I have an old H&H .500ex I want rebarreled with all engraving, regulating etc. The finest gunsmith in Ferlach, Austria wanted €12000. H&H wanted almost 3x that much. The gunsmiths in London don’t make more than gunsmith in Ferlach. As I understand HH have gone bust a few times. Wonder why?…..
An H&H rebarrel of an express is nearly worthless. A Ferlach is 1/3rd of worthless. I don’t think you can ascribe a tariff or exchange rate as root cause of your malady.
When you take an undesirable and common caliber and attempt to restore it, you don’t multiply its worth. Put another way, the price you pay H&H or Ferlach to restore the finest gun ever made or the worst ever made is the same. The fact yours isn’t the best isn’t indicative of the global economy.