Mr. 10at6:
Regarding your question on the Montana barrel maker named Hobaugh.
A good friend of mine, now deceased, had a Ruger No. 1 with an octagon barrel in .416 Ribgy. He pronounced the name of the barrel maker �HOE-BAH�, and that could well be the maker you mention. I seem to recall him saying he was one of the few that would do an octagon barrel at that time, which I believe would have been done in the 70�s, but can�t be sure of the exact timeframe.
Most of the rebarreling done for my friend at that time was by a gunsmith in Tonasket, WA, so a Montana barrel maker would make sense. Unfortunately, the gunsmith has now passed on as well, so I can�t verify the information with him either.
As well, and this is a rather large, �IIRC�, I believe Mr. Ed Nixon wrote that the barrel maker of his custom .338, made on a BSA action was a Montana maker named Hobaugh. I�ll try to remember to check through my old magazines to verify that later.
My recollection on custom barrel makers only goes back to the mid �70�s. We mainly heard about Douglas barrels up here then, with the occasional �serious� shooter getting Hart or Shilen.
Thanks to all for the information.
Regards,
Dwayne
