Help requested for a "modest" little build

[JimD]

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I didn't have a clue the best/proper forum for this.
If this needs to be elsewhere, please move (mod) or advise me and I will
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Hello Everyone,

I am 68 y/o, been shooting since I was "knee high to a grasshopper," know my way around both handguns and rifles, got my Expert Marksman badge in the Army, etc., etc., etc.

Now, I think I have just described a whole lot of good Americans, so I'm not saying I am anything in particular, but just by way of introducing myself to this thread as not being completely wet behind the ears.

HOWEVER I am just barely into the learning curve when it comes to precision rifle building.

So, I'm hoping that some of y'all here might help me with a project I would like to accomplish.

Here's where I am:

I have just come into possession of a Remington 700 in .243 Winchester.
I have had, for a while, both a 30-06 and a .308, both modestly built out.
But this is my first .243.
But I am not unfamiliar with the caliber - I like it.
So, I would like to see if I can "improve" this .243 a little.

That won't be hard, because the barrel, while not completely shot out and ruint,
has been shot a good bit and, mainly, very poorly maintained.

So if I want to turn this rifle into ANY sort of a quality rifle it must have a new barrel.

Then the other components of the project would be, as I see it
(though open to everyone's ideas and opinions of course, that's why I'm posting here)
- put in a finer trigger
- strip the plastic off that nice walnut stock and Tru-Oil it
- bed it all together

I am sure the thoughts of many immediately run to
- WHY a .243
and...
- WHY keep the wood stock

Well...
- there is some sentiment attached to the rifle
and...
- I just like blued steel and wood

What can I say?

And, look, I'm not after a competition dominating 1,000 yard rifle.
Just a rifle that is better than I am, and I'll be happy.
I can shoot various distances out to 600 yards at my range.
So, just to do some "work" there is about what I'm after.

Oh, one other parameter - I am in a hurry.
So, for example, if we are picking whose barrel to use... man I'm going to be looking for somebody who has one in stock!

And finally, one other "view" on this:
There's a gunsmith at my club who builds benchrest rifles for a lot of the members.
So the project may be as simple as find and get a barrel, give it to him and let him build it all together for me.

Now on the other hand, I am not obligated to this fellow.
If anyone knows of someone who can acquire the barrel and build it all out "turnkey," I am certainly open to that as well.

But regardless of who does what, two things I know I am going to have to settle on are:
- a barrel, and
- a trigger

And a note on all of this: I am not poor but would like to work to keep the cost of this project somewhat under control

Much obliged for any help with my project here.

James

P.S. Oh, I do have this question:
I have (or should say "had," he's retired) a really good riflesmith who SWEARS that you can cryo and then nitride a .243 barrel and then just shoot it 'til the cows come home with nary a thought to throat erosion, etc. I don't know if it was supposed to be the cryo, the nitride, or the combination of the two because he ALWAYS said the two in the same breath, almost like "cryonitriding." Any clear knowledge here about cryo/nitriding a barrel?

.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

I have a .243 youth model, I have since out grown it for quite some time but would under no circumstance ever get rid of it.

Can't go wrong with a timney or jewel trigger. There are lots of good barrel manufactures, your stock may dictate the contour you can run. For the rate of twist you'll need to decide on the weight range of bullets you want to run.

 

[ntg]

If it were me, I'd do a "remage" barrel on it. There's a few companies that will sell you a barrel and a barrel nut just like Savages. It's something I've always wanted to do having swapped barrels on savages already. I enjoy do-it-yourself projects. Just a thought.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Shilen Barrel Blank 243 Cal 6mm Centerfire


I'd go with a #5 contour... for a slightly heavier than rem mag contour....
twist, cm or ss, and final length are your choice... remember the shown length is about 2" more than what you'll get, as they need to lop a bit off each end...
select match is a bit more uniform, but the regular match beats the pants off of factory pipes...

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

as to triggers, timney or jewel... depending on what your budget is... I like the timney but have felt jewel triggers and they are very good too...

 

[BountyHunter]

For what you want absolutely nothing wrong with a 243! It is more than capable of going well over 600 with the 105 grain bullets especially.

A new barrel installed will set you back $500-600 depending if you have the action bedded. I would get a 1-8 or the 1-7.5 twist in the barrel also.

Rem/Age Pre-Fit Barrel

These you can fit yourself for $370 and about $30 for the barrel nut plus a wrench. The local smith can put it on your action, headspace it and the trigger relatively inexpensive compared to a blank and chambering etc.

A good Timney trigger will be around $150.

I would not spend $225-240 on a Jewell, the Timney will work fine for what you want.

You can find a good barrel blank on the internet easily if you want to go that route and not have to wait for months, Hart, Krieger, Brux, Bartlein, etc quite easy. The remage barrel might be easier and cheaper. Unless you want a heavier barrel, I would look at the Light Varmint in the Criterion and no more than a #4 or 5 countour on a blank

You will need to strip the factory stock BEFORE bedding and that finish can be tough to get off at times. unless you are doing it yourself going to be some money.

Here a couple stocks you might want to look at as replacments if you like wood.

https://www.stockysstocks.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=heritage

The one with the accublock does not require bedding, just bolt your action in as it is finished ready to go.

The Boyds stocks below will require bedding.

https://www.boydsgunstocks.com/FindAStock?Make=3U&Model=182&Action=10&Shape=18

 

[JimD]

OK guys, I'm getting there.
Thanks.

I've studied on your comments a bit, followed some links, etc.

Can we parse this down a bit?

First, re: Triggers
The "club gunsmith" to whom I referred mentioned the Jewel trigger. From what I thought I understood, I was pretty sure that a Timney would suit my purposes just fine, and save me a C-note in the process. I didn't offer that in my OP here, wanted to put up a blank slate and let y'all opine. But I'm gonna say "Timney trigger" and check that off my list. √ Thanks.

Moving on.

Re: Twist Rate
Hey BountyHunter, thanks for: "absolutely nothing wrong with a 243!"
I didn't want to waltz into y'alls home here and start pontificating.
When, in fact, y'all are the experts and I am the learner seeking help.
But I will say, humbly, that before I committed to this .243 project, I did a bit of homework, and I have come to have a pretty good opinion of the .243.
Not for putting a hole through an engine block at a thousand yards.
But within reasonable parameters it looks like a fine round to me.
That's why I want to have me one!

Now... about twist rate...
You wrote about, "well over 600"... "105 grain"... "1-8 or 1-75 twist"
I... think... I'm sort of locked in on 95 grain (long story but there you go).
So is 1-10 good enough for a 95 gr. bullet. (BountyHunter...? everybody...?)
Or, especially if I'm going to be pushing 600 yards, will a faster twist be of benefit?
Thanks.

Re: Contour
It's a bit confusing.
I've seen contour listings of

1-8

3-14

Sporter
Heavy Sporter
Light Varmint
Varmint
Bull


Lightweight
No. 1
No. 2
No. 3
No. 4
No. 5
Varmint


Contour No. 1 Lightweight Sporter
Contour No. 1 ½ Magnum Sporter
Contour No. 2 Medium Sporter
Contour No. 2*½ Heavy Sporter
Contour No. 3 Varmint Weight
Contour No. 3 ½ Heavy Varmint
Contour No. 4 Bull Barrel
Contour No. 5 Heavy Bull

But from putting that all together, I've about gotten the idea.

But, can y'll give me the least little discussion about
1) WHAT contour you'd recommend for what I'm up to, but also
2) the WHY of it
What does this certain contour (4? 5? whatever?) do for me and HOW?


Finally... Barrel Length
I assume this gets into tradeoffs?
More length = good?
But only up to a point?
Plus, more length = more weight.
So, what do y'all say is a good length (finished barrel length, let's say) for my barrel.

Thanks all!

I'm starting to see this coming together.

Jim

P.S. I just got an eMail from my revolver/pistol grip refinisher who said he would be happy to strip that stock and Tru-Oil it. So that's something I can check off. √
Making progress!

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

I wouldn't go any longer than 26 inches. 24-26" I think would be most optimal. I'd lean more towards 24 inches myself.

 

[JakeL]

Beget has a twist rate calculator on their site.

Twist Rate Stability Calculator | Berger Bullets

Basically, what you will find is that a 1:9.25" twist is pretty much minimum for any decent long range bullet. 1:8" is much, much better. The old idea of having "too fast of twist" is mostly myth. There is practically zero downside to having a faster twist. If I was building a .243, I would go for 1:8" as a minimum, and 1:7.5" if possible.

 

[BountyHunter]

A faster twist (1-8/1-7.5) can easily shoot the 95 grain bullets. However, with a 1-10, you might not be able to shoot the 105s accurately if you want to down the road. That is why I recommend the faster twists. Plus the 1-8 twist barrel will be easier to find without special ordering and waiting for months. IMO you have nothing to lose by going to the faster twist vs the slower twist limits the heavier bullets which at distance are the generally the chosen bullets to use.

As for the contours, you should look at a couple mftrs contour charts so you get an idea of what each contour is and understand, the mftrs contours vary a little from each other, but tend to be in the same neighborhood. Here are a couple so you can see the weights and contours.

Contour Chart

https://kriegerbarrels.com/contours#sptr

Bartlein Barrels, Inc. - Contours

The contour will be driven by the desired weight you want the gun to weigh when finished. If you look at the above charts, it will give you the barrel weight. For example, if your gun has a standard sporter barrel on it now it weighs approximately 2.8 lbs so if you go to a #5 barrel which weighs approximately 4.0-4.5 lbs. You have added 1.5-2 lbs to your gun. A standard model 700 sporter barrel rifle weighs about 7.5 lbs and would weigh 9.5 lbs+ with a #4 barrel. A number #5 would be an extra 3-3.5 lbs over the sporter and take the weight to 10+ lbs.

The advantage of a heavier barrel is less prone to stringing bullets from heat due to multiple rounds fired quickly and being heavier is more stable to hold. the target guys use heavy barrels.

key is are you going to carry it a lot or mainly shoot from bipod, bench etc?

IMO I think you would be happy with a #4 and maybe a #5 no more than 24-26" long.

 

[JimD]

Hey Jake and B.H. thanks for the additional information.

And y'all anticipated one of my questions.

I didn't know if "overspinning" was much of anything or not.

I'm seeing how they "package" some of these parameters.

I've seen several .243 barrels at 1:8 in Remington Varmint contours.

So, I think I'm understanding that the
1:8 will be perfectly fine with a bullet as "light" as a 95gr.
AND then be there if I end up shooting 105s at some point.

The Remington Varmint might be a teeny bit on the heavy side
but I'm not going to be hiking up and down mountains with this.

And the weight I think I will appreciate when it comes to dynamic stability
and stability under heat, etc.

So, this is sort of falling together for me.

May be another question or two out there on the horizon, but so far it seems to all be falling into place.

Thanks!

James