Rem 700 Sendero caliber swap questions

[MudRunner2005]

Hey folks, sorry I've been gone for a while, but I have a few questions about a gun I hope to be getting.

The gun is a Remington 700 Sendero in .25-06 (long-action), with a Swarovski AV 4-12x50 on top.

I have never owned a .25-06, and the rifling in the barrel looks to be a fair-bit worn down. The gun has been well shot (judging by looking at it, but the action still locks up tight as a tick's butt. The HS stock looks great, the bolt looks good, and the Swaro scope looks clear as crystal.

Here is where my questions begin...

I always wanted a Remington 700 in .257 Weatherby Mag (my favorite whitetail caliber). What all extensive work will need to be done to convert this gun to a .257 Wby Mag, other than the barrel? Will the bolt-face have to be opened up? Is it even possible to convert from a .25-06 to a .257 Wby while using the standard long-action?

Thanks guys

Austin

[WildRose]

Originally Posted by MudRunner2005

Hey folks, sorry I've been gone for a while, but I have a few questions about a gun I hope to be getting.

The gun is a Remington 700 Sendero in .25-06 (long-action), with a Swarovski AV 4-12x50 on top.

I have never owned a .25-06, and the rifling in the barrel looks to be a fair-bit worn down. The gun has been well shot (judging by looking at it, but the action still locks up tight as a tick's butt. The HS stock looks great, the bolt looks good, and the Swaro scope looks clear as crystal.

Here is where my questions begin...

I always wanted a Remington 700 in .257 Weatherby Mag (my favorite whitetail caliber). What all extensive work will need to be done to convert this gun to a .257 Wby Mag, other than the barrel? Will the bolt-face have to be opened up? Is it even possible to convert from a .25-06 to a .257 Wby while using the standard long-action?

Thanks guys

Austin

First thing I'd do is give it a REALLY good cleaning with something like Gunslick foaming Bore Cleaner. Follow the directions and repeat until you see no color blue, black, or green coming from the bore.

Then have a good gunsmith scope it and tell you what kind of shape it's in.

To convert it you'd at a minimum need to cut it back and rechamber it. Not sure but the bolt face may have to be changed as well.

If it indeed is "shot out" then you'd have to start over with a custom barrel.

[Buffalobob]

The bolt face has to be opened to a mag diameter. If the barrel is in good shape then it can just be rechambered to 257Wby, perhaps with a quarter inch of set back to clean up the shoulder angle if I remember correctly. But while all that is being done you should have the action trued and bedded and the trigger adjusted and might as well recrown. If you set back the barrel very much then you have pretty much defeated the benefits of the extra case capacity and might as well stay with the 25-06 which is a nice cartridge in its own right

If you want a new barrel which would be the better way to go, then that has to be chambered threaded and and crowned. The question of twist rates and length arises and that depends upon your intended use of the rifle. There are a few custom bulletsmiths out there making decent long range bullets in 257 and with those bullets it is really a great long range caliber but you need a twist that will stabilize them.

[MudRunner2005]

I was planning on sticking with the same Weatherby brand 110gr Accubond loads that I shoot from my AccuMark, so I was gonna use the same twist as it has.

So, as long as the tube isn't shot-out, then I can just have the barrel rechambered and the bolt face opened up, correct? A few more qiestions...What about a new floor-plate follower for the internal magazine...Won't I need a bigger one? What caliber should you buy one of those for to make it fit right?

What brand of barrel do you recommend?

This gun has already had the trigger worked, but could use tightening up on slack adjustment, and lighter pull (to be within my liking).

I have a local gunsmith that will be doing all the work, he's really good. Built me my last .308, until it got stolen back in '08. He does flawless work.

So...Is there anything else I'm missing?

[WildRose]

Originally Posted by MudRunner2005

I was planning on sticking with the same Weatherby brand 110gr Accubond loads that I shoot from my AccuMark, so I was gonna use the same twist as it has.

So, as long as the tube isn't shot-out, then I can just have the barrel rechambered and the bolt face opened up, correct? A few more qiestions...What about a new floor-plate follower for the internal magazine...Won't I need a bigger one? What caliber should you buy one of those for to make it fit right?

What brand of barrel do you recommend?

This gun has already had the trigger worked, but could use tightening up on slack adjustment, and lighter pull (to be within my liking).

I have a local gunsmith that will be doing all the work, he's really good. Built me my last .308, until it got stolen back in '08. He does flawless work.

So...Is there anything else I'm missing?

Have your gunsmith tell you what twist rate the bbl has (assuming it's a good bbl) and that will tell you whether or not the same bullet/load should work well in it once rechambered as you are using in the other rifle.

[roninflag]

trigger - google remington crisp you can do it your self easy. you can get some idea of the barrel usage by using a hornady oal gauge. you can just rechamber the factory barrel and open the bolt face. the follower should work fine if not i would think you could get a mag follower cheap. if you do rebarrel at some point i would get a krieger.

[Buffalobob]

The standard 10 twist will stabilize the 100 grain bullets. I have a 8 twist in my 257Wby and can stabilize 142 grain bullets. But then I handload everything and have a minimum SAAMI chamber with a target leade.