Gunsmithing .308 SPS Varmint- barrel cutting question

[DP425]

Got a buddy with a Rem 700 SPS .308 Varmint in stainless. He wants to have the 26" barrel cut back to 20". I checked with a smith here in town and he said cutting it back that far would take away the taper lapping of the barrel and harm accuracy. I've never heard such a thing- can some of you experienced smith's shed some light on this?

His intended use is a sort of bolt action scout rifle; he's going to get the barrel fluted, cut and have a brake installed, then mount it up with a 1-4x scope and use it on medium/large game in the upper midwest (where shots beyond 200m, much less 300m are not exceedingly common).

Long story short, I don't think he'd cry if it went from 3/4moa to 1 moa. How much of a difference are we really talking about with this taper lapping stuff?

 

[buffybuster]

Re: .308 SPS Varmint- barrel cutting question

To my knowledge: Factory Remington barrels aren't taper lapped or lapped in any other way.

 

[DP425]

Re: .308 SPS Varmint- barrel cutting question

That's kind of what I was thinking in the first place- seems odd for a $600-$650 rifle to come with a lapped barrel; where then is the margin for profit if you're putting THAT much work into it?

 

[eddief]

Re: .308 SPS Varmint- barrel cutting question

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DP425</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Got a buddy with a Rem 700 SPS .308 Varmint in stainless. He wants to have the 26" barrel cut back to 20". I checked with a smith here in town and he said cutting it back that far would take away the taper lapping of the barrel and harm accuracy. I've never heard such a thing- can some of you experienced smith's shed some light on this?

His intended use is a sort of bolt action scout rifle; he's going to get the barrel fluted, cut and have a brake installed, then mount it up with a 1-4x scope and use it on medium/large game in the upper midwest (where shots beyond 200m, much less 300m are not exceedingly common).

Long story short, I don't think he'd cry if it went from 3/4moa to 1 moa. How much of a difference are we really talking about with this taper lapping stuff? </div></div>

Cut it, the smith is way off. Remington isn't using Benchmark barrels (grin)

 

[GasLight]

Re: .308 SPS Varmint- barrel cutting question

I would think the danger of accuracy degredation would come from fluting a factory barrel after the fact. It might turn out great, and it might relieve enough stress to cause a problem. Cutting it shorter assuming a good crown job will not affect the accuracy.

Dave

 

[pickpick]

Re: .308 SPS Varmint- barrel cutting question

I had a 26" vls 308 cut to 20" and I firmly believe it increase the accuracy. I boxed up two remmys today to ship to a smith to get spiral fluted. One is a 20" 308 tactical and the other is a 243 vls that has already been cut and crown at 22" from 26". The cutting and recrowning has not negatively effected the accuracy. The smith said the fluting may or may not effect it. I will report when I get them back. Not sure how long it will be because after the fluting they're going to be cerakoted black with red spirals.

 

[DP425]

Re: .308 SPS Varmint- barrel cutting question

I don't think he's too worried about relieving stress or inducing stress- kreiger is going to do the work for him since he's less than an hour away and they are confident they can flute it without any adverse side effects- he already inquired on that.

 

[Straight Shooter]

Re: .308 SPS Varmint- barrel cutting question

All barrels are fluted last thing before they ship. Very rare to have one act up at this point. If there is stress in the barrel it usually shows up when it is profiled.

Shorter will be more accurate due to less flex.

There should be no taper. A lead slug will confirm or deny this. I would borescope it and pass a lead slug through it before I did anything to it.

 

[nashlaw]

Re: .308 SPS Varmint- barrel cutting question

I have chopped several Remington factory barrels and recrowned with Brownells hand tools. In all cases, the rifles either shot better or as well as before.

I have a 22-250 that I cut down to 18.5". I know I lost some velocity, but I wanted it to be handy. It shoots 40.0gr of H380 under a 52g SMK like a bandit.

Chop and rock!

 

[customshooter]

Re: .308 SPS Varmint- barrel cutting question

most aftermarket barrels have a tighter bore at the muzzle. The manufacturer notes this by stamping the loose side which is the chamber end. The first 1-2 inches of every blank barrel is unusable due to run out during lapping.

now this is with new barrels to be chambered, and not factory. I believe this is what the gunsmith is referring to...

 

[carbinero]

Re: .308 SPS Varmint- barrel cutting question

Find a different smith. I had mine cut from 26 to 22 with a much nicer step-recessed crown for $35 and it shoots just as good.