Bobby Hoyt fyi

[MuskratMike]

I recently sent a barrel to Bobby to convert it from 32 to 40 caliber. His voicemail now says he is not taking any new orders until possibly fall 2024. Glad I got it in to him last month, but probably won't see it until late summer. Nice problem to have, but when you're the best there is in your field it's no wonder he is so swamped.

[jcmcclure]

Swamped...no pun intended 😂

[bigsmoke]

Indeed, he does do good work. 
I have a PA Hunter he turned into a .54 and it shoots great.  For the same gun, he made a 20 ga smoothbore.  Haven't shot it enough to be able to tell, but I think it will be a good shooter.
John (Bigsmoke)

[Dave B]

He bailed me out on a barrel that was
45 c reamed it out to 50 and rifled all in about 3 wks. I was figgering end of summer...nope. It shoots real well.

[Tenmile]

He has rifled 2 barrels for me, one a good many years ago and one last year. He is the best and is worth whatever the waiting time is.
Lynn

[elkhorne]

Had a .40 straight Green Mountail barrel but useless in my state except for paper and hogs! Bobby rebored it to .50 and rifled it with a gain twist. Got to get the rifle finished and shoot it. Bet it will be great. Only took him a couple of months last year. Reminds me a lot of what I heard about Bill Large!

[Rawhide Rick]

I have a fast twist conical barrel that Hoyt did for me, he does incredible work.  I wonder though, if Hoyt is swamped with work, why does no one mention Ed Rayl?  I have a barrel that Rayl did for me, that is also very good quality.  Is he retired?

[Dennis Glazener]

I have a fast twist conical barrel that Hoyt did for me, he does incredible work.  I wonder though, if Hoyt is swamped with work, why does no one mention Ed Rayl?  I have a barrel that Rayl did for me, that is also very good quality.  Is he retired?

As far as I know Ed is still working and still does great work but he like others barrel makers has long waiting period.
Dennis

[recurve]

Mr Hoyt is worth the wait

[TDM]

I certainly hope that Bobby stays in good health an good stamina for years to come. His ability is not easily replaced.

[Mike Brooks]

I certainly hope that Bobby stays in good health an good stamina for years to come. His ability is not easily replaced.

He "retired" several years ago.

[JPK]

Hoyt did a barrel for me, this is what he did on my barrel.
6250BCEA-F613-435C-B361-47249764AB55 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

[JEH]

Have a smooth rifle with a Colerain 44 inch early fowler profile barrel. Sent the barrel to Mr Hoyt in august last year and got it back in october. Bore was actually .610. Only had a chance to put a few rounds thru it last fall. Sure looks good. He charged me 75 bucks and I sent him $100. Weather is supposed to be decent this weekend think ill play with it some more.

[Daryl]

I think Taylor's .25 has a Rayle barrel. Ed makes those just over .250", likely .255" bore, so a .250" buckshot can be used.
That's what Taylor uses in it.

[recurve]

Mark Weader with Bobby Hoyt and Fred Miller   Flint lock legends in Penn , today at the Union County muzzleloader shoot Frozen toe

[MuskratMike]

In just under 6 weeks the barrel is back in my hands. Looking down the bore with the breech still removed it looks like a rifled mirror! Put the gun together and am going to the range to see how she shoots as a 40 caliber. He bored it to .400 with a 1 in 48-inch twist cut .010 deep. My deepest thanks to Mr. Hoyt for an outstanding job!

[Bob Roller]

Hoyt did a barrel for me, this is what he did on my barrel.
6250BCEA-F613-435C-B361-47249764AB55 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

The bore looks like the original maker reamed it with a rat tail file.I had a 38 caliber fast twist Hoyt barrel that was as
good as any made by Bill Large or Douglas.
Bob Roller

[JPK]

That is Hoyts work. He relined it again and it wasn’t much better.

[Daryl]

You mean he re-rifled it. Re-lining is another thing entirely.
I'm not convinced those cross lines are actually grooves caused when reaming the tube.
If he pulled a button over the lands to iron them out after cutting the grooves, like Getz and some others used to do, those 'shadows' might be from that process.
Need a picture in focus to see them properly.

[JPK]

After reading all the glowing reviews of Hoyts work I sent him the barrel for lining. I wasn’t in a rush or concerned about the cost but packed a letter explaining what I had talked to him about the job. It took quite some time and when it arrived with the bill I immediately sent a check back. The next day it was unpacked and a patch was pushed threw with some difficulty. Not that it was tight but the cloth came out frayed and covered with metal chips. A couple of more oily patches showed the bore to be worse than it had been when sent. The outside of the barrel was scratched up and the chuck jaws had left marks as well. I called and he explained that he had been so behind and his tooling had gotten dull but he’d replace the liner at no cost. When the barrel came back the bore was better but tight at the muzzle and very tight at the breech. Plus more scratches on the outside. At that point the only thing to do was to cast a lead lap to smooth it and work the tight spots. The breech end would not allow the lap to pass for the last six inches at all. Any shop can make an error but twice in a row doesn’t seem like an except-able way to do business.

[Daryl]

WOW- I stand corrected. So he actually lined it, not a bore and re-rifle.

[recurve]

  I  own several Hoyt barrels I don't care  how they look , I care how they shoot/group and I would stand Hoyts barrels up to any other makers .
I have lapped several barrels the way Mr Chuck Dixon told me to brass brush jag with 0000 steel wool and oil 50-100 stokes clean and repeat . All my barrels get this treatment  2 getz ,2 green mountain and 5 hoyt  any cut rifling will need attention.

 Mr Hoyt is an Honest man who works VERY HARD to give you a great barrel at a more then fair price .
 I don't know of any other maker that will try harder to please his customers But every now and then like dry balling it can happen.
                       

[rich pierce]

Let’s finish this one up, folks. We don’t need to debate the merits of Bobby Hoyt’s work. Different experiences have been shared. Nothing to be gained by further, passionate discussion.

He ain’t taking orders right now. That’s the helpful information here.

[Bob Roller]

You mean he re-rifled it. Re-lining is another thing entirely.
I'm not convinced those cross lines are actually grooves caused when reaming the tube.
If he pulled a button over the lands to iron them out after cutting the grooves, like Getz and some others used to do, those 'shadows' might be from that process.
Need a picture in focus to see them properly.

Bill Large would  concave the lands on the rare occasion these rings occurred. A dull reamer or lack of lubrication can cause rings or steels that are substandard and may have a "hard as glass"spot in a bar.Bill used a lot of 1144,a so called "stressproof" material and I remember seeing a bar with a 40 caliber drill in it that hit a hard spot and was twisted like a cork screw.The steel company sent a representative after sending  2 full length bars of 1an1/4x12 feet long bars as replacements.I raised the question about the dead bar concerning possible imported materials being sold as the real American product and got auurances that all of the 1144 they sold was USA all the way.Later on I took the bar with the broken drill and cut it off and made lock tumblers from it an no problems.This steel machines like 12L14 and hardens like drill rod ad to me was the best of two ideas joined together and still is.
Bob Roller