really need help with rifle build off my remington 700

[Bret GRAVELINE Graveline]

This may have been covered quiet a number of replys so this may have been covered already, the bedding block molded in to your stock may be the accuracy problem, in theory they should work, torging them down to Neanderthal tight is not a good cure, if the action has not been bedded next time at the range shoot a group with your normal load, once the barrel has cooled shoot another group but this time before you do loosen the rear guard screw, you can even take it out for this it won't hurt a thing, if the point of impact changes or moves more than a inch the bedding is bad and needs to be corrected, with luck you will find and it often does accuracy has improved, don't be afraid to try different primers, match primers do not always give the best groups, nor do magnum primers work best with magnum loads, they can and do make a difference, have you tried a Barnes x bullet, you stated you like 165 gr, a 150 gr X bullet will out perform and out penetrate any 165 gr bullet manufactured by anyone else, if only deer are on the menu the 130 gr might be worth a look, my go to big game gun is a 6 pound hunt ready 338 winchester mounted with a 2.5x8 leupold, the 185 and 225 gr Barnes x bullet print to the same point of impact, this gun is not a lot of fun to shoot but is a pure joy to carry, if teeth or horns are in the scope recoil is not a concern, but at the bench the difference in felt recoil between the 185 and 225 gr is huge, I've hunted the world over and been successful been carrying a 338 since 1975, but there is nothing I've shoot with that cartridge that I'd be afraid to point a 280 at. I wish you well in this journey.

 

[KurtB]

Agreed, 270 Win, 280 Rem, 280ai, all solid choices. If a reloader then 6.5-06 or 6.5-284.

 

[greywolf68]

Here is a rifle I built off a Rem 700.Varmint Rifle, Cal. 6mmB/R Dasher, action trued up, Jewell Trigger. Hart Barrel installed by Hart. Rifle is scary accurate, going to fire form some more brass (Lapua) this week, will post some pics. I know it's not what your looking for thought I would share

 

[Canhunter35]

I have posted over the past several months on possibly rebarreling my Remington 700 and im just lost and need help and suggestions. For those that don't know, here is the deal: I have a Remington 700 mountain SS with a pencil thin barrel in 3006. it shoots 1.5MOA which is fine for the hunting I do BUT it bugs me and it recoils a bit more than I would like. The recoil is no problem at all for when I hunt but when I sight it in every year or just shoot it for fun, it does tend to start hurting and cause me to flinch after about 15 rounds. I always like to get below 1 MOA with my reloads and have been able to do so with all my other rifles. Why the change you may ask? well I have built my wife two rifles in 7mm08 and 6.5CM. I absolutely LOVE shooting her rifles. Low to no recoil and they shoot .5MOA if I do my part. This has led me to want to rebarrel my Remington. I want to try and keep costs lower on this one so id prefer to re-use the stock and not have to buy a new bolt (if possible). The stock is a B&C stock (with aluminum bedding block) on the Remington mountain SS with a drop plate (no magazine). it has some meat which can be removed for inletting of a slightly thicker barrel but not too much. It should hold a sporter contour ok but maybe not much thicker. When I checked new bolts out, they would be 200$ which just doesn't fit my budget so that means I need to pick a caliber which fits the 3006 bolt that I have. I hunt primarily whitetails, definitely no Elk or anything big. Maybe the very rare black bear but doubtful. I do not hunt prone with this rifle nor do I want a brake on it. It is primarily tree-stand hunting and shooting house hunting with absolute max ranges being 400 yards but the norm would be under 200 yards. I am pretty sure I no longer want 3006 (partly because of recoil and partly because im just bored).

Number 1 thing is a sub 1 MOA rifle. It just bugs me when a rifle wont shoot under 1 MOA.

Number 2 is trying to make the current stock work which means not a thick contour. Again, my guess is not too much thicker than a sporter contour barrel would work ok. if I MUST, then I could buy a new B&C stock in regular sporter contour but now the build itself is getting into the territory of just buying a new rifle such as a Tikka or Sako A7 etc.

Number 3 is lower recoil than a 3006 in a ultralight barrel. I used to shoot 300 winmags but as ive been using my wife's rifles, ive been loving lower recoil.

What I know I dont want is another 3006 or a 270win. So here is what ive been contemplating but truly not sure what to do. I could go with 280ai and load it with 140 grain bullets to help tame recoil a bit and keep the gun shooting pretty flat. This way, should I ever want a power setup (elk), I could load it with 160s at full tilt and be ok but I think 140 grain bullets with a mid range powder charge should keep recoil lower than my current 3006 shooting 165 grain bullets. 280ai also allows for some factory ammo in a pinch.

Last question is, should I go remage? Ive done switch barrels with my savage rifles so I have a action vise and barrel nut wrench so that isn't a worry...inletting the new barrel is definitely the worry on this one. I have zero experience and I think id rather have a gunsmith do that so ive thought about just sending it to a smith and having them square the action and throw the new barrel on. What kind of costs should I expect for this?

Other than this im not sure what else is possible.

25-06 with 1:7 twist for the heavies even the 115s.
The smaller the bore the more steel you will have in the smaller contour barrel promoting accuracy.
I doubt a 280ai will lower that much recoil if ur using 155s in your 30-06

 

[robert l]

The action screws are torque to I believe 50in pounds (it is aluminum bedding block). I have not messed with testing that too much. The Action/recoil lug is skim bedded with devcon. My procedure has been to really clean the barrel with bore tech. Once cleaned well, I will foul the barrel with 3-5 shots depending on my mood. Then ill shoot until groups get worse which is like 25 more shots. I have messed with bullet seating lengths but not a ton there. My load development is similar to berger method.

This is a silly one but is the barrel getting to hot?

 

[John Polk]

This was the first brand new rifle I purchased so I wont sell it (plus im in NY which makes selling rifles even more challenging). I wont like it until it shoots sub 1MOA which means rebarreling. It has a great stock on it and an after market trigger already installed so with a nice barrel it will make for a decent semi-custom. Spending 500$ on a new rifle will not guarantee I wont get another lemon.

I was thinking about remage, just not sure on what work it takes to make it fit in the stock I already own. I have changed savage barrels.
There is no guarantee that a new barrei will solve the problem.
The thing I hear about remingtons though is the factory barrels are near impossible to remove which is causing me hesitation.

 

[robert l]

I believe McGowen will contour to your liking. They offer their contours plus Douglas and Shilen. So you could come very close to your stock inlet. A quick call to them they can likely tell you some good choices based on the stock you already have. You can even get a custom chamber like I said before b

Plus douglas can profile your existing barrel.and they are air gaged premium barrels fitted and test fired for 500 out the door.

 

[Jud96]

Here are a few targets from my Remington 700 I rebarreled with a Bartlein 5R barrel, chambered in .284 Winchester/Norma Match. This is representative of how this rifle shoots. It's nothing special. This rifle began life as a .270 and I wanted a better long range cartridge and a rifle that shot more consistent. I can't stress enough how much a good custom barrel, installed by a good smith will help your rifle.

 

[Darktimber]

Here are a few targets from my Remington 700 I rebarreled with a Bartlein 5R barrel, chambered in .284 Winchester/Norma Match...

I like the looks of that stock. Was it the factory stock? If not who made it?

 

[Jud96]

I like the looks of that stock. Was it the factory stock? If not who made it?

This was not the factory stock for my rifle, but it is a factory Remington ADL stock. These stocks and the model they came on are no longer produced. I found this one on Gunbroker and it was sold as being in brand new condition, which it is. It took a little bit of inletting for the Bartlein #3 barrel, which is slightly heavier than the factory Remington sporter contour, to fit. I was going to convert my rifle to a BDL and go with a quality synthetic stock from B&C, HS, or Grayboe, but I found this stock and I love a nice laminated stock.

 

[e1harris]

I should have mentioned factory ammo availability is a plus.

Is there any factory 6.5-284 or 6.5-06 ammo at a typical gun shop or a field and stream?

What you are searching for good sir is the 6.5×55mm Swedish Mauser.

It has the third best ammo availability of the 6.5 cartridges (behind the 6.5 Creedmoor and the 260 Rem).

Very similar ballistics to the 6.5-06.

 

[Joefrazell]

I've got a 25-06 and a 30-06 and I'm here to tell you that even though the 25 is limited as far as bullet weight its a great killing round with little recoil. I love both the 25 and 30. But am partial the the 25

 

[SteveBurton]

As a few people have already stated, go with a 6.5-284 or a 6.5/06. Get a barrel with a 1:7.5 twist that will allow you to shoot the new 156 EOL if you want. I shoot the 140 Bergers in my 6.5-284 and it is a fantastic round. The rifle will hold 1/4 MOA all day long and will take a whitetail beyond your 400 yard limit easily. Recoil is mild. Factory ammo is a limiting factor for both rounds but you said you reload so shouldn't be an issue.

 

[JC in Calif]

I have posted over the past several months on possibly rebarreling my Remington 700 and im just lost and need help and suggestions. For those that don't know, here is the deal: I have a Remington 700 mountain SS with a pencil thin barrel in 3006. it shoots 1.5MOA which is fine for the hunting I do BUT it bugs me and it recoils a bit more than I would like. The recoil is no problem at all for when I hunt but when I sight it in every year or just shoot it for fun, it does tend to start hurting and cause me to flinch after about 15 rounds. I always like to get below 1 MOA with my reloads and have been able to do so with all my other rifles. Why the change you may ask? well I have built my wife two rifles in 7mm08 and 6.5CM. I absolutely LOVE shooting her rifles. Low to no recoil and they shoot .5MOA if I do my part. This has led me to want to rebarrel my Remington. I want to try and keep costs lower on this one so id prefer to re-use the stock and not have to buy a new bolt (if possible). The stock is a B&C stock (with aluminum bedding block) on the Remington mountain SS with a drop plate (no magazine). it has some meat which can be removed for inletting of a slightly thicker barrel but not too much. It should hold a sporter contour ok but maybe not much thicker. When I checked new bolts out, they would be 200$ which just doesn't fit my budget so that means I need to pick a caliber which fits the 3006 bolt that I have. I hunt primarily whitetails, definitely no Elk or anything big. Maybe the very rare black bear but doubtful. I do not hunt prone with this rifle nor do I want a brake on it. It is primarily tree-stand hunting and shooting house hunting with absolute max ranges being 400 yards but the norm would be under 200 yards. I am pretty sure I no longer want 3006 (partly because of recoil and partly because im just bored).

Number 1 thing is a sub 1 MOA rifle. It just bugs me when a rifle wont shoot under 1 MOA.

Number 2 is trying to make the current stock work which means not a thick contour. Again, my guess is not too much thicker than a sporter contour barrel would work ok. if I MUST, then I could buy a new B&C stock in regular sporter contour but now the build itself is getting into the territory of just buying a new rifle such as a Tikka or Sako A7 etc.

Number 3 is lower recoil than a 3006 in a ultralight barrel. I used to shoot 300 winmags but as ive been using my wife's rifles, ive been loving lower recoil.

What I know I dont want is another 3006 or a 270win. So here is what ive been contemplating but truly not sure what to do. I could go with 280ai and load it with 140 grain bullets to help tame recoil a bit and keep the gun shooting pretty flat. This way, should I ever want a power setup (elk), I could load it with 160s at full tilt and be ok but I think 140 grain bullets with a mid range powder charge should keep recoil lower than my current 3006 shooting 165 grain bullets. 280ai also allows for some factory ammo in a pinch.

Last question is, should I go remage? Ive done switch barrels with my savage rifles so I have a action vise and barrel nut wrench so that isn't a worry...inletting the new barrel is definitely the worry on this one. I have zero experience and I think id rather have a gunsmith do that so ive thought about just sending it to a smith and having them square the action and throw the new barrel on. What kind of costs should I expect for this?

Other than this im not sure what else is possible.

The easiest, simplest answer is rebarrel to .25-06 Rem. Very manageable (light) recoil. Great power and flat trajectory for deer. You don't have to change bolt face or magazine feed rails. Remage will let you do it all yourself, which is nice, but you might have to modify the stock to accommodate the barrel nut. I'd just have a gunsmith fit it because once you shoot it (.25-06) you'll love it and won't be looking to change. And with no barrel nut, the stock will be fine 'as is'. The baby-aught-six is such an underrated round and so awesome in the real world, you will really enjoy it.

The easiest, simplest answer is rebarrel to .25-06 Rem. Very manageable (light) recoil. Great power and flat trajectory for deer. You don't have to change bolt face or magazine feed rails. Remage will let you do it all yourself, which is nice, but you might have to modify the stock to accommodate the barrel nut. I'd just have a gunsmith fit it because once you shoot it (.25-06) you'll love it and won't be looking to change. And with no barrel nut, the stock will be fine 'as is'. The baby-aught-six is such an underrated round and so awesome in the real world, you will really enjoy it.

Re-barrel to a .240 WBY

You can't pick up 6.5/06 as factory ammo,,, don't over look the factory 270 Winchester or 280 Remington,,, both of those calibers shoot the 130 to 150 grain'ers bullets in the factory twist rate of 1:10,,, the 25/06 is pretty good with the 117 gr boolitz as well,,, my friend in Northern BC has taken alot of Moose in Alaska and the Territories... Up close and personal...

I forgot to mention that I use reduced loads for my 30/06 in the off season which helps reduce alot of recoil and flash burn on the throat...

I load down to 308 Winchester specs in the 165/168 gr bullets at 2720 ft-per seconds,,, they also flatten out Deer like pancakes at 200 yards...

Super fun to shoot... And they sell reduced factors loads as well...

Cheers from the North