New LR Rifle... Need Opinions PLEASE!!!!

[601handryan]

So heres the deal. I already have a custom Remington 300 Winchester Magnum builte by none other than Jon Beanland himself. Rifle is deffinately a shooter. Better than me I would say. This is my delima. I still have the first rifle that I legally bought when I was 18 (15 years ago). Its a Ruger M77 chambered in 7mm rem mag. The rifle never did shoot amazing groups but it has killed many deer over the last 15 years. I am thinking of sending it off to get rebareled and also put it in an HS Precision stock. I am not planning on going full bore custom in this. I just want to make it a decent shooting rifle. Looks like I'll be sending it off to PacNor to get the work done. Does anyone on here have any experience with PACNOR barrels or their work. Also, should i decide to go with a 6.5-284 instead of 7mm rem mag, would i be better off buying a Savage 6.5-284 or having PacNor chamber my ruger for me. This is a long post and I hope i didnt bore anyone or confuse anyone with my question.
Thanks in advance for the advice.

Ryan

 

[benchracer]

I don't have experience with Pac Nor barrels, so I can't help you there. I can tell you that you won't be having your Ruger re-barreled to 6.5-284 unless you can find another bolt for it with a standard bolt face (.473). You currently have a magnum bolt face (.532). If you truly want a 6.5-284, going with the Savage is the easier approach.

 

[AZShooter]

You have a decent shooting rifle with your new one.

Why not use the old Ruger rifle as it is? Why not turn it into a varmint calling rig for closer shooting where tiny groups are not as important? You could put a cool paintjob on the stock or even the entire rifle. Choose a lightweight bullet for a flatter trajectory so all you have to do is point and shoot out to 300 yds or so. I have gotten the 120 nos bt to go 3550 fps with RL-22.

Just how bad is this shooting now?

Try the tips below to see if you can get it shooting better.

I wouldn't rebarrel until I knew that is was worn out. Can you get to a bore scope?

Things I'd go before I rebarreled:

Aggressive cleaning. Good copper solvent. My fav is Bore tech eliminator because you can let it soak for as long as you want. It is amazing what a few days of intermittent soaking and cleaning can do. After all the copper comes out then take some Iosso and push some tight patches through to polish it up.

recrown the barrel

Check the front action screw to be certain it isn't bottoming out in the blind hole of the receiver. This is fairly common either because the wood has shrunk over time or the person who bedded the stock got some epoxy into the hole. It is more common that you would imagine.

If the forward contact point is still making contact with the barrel sand it down so barrel is not making contact.

If it isn't bedded have it or do it yourself. Bed it with the barrel totally floated.

Be absolutely certain the Ruger rings are in the integral recesses on receiver.

Use a in/lb torque wrench to tighten the front screw at 40-45 in/lb and rear at 35-40 in/lb. Barely tighten the middle screw.

As an owner of several older Rugers I thought you might benefit from these suggestions.

Let us know what you end up doing.

 

[roninflag]

Ryan- i would sell the ruger and get a remington to build on . if you want 6.5-284 get one in a caliber with a long action with that bolt face. if you want a magmun get a one of those and rebarrel.

 

[reeldawg]

Pac Nor built my 6.5 Sherman and it's a sub .5 moa gun. I wouldn't hesitate using them again. I think you would need a different bolt/bolt face for the 6.5-.284 from 7rm.


Jay

 

[Short Case]

You could have it built into a 26 Nosler are a 270 WSM

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

You have a decent shooting rifle with your new one.

Why not use the old Ruger rifle as it is? Why not turn it into a varmint calling rig for closer shooting where tiny groups are not as important? You could put a cool paintjob on the stock or even the entire rifle. Choose a lightweight bullet for a flatter trajectory so all you have to do is point and shoot out to 300 yds or so. I have gotten the 120 nos bt to go 3550 fps with RL-22.

Just how bad is this shooting now?

Try the tips below to see if you can get it shooting better.

I wouldn't rebarrel until I knew that is was worn out. Can you get to a bore scope?

Things I'd go before I rebarreled:

Aggressive cleaning. Good copper solvent. My fav is Bore tech eliminator because you can let it soak for as long as you want. It is amazing what a few days of intermittent soaking and cleaning can do. After all the copper comes out then take some Iosso and push some tight patches through to polish it up.

recrown the barrel

Check the front action screw to be certain it isn't bottoming out in the blind hole of the receiver. This is fairly common either because the wood has shrunk over time or the person who bedded the stock got some epoxy into the hole. It is more common that you would imagine.

If the forward contact point is still making contact with the barrel sand it down so barrel is not making contact.

If it isn't bedded have it or do it yourself. Bed it with the barrel totally floated.

Be absolutely certain the Ruger rings are in the integral recesses on receiver.

Use a in/lb torque wrench to tighten the front screw at 40-45 in/lb and rear at 35-40 in/lb. Barely tighten the middle screw.

As an owner of several older Rugers I thought you might benefit from these suggestions.

Let us know what you end up doing.

+1. Totally agree.

 

[601handryan]

Thanks guys for all the input. I will most deffinately try the recommended work before dumping $1k into it. The rifle is not leaving my household. Like I said, it's my first rifle and I'd like to pass it on to my son in a few years. I never liked selling my guns anyways.

 

[7magcreedmoor]

PacNor re-barreled my Ruger M77 mk2 7mag for me a few years ago. Excellent quality work, but I screwed up when I had them duplicate the factory contour. This resulted in a 26 inch long half inch at the muzzle very light barrel. It shot great for three rounds, but if not allowed to cool completely, would open up a bit. My fault for going light and skinny. As a hunting rifle, no problem. For extended practice, lots of rounds, should have gone heavy contour. Fast forward to 2014- I had them make me a number 6 fluted barrel in 280 Ackley Improved for a savage I was building do-it-myself. Bliss. I get almost as much velocity (3020 fps in the ack, vs 3050 in 7mag) using the same bullet and powder (less powder in the smaller case, of course), and accuracy stays put in longer shot strings. If I had just ordered the number six contour for the 7mag, I'd have been a happy camper all along. If you want to go 6.5, get .264 Win, or the new 26 Nosler on your magnum bolt face, but don't go for a skinny barrel. I am building another savage d-I-y again, and PacNor will be getting my order again, no hesitation.

 

[601handryan]

I believe the barrel contour of choice for me is the #6. I believe it's .750 at the muzzle. This will be a hunting rifle so I don't want it to heavy. My 300 win mag has a 26" med Palma attached to it. It's good for whitetail hunting in a shooting house but I don't think I'd want to take it on a pack hunt in the mountains. But it's a heck of a good shooting rifle.

 

[7magcreedmoor]

On the question of weight, my savage with the PacNor #6, micro-fluted and 26 inches (not including the brake) comes in at 12 lbs as you see it. The stock is a Boyd's Tacticool, the scope a Vortex Viper HSLR 4-16x.