Remington 700 barrel swap

[SamuelBerryhill308]

Hello all I'm trying to figure out can I install a factory remington 700 5r barrel on to a factory 700 action with out ha ing to do any mods to either? I know I need to check head space and all but I wasn't sure if this is something that can be done with out having to do anything special.i was gifted a brand new take off remington 700 5r 308 barrel and I was just going to buy a factory action and put them together with a factory recoil lug.any info would be great thanks

 

[Ross1147]

Barrel vice, action wrench, recoil lug alignment tool, go/no-go gauges and you'll be good to go. If headspace is off (which it probably will be) you'll need a gunsmith to set it. Thread pitch will be the same unless the barrel came off a "blue printed" action who's threads were opened up.

Ryan

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Probably not going to work as said above since it's not on the barrel nut system. You'll have to have a smith fit it most likely as the headspace on remingtons are not going to be held to the same tolerance as say a custom action and shouldered prefit would be. You'd be much better off going with a remage set up if your swapping barrels and want to do it yourself.

 

[59FLH]

Hello all I'm trying to figure out can I install a factory remington 700 5r barrel on to a factory 700 action with out ha ing to do any mods to either? I know I need to check head space and all but I wasn't sure if this is something that can be done with out having to do anything special.i was gifted a brand new take off remington 700 5r 308 barrel and I was just going to buy a factory action and put them together with a factory recoil lug.any info would be great thanks

Ross is right on with his post, here is mine.

It can be done and its done often. If you have barrel to bolt clearance sometimes head space can be adjusted by thicker or thinner recoil lugs. Be prepared for your lettering to be indexed incorrectly. If that botthers you you will need help to set the barrel back.

SAAMI HS for a .308 Win is +.01" so you dont NEED the custom action tolerances to make this work. But .01" head space will be hard on you cases.

 

[tobnpr]

If you have barrel to bolt clearance sometimes head space can be adjusted by thicker or thinner recoil lugs.

This.
If you already have the barrel vise, action wrench and a go gage- and the knowledge to know how much headspace needs to be increased/decreased. Either way you will still need a smith or machine shop with a surface grinder (to do it "right", though if it's a small amount of removal needed you could probably stone it) to get a lug machined to the exact spec needed.

This is by no means as simple as screwing in a nutted barrel...you probably should have a smith handle it.

 

[Boe]

If you're just going to fit the one barrel it would be cost effective to pay a good Riflesmith to fit it. The tools needed would cost far more than it will cost for him to do it for you. Notice I said Riflesmith not Pipefitter. I have them come in my shop on a regular basis with headspace and clearances all over the map. One came in last week. There's more ways to do a job wrong than it is to do it right.

 

[MW204]

Just have a good gunsmith put it together for you and you're set, unless you have all the tools and know how to do it yourself. If not the gunsmith will be the cheaper way to go. If you're interested in learning to do this type of work yourself then get ALL the proper tools, watch a lot of videos, then double check, no triple check your work, and then take it to a gunsmith and ask them to check your headspace to see if you did it right.

 

[Harry Knutz]

This.
If you already have the barrel vise, action wrench and a go gage- and the knowledge to know how much headspace needs to be increased/decreased. Either way you will still need a smith or machine shop with a surface grinder (to do it "right", though if it's a small amount of removal needed you could probably stone it) to get a lug machined to the exact spec needed.

This is by no means as simple as screwing in a nutted barrel...you probably should have a smith handle it.

A surface grinder? What are you going to do with that? You need a lathe, A Barrel vice, A lug alignment tool, A reamer and a set of gauges. But I would try it, You may get lucky.

 

[ManzellaPrecision]

If you end up doing it yourself reach out and I can swap your factory lug for the size you need. I take the Remington lugs from customers and replace them with my lugs so once you figure out your headspace I can help you. (Not advertising my services) for those who are ready to ding for offering help.

 

[TXTrained]

Hello all I'm trying to figure out can I install a factory remington 700 5r barrel on to a factory 700 action with out ha ing to do any mods to either? I know I need to check head space and all but I wasn't sure if this is something that can be done with out having to do anything special.i was gifted a brand new take off remington 700 5r 308 barrel and I was just going to buy a factory action and put them together with a factory recoil lug.any info would be great thanks

My advice is take it to a gunsmith if you want a real good shooter.
It will be cheaper than buying all the necessary tools.
Plus it sounds like you have never done it before.

 

[spladi]

Hello all I'm trying to figure out can I install a factory remington 700 5r barrel on to a factory 700 action with out ha ing to do any mods to either? I know I need to check head space and all but I wasn't sure if this is something that can be done with out having to do anything special.i was gifted a brand new take off remington 700 5r 308 barrel and I was just going to buy a factory action and put them together with a factory recoil lug.any info would be great thanks

Sounds like a start......go for it.

 

[MJT700P]

If you install the barrel with your factory lug and measure your headspace you can then take up @ManzellaPrecision's offer with the correct thickness lug if it's out of spec. It's easily done if you have the correct tools and you'll be sure to learn something n the process.

 

[59FLH]

What he said.

 

[sedancowboy]

I have done it several times and more often than not the take off barrel will headspace correctly.
You do need a set of head space gauges. The biggest problem is getting the old barrel off. Sometimes they can be a bugger. I do have several recoil lugs on hand and sometimes switching them will get you within the headspace you need.
I will add sometimes they don't work and you either need a custom recoil lug or a gunsmith. Someone above offered recoil lugs in varying thicknesses. So there you go.