/2 strong enough for the 32/40?

[stevenjay1]

Well, I guess no one is willing to stick out their neck on this one. Can’t blame you. Probably best to stay with the original calibers.

[marlinman93]

Well, I guess no one is willing to stick out their neck on this one. Can’t blame you. Probably best to stay with the original calibers.

Since the only difference from the #1 Sporter and the #1 1/2 is the side walls below the step on a #1, I think it's plenty strong for the .32-40 with average loads. Most people don't hotrod a .32-40 cartridge anyway, so you shouldn't have any issues. They were chambered in the .44-40, which I think shows the action is strong enough to handle a .32-40 with no problem.
Of course you'll need to rework the block for ant centerfire cartridge, or find a CF block to fit it. That can be a bit of a task to do.
Depending on how rough your bore is, it's possible the larger .320 groove, vs. the original .311"-.312" bore might be a candidate to just rebore, and rifle, and could be less money than a reline. Might be worth discussing with whoever does the work, or with a gunsmith who can rebore and rifle it?

[stevenjay1]

Marlinman93, thank You for the reply and the information. The rebore sounds like a option I need to investigate. Steve