Barrel Replacement - Remage question

[mongo4567]

Hello folks, I'm thinking of replacing a barrel on an 700 action I have. I want to play around with a Remage from a hobbyist perspective. A friend of mine suggested that I was wasting my time just replacing a barrel. He feels that as a first step I should have the action trued, which would mean I would need a custom barrel (as I understand) for oversized threads. I understand that a custom or trued action will give me the best results. I feel strongly that the barrel is the most important part of the package and think that a plain Remage barrel by a maker like Shilen will probably really shoot no matter what. I can't shoot better than about 1/3 MOA anyway and I only take hunting shots to 500 yards or so. I have lots of factory guns that shoot to my capability. I really want to replace the barrel to get my caliber, twist, and barrel weight choice. In my head it is a cost benefit question. What are your thoughts?

 

[338 dude]

Hello folks, I'm thinking of replacing a barrel on an 700 action I have. I want to play around with a Remage from a hobbyist perspective. A friend of mine suggested that I was wasting my time just replacing a barrel. He feels that as a first step I should have the action trued, which would mean I would need a custom barrel (as I understand) for oversized threads. I understand that a custom or trued action will give me the best results. I feel strongly that the barrel is the most important part of the package and think that a plain Remage barrel by a maker like Shilen will probably really shoot no matter what. I can't shoot better than about 1/3 MOA anyway and I only take hunting shots to 500 yards or so. I have lots of factory guns that shoot to my capability. I really want to replace the barrel to get my caliber, twist, and barrel weight choice. In my head it is a cost benefit question. What are your thoughts?

Just try the barrel and I'll bet you will be fine

 

[akdad]

If you're doing it from a hobby perspective just do the barrel. If you are after something else sell it and start with a custom action. I just don't see the cost/benefit on a Reminton action unless you do all the work yourself. Just one guys opinion

 

[Wedgy]

As stated it really isn't worth investing the money into a 700 action as you can never sell it for the money you spent on it and you can get into a custom for that amount. Get your new barrel and a good trigger.

 

[akdad]

Always exciting to have company in the rabbit hole. You can also get a short chambered barrel and go that route. It's not cheap but it sure gets addicting

 

[Hunter Reed]

I put together this "budget" build last year. It's a 6BR built off a bone stock stainless 700 action, magpul stock with bottom metal, trigger tech primary trigger, 26" pre-chambered barrel from urban rifleman and a northland barrel nut and recoil lug. Get ya some good headspace gauges, a barrel vice, and a action wrench then have some fun. Plenty of informative videos on setting headspace.

 

[tobnpr]

Single-pointing the receiver threads oversize to "true" them is probably the worst return on investment one can make on an M700 receiver (and this is coming from a smith). Extremely rare for them to be non-concentric enough to cause a problem that would manifest at the target- and for a hunting rifle, a total waste of your $$$.

For shouldered barrels that I fit to customers' rifles, I true the receiver ring and bolt lugs to get them concentric to the bolt raceway and leave it at that.

Given that you're rebarelling a rifle you own- if it didn't manifest any accuracy issues with the original barrel, no reason to fix it if it ain't broke.

Screw on the barrel and shoot it.

 

[Hydra6]

Patriot Valley Arms is running a special on "Remage" style barrels in 22, 6, and 6.5. I just got a 22 inch, Sendero, 65CM PVA "Remage" barrel delivered this week that is going on an older Stiller action that does not accept prefits.

 

[cajun]

I just did a remage on my sons 7 mag. Criterion barrel from Northland shooters. Heavy factory. HS precision stock. Trigger tech trigger. After break in and figuring out the jump it's around 1/2 moa for 3 shots after multiple groups. It's not bedded but has a full aluminum block. We might bed the recoil lug.

 

[mongo4567]

I have a barrel from Patriot Valley Arms and a barrel vice from Brownells both on order. I will post results.

 

[cajun]

Your going to need an action wrench. I bought one from northland shooters. I also have a viper barrel vise and we still had to put a big pipe wrench on the barrel to keep it from spinning in the vise. We weren't planning on selling the barrel. It had a bur in the chamber.

 

[Lee7588]

To do a barrel only, you will most likely gain some improvement. If you decide to improve your action you will end up spending about the same amount as a custom action. 700 action plus improvements = custom action with higher resell value.

 

[Muddyboots]

Ho boy, down the rabbit hole we go.... it will shoot well then the slide begins. You will have a bench set up for everything. Then you will be either looking at other rifles in safe with drool or stopping at Pawn Shops looking for beaters to tear down. So I hear anyway...

 

[ntsqd]

If hobbiest is the level that you're working at, have a look at the tools made to square and true the action w/o needing a smith. I went down this particular rabbit hole with Savage tools mostly purchased from PTG. Tool to square the receiver face to the threads, square the lug abutments to the receiver face, tool to lap the lugs to the lug abutments, etc. Maybe the result isn't quite as good as having a specialist do all of that work, but I was able to do it in my own shop for just the cost of the tools and now I've got two more projects waiting on me to have the time to process those actions.