Gunsmithing Advice for a re-barrel on a Rem. 700P in .308 win.

[str8razor]

I'm looking for some advice on a re-barrel and truing up the action on my 700P. The reason I'm looking to re-barrel the rifle, is, I reload and have discovered it has an extremely long throat and any factory ammo I have tried sits anywhere from .210 to .250 from the lands. I've only tried about 4 different types of factory ammo and the best I've been able to achieve is 1 MOA where my reloads are 1/2 MOA or less. As much as I’d like to say that ½ MOA is a constant, I would be lying. I still get plenty of fliers but am working on it. LOL! The closest I can safely get my reloads to the lands is around .100 unless I use a much heavier grain bullet which is longer. Any reloads that are seated longer than about 2.830 C.O.A.L. means I have to load them individually and can't use the magazine because the rounds are too long. I don't plan on shooting anything lighter than 168 grains and it seems like any factory ammo heavier than about 165 grains has a maximum C.O.A.L. of 2.800 to 2.810

It seems Krieger barrels have one of the best reputations out there. I like to reload my ammo but I would also like to be able to use a factory ammo that will have excellent results once my rifle is re-barreled and trued. My goal is to shoot at long distances and the following are some of the questions I have:

1. A good gunsmith. So far, I've been given the names of Don Geraci in Independence, La. & Mike Moore in Lafayette, La. (I'm in the New Orleans, La. area)

2. Barrel and twist. Should the Krieger be my choice? In any case, what twist rate should I get?

3. Barrel length. My rifle currently has a 26" and I'm wondering if I should stay with that.

4. Depending upon what a gunsmith would tell me about this, has anyone ever heard of being able to lengthen the magazine? My mag measures about 2.835 which means I only have .030 to play around with reloads. (Just wondering)

5. Has anyone ever re-barreled a 700P for a certain factory ammo who also reloads for their rifle? If so, what kind of results did you find with the factory ammo vs. reloads?

Any answers or other suggestions (which I'm totally open to) will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[Jcas2012]

Re: Advice for a re-barrel on a Rem. 700P in .308 win.

I believe a very similar post was just discussed in the bolt action forum so try looking that up as it will give you better advice than I can. But I can throw a few things out there for you. Lots of good makers out there, yes Krieger is top of the line as well as Rock Creek and a few others. Check out a Rock Creek 5r or Krieger 5r. I think 24" is perfect for 308. 11.25 is a nice twist, but others will work.

http://www.louisianaprecisionrifles.com/

One of the best smiths out there from what I have heard. Give him a call and he can answer any question you have.

 

[Keith Johns]

Re: Advice for a re-barrel on a Rem. 700P in .308 win.

Any of the top barrel names will do you well.



For barrel length, think of this:

Between 21" and 26" with a .308, you can expect about a 20fps change per inch. Cutting a .308 back from 26" to 21", you may only lose 100fps or so. Lots of variables but I think 20fps per inch is a good average for the .308win.

Even <span style="font-style: italic">if</span> you lost 150fps from 26" to 21", I think its worth the trade. Short barrels feel awesome.

Id get a 20 or 21", 1-10twist for .308win


Yes there are ways to lengthen the factory mag to about 2.900" easily, and up to 3.000" if you push the limit.
Or you can use a bottom metal that takes AI mags.

 

[mdesign]

Re: Advice for a re-barrel on a Rem. 700P in .308 win.

+1 on the shorter barrel comments. There are several good smiths here on the Hide that do excellent work.

I'd go with a 20-22" barrel in a #3 contour and a quality chambering job to go with the action work. Down the road you can put it in a better stock and have a real shooter.

 

[Ballistic308]

Re: Advice for a re-barrel on a Rem. 700P in .308 win.

Give PacNor a look see. A guy I shoot with just had a PacNor 1:10 polygonal match barrel fitting to hit 700 rifle and it really did impress me, so much that it's a toss up for me for this barrel or Krieger.

He was shooting 43.2-ish grain of Varget, winchester brass, 175 SMK, at 2790 elevation and his muzzle velocity was 2725fps. The polygonal barrels are supposed to seal off gases better than traditional rifled barrels with less bullet distortion...his barrel certainly showed this.

The length was 21.75" from the bolt face and it had no issues getting out to 1200y.

And in case you're wondering about the 21.75" lenght, read this article.

http://www.angelfire.com/ma3/max357/houston.html

 

[BBeyer]

Re: Advice for a re-barrel on a Rem. 700P in .308 win.

Look up Gary Long on Russ Haydons site, He is a master of at getting the most out of a Rem. action.

 

[shibby575]

Re: Advice for a re-barrel on a Rem. 700P in .308 win.

APA in GA does good work as well. I personally like the shorter barrels. I can not see myself building anything with longer than a 22 in barrel, and really love the 18" one I'm running now. As for barrel makers all of the top names will work well, look for a deal on a match barrel and go with it.