Rebarreling 300WM - what calibers will give me better barrel life?

[whitebread]

I have a Remington 700 chambered in 300 Win Mag that will be needing a new barrel later this year. It currently has a 24" stainless steel tube with 1/10 twist. The throat is getting out there and my accuracy has been dropping off - no longer consistently below an MOA. The round count is currently 895 and I have exclusively shot hand loaded 200 grain Accubonds at 2910fps.

What caliber options do I have with a magnum bolt face that will give better barrel life? I am assuming a larger bore will increase barrel life. 338 Win Mag? 350 Rem Mag (BC looks a bit low and bullet selection looks limited)?

Or can the magnum bolt face be modified for a smaller rim diameter?

 

[BoilerUP]

6.5 gap 4S

What powder have you been shooting in your 300?

 

[Morale_Gear]

Your current bolt can be modified, but it will be easier and cheaper in the long run to just buy a new/used long action bolt that is set up for the 308 size bolthead (30-06, 270, etc).

PT&G makes this, or you may be able to snag a used one.

Load up some longer bullets to chase the throat? Increase the OAL with the bullets you're using?

338 Win Mag would have a slightly longer barrel life, as it is slightly less overbore than the 300.

 

[Hawk45]

Keep the 300WM and just order 2 or 3 barrels right away

 

[whitebread]

Thanks to all for the replies!

what powder have you been shooting in your 300?

IMR 4350. For the first few hundred I was trying out IMR 4064 and IMR 4831.

Load up some longer bullets to chase the throat? Increase the OAL with the bullets you're using?

I have pushed the bullets out 0.080" off the lands, but I will be very close to getting the boat tail up into the neck if i go much farther. (The 200 AB has a very long boat tail on it.) Not to mention I will have magazine issues. When new the gun seemed to shoot best about 0.025-0.030" off the lands.

Your current bolt can be modified, but it will be easier and cheaper in the long run to just buy a new/used long action bolt that is set up for the 308 size bolthead (30-06, 270, etc).

I see two problems with that - the action is already trued and blue printed and the stock would have to be replaced because it is already pillar and skim bed. Ordering a new McM stock will put me back 6 or 7 months.

Keep the 300WM and just order 2 or 3 barrels right away

I have actually wondered if that was possible. For example, when a rifle smith barrels the gun, could they also thread, profile, and cut the shoulder on an extra barrel so the end user could swap in a new one assuming they have the right wrenches and can verify the headspace.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

If you're happy with the velocity you're getting with accubonds right now you can come very close with 30-06. If it were me I'd probably buy one of the new Remington LR models in 30-06, they come with a 26" varmint contour 1:10 barrel and a B&C stock with aluminum bedding block for $700. At that price it's a steal. Depending on what model your rifle is you can probably toss it on armslist and be honest about the round and get that or close to it for your rifle. Some hunter that shoots 20 rounds a year will still get years of use out of it.

Just a thought, that will save you several hundred over rebarreling.

 

[whitebread]

If you're happy with the velocity you're getting with accubonds right now you can come very close with 30-06. If it were me I'd probably buy one of the new Remington LR models in 30-06, they come with a 26" varmint contour 1:10 barrel and a B&C stock with aluminum bedding block for $700. At that price it's a steal. Depending on what model your rifle is you can probably toss it on armslist and be honest about the round and get that or close to it for your rifle. Some hunter that shoots 20 rounds a year will still get years of use out of it.

Just a thought, that will save you several hundred over rebarreling.

I will ponder that - thanks. I got about 2500 rounds out of my last .30-06 (which I since converted to .338-06). I guess when a new rifle was mentioned, I immediately thought of just a regular SPS or something.

As for velocity, anything within reason works. I ended up with the 2910 (@55 F) because that is what shot best…not because I was trying to stretch every bit out of it I could. With a BC of .588 a few hundred fps isn't something I would loose sleep over.

 

[BoilerUP]

I'd think a slower powder would help with barrel life a bit?

 

[redneckbmxer24]

1

I will ponder that - thanks. I got about 2500 rounds out of my last .30-06 (which I since converted to .338-06). I guess when a new rifle was mentioned, I immediately thought of just a regular SPS or something.

As for velocity, anything within reason works. I ended up with the 2910 (@55 F) because that is what shot best…not because I was trying to stretch every bit out of it I could. With a BC of .588 a few hundred fps isn't something I would loose sleep over.

I'd definitely check them out. Niles Coyote did some pretty good testing with his and has a thread going on here. There's also a lot of data on 30-06 with heavies in the loading section, people get good performance from them. It's a good compromise between power and barrel life.

 

[JBRC]

Keep the 300WM and just order 2 or 3 barrels right away

Hawk45 has the right idea. That is if you like the 300 WM..........have your smith set up 2 or 3 barrels.

I've seen a little more lifeout of the 5R rifled barrels.

 

[JBNj]

300 wsm or any wsm and run the bullets long in your mag. 6.5 4s or any saum

 

[xringaccuracy]

I have actually wondered if that was possible. For example, when a rifle smith barrels the gun, could they also thread, profile, and cut the shoulder on an extra barrel so the end user could swap in a new one assuming they have the right wrenches and can verify the headspace.

Yes