Rebarrel with Proof Carbon or just buy new rifle

mobenzowner

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I have two .243 rifles. One is a Red Hawk Rifle ( slightly tuned Rem 700) with 26" varmint barrel in a B&C stock, the other a Savage 11 trophy hunter XP 100% stock. I also do not really like the twist rate on either of these guns.

The 700 is too heavy to carry or hunt with, but is truly a 1/4" to 3/8" gun with 95 grain Berger classic hunters. The Savage shoots right around 1 MOA +/-. I am not happy with 1 moa. The gist of this is, I would like a gun more accurate than the Savage and lighter than the Remington. I'm willing to make the compromise for a hybrid of the two.

Question is, do I just

1.) Sell these 2 rifles and get a new Proof rifle in 6mm cm
2.) Buy a proof barrel in 243 with the faster twist and put on the Remington and sell the savage
3.) sell the Remington and buy a stock, bottom metal and proof barrel 243 fast twist to upgrade the savage???

I reload for the .243 so I really don't see much reason to go 6mm cm unless I buy a totally new rifle, because it's almost impossible to find a standard production rifle in .243 win that has anything faster than a 9.125" twist.
 
Putting a custom barrel of quality on a stock rifle will in most cases make it a very nice shooter. I would also true the action if you go this route.

I like custom rifles that FIT, so I would go the custom route if the funds are available. Good luck in your decision.
 
Need to know your budget.

In my world, I'd sell the savage and get a proof barrel for the 700. But selling the 700 and getting a proof barrel for the savage will save you some $$.

I think about 90% of the accuracy comes from the barrel, so that's the place to splurge.

I'm not sure selling the 700 would be the cheapest route as All I'd have to spend there is for a barrel and a smiths fee to install. It will of course bring more than the savage, but I would have to buy a stock and bottom metal in addition to a barrel and smiths fee to install. The 700 would have to bring enough more to pay for stock and bottom metal which would probably be about $500 approximately. Could probably get away without trueing up the Remington Receiver since I have a very good baseline on how it currently shoots. Would probably want to true up the Savage. Make sense?
 
I wish CA made the Ridgeline in a fast twist .243 or in a 6mm CM. It'd be an easy decision for me then. I'm leaning slightly to rebarreling the 700 with a Proof research .243 7.5:1 twist in 22" or 24" sendero or sendero lite and letting the smith bed the action in my B & C stock.
 
I'm not sure selling the 700 would be the cheapest route as All I'd have to spend there is for a barrel and a smiths fee to install. It will of course bring more than the savage, but I would have to buy a stock and bottom metal in addition to a barrel and smiths fee to install. The 700 would have to bring enough more to pay for stock and bottom metal which would probably be about $500 approximately. Could probably get away without trueing up the Remington Receiver since I have a very good baseline on how it currently shoots. Would probably want to true up the Savage. Make sense?

The savage would be a prechambered barrel with you doing the headspacing. This will save you a good bit of coin. And the savage doesn't real "true up" due to the floating bolt head. I'd take the 700, but the savage is the cheaper option.
 
You don't have to buy a proof to save weight. They weigh as much as steel barrels just balance different.

If your gonna rebarrel and blueprint the 700 might as well go with a custom. Price difference is negligible. Quality isn't. The sale of the r700 as a whole rifle will make up the cost difference of a custom. My $0.02

Goodluck!
Joe S.
 
#2
Or keep the Remington as a bench gun and rebarrel the savage and you'll have a nice walking gun.

idcwby
 
Re-barrel the 700. Blueprint and buy a good barrel. Pac-Nor will do the entire job but it will cost you about $850.
 
It's all about the budget. I've built a pile of savages. I have PTG action truing reamers, bolt face cutters, etc. You can do a lot with them but you can also run bone stock and get good results. They are really a very good option for people who wanting to tinker and do their own thing. Some people bag on savage but that's all bs, they can and do work well enough for most people who are just not snobs about it. I have never had 1 fail, never had 1 that didn't shoot .5 or better.

IF you go proof carbon prefit they don't offer a lot of choice in contour for the savage. So you can get a lighter contour but the smith will have to ream and cut. You can go with a stainless proof prefit in a lighter contour to shave weight. The big issues is that the light barrel will walk after a few shots but for a hunter, it might not matter to yous. My proof carbons work very well with strings of fire but in the end, it shouldn't matter since you only get a few shots at most on game. I have put 4 shots on wolves, killing 3 and hitting 1 2x. It was close quarters tho.

I have a 20" proof savage I built in a 6.5cm that weighs 8.75lbs suppressed with a vx6 3-18x50. Right at 8 lbs without the suppressor. I have 2 other proof barreled rifles and I have a ton of confidence in them.
 
I tend to keep guns that shoot well. I would re-barrel the savage and put a middle of the road barrel on it like X-Caliber or Criterion. Easy to DIY as well. More cost effective as well. I don't recommend carbon barrels unless people want a heavy contour that is light. #2 and smaller contours are generally lighter than carbon barrels.
 
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