Which rifles easy to rebarrel

[thumbs]

Looking for another varmint rifle. This time a bolt rifle. Not sure if I want to stay with another .223 or maybe a 22 250. I am to understand the 22 250 is tough on barrels and it will have to be replaced reasonably soon. Which rifles are the easiest to rebarrel? Or is this really not a problem with the 22 250?

Another question is can I use a lighter bullet and get close to the same performance in a .223 as in a
22 250 and maintain the longer barrel life of the .223?

thanks

 

[Win.308Stealth]

I have not done it but to my understanding one can rebarrel a Savage at home. No gunsmith needed.

 

[Trever]

I have three 22-250s. I love them. They are easy to reload for and accurate. If you do get one though the standard twist rate is 1-14, I would shoot for a lot faster twist. Savge has 1-9 I think, I am a remmy guy.

 

[lazylabs]

What's your goal? I would not consider any 22 cal a long range varmint round. The .243 bullet holds up much better at longer range.

 

[benchracer]

Looking for another varmint rifle. This time a bolt rifle. Not sure if I want to stay with another .223 or maybe a 22 250. I am to understand the 22 250 is tough on barrels and it will have to be replaced reasonably soon. Which rifles are the easiest to rebarrel? Or is this really not a problem with the 22 250?

Another question is can I use a lighter bullet and get close to the same performance in a .223 as in a
22 250 and maintain the longer barrel life of the .223?

thanks

Many 22-250 shooters back their 55 grain loads down to 3500fps or so, claiming better accuracy and barrel life than full throttle loads. Personally, I disagree with this approach, but to each his own, I suppose.

A .223 with a 24" barrel and a minimum of a 12 twist can stabilize the Hornady 53 grain VMAX. Hornady's Superformance factory load featuring that bullet comes very close to 3500fps with a bullet that has a higher bc than any 55 grain .224 bullet. Essentially, with the combination of the Superformance loading and the 53 grain VMAX, Hornady has boosted .223 performance into the lower reaches of 22-250 performance.

Because most factory 22-250's have the stupid, hopelessly obsolete 14 twist, most factory 22-250's will not stabilize the 53 grain VMAX. With a 12 twist or faster, however, the 22-250 is capable of 3900ish from a 24" barrel with that bullet. Yes, barrel life will be shorter. You just have to decide if it is worth it to you to go with a custom barrel and to put up with shorter barrel life. Still, you will have to shoot A LOT or abuse your barrel before it will need to be replaced.

It doesn't take a lot for a good smith to re-barrel your rifle. If you want to do it yourself, buy a Savage and the appropriate tools.

If you plan to camp out over a prairie dog town, the .223 is probably the better choice. If you are after varmints other than prairie dogs, a 12 twist or faster 22-250 will outperform the .223 by a large margin.

 

[Greyfox]

I have not done it but to my understanding one can rebarrel a Savage at home. No gunsmith needed.

A couple of my shooting buddies not only change their Savage barrels, but will also fine tune their chamber headspace with factory bought rifles. They only needed to buy a barrel nut wrench and go, no-go slugs for their caliber. It is a straight forward process that does not require a gunsmith or skilled machinist.

 

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

I love my 22-250 for little critters. I shoot a 50gr bullet at around 3800fps. If you want to shoot hot loads just take your time in between shots, let the barrel cool, and you will be just fine. The round was meant for speed and, in my opinion, thats what it should get. As far as an easy rifle to re-barrel, an encore is the easiest. If you want a bolt gun, you're going to run into a lot of remmington vs savage debates. But the savage action can be re-barreled on your reloading bench at home.

 

[thumbs]

Thanks for the info guys

This is what I am looking for (I think). Being from Pa. most of my varmint hunting is for groundhog. Because of of the lay of the land most shots are well under 300 yards. Also I can't use a semi in Pa for hunting. That being said I have taken one trip west for pd's and plan another. This is not a "normal" chain of events though. I need a versital rifle and not one just for pd's.

I have a ton of .223 military brass and load for .223. I have no problem going to 22 250 but don't want to get into a high maintenance caliber. I know the 22 250 is more expensive round to buy initially but not to much more than the .223 to reload. Not sure I want to get into a rebarrel job every 1500 or 2000 rounds though. To much money at my age.

As for the .243 I like the caliber but I don't need another deer rifle and not sure of the recoil over a long shooting session. Also it take quite a bit of power which is in very short supply. An option, however I haven't looked into it much may be to download my 30 06 for lighter bullets and loads. Not sure about that though. Have to look into it.

Right now the question is .223 or 22 250 bolt rifle. What makes sense for me. I think if I lived in the west where very long shots are reasonably common the answer would be more obvious. I am not trying to talk myself into one or the other just trying to give you my circumstances. If i could load the .223 "hot" for the times I go west (probably only once more) that maybe the way to go. Now don't get me wrong I can still use the 22 250 here in Pa. also.

I was looking at the Ruger American but the twist is 1:14 for the 22 250. I see the Thompson Center Venture is 1:14 with the predator in 1:12. Not sure about the Savage, I do like them also, I have a couple in .17 rimfire.

So that's where I am on this thing. I have no problem with the 22 250 if I can get good barrel life out of it but not if I have to rebarrel after 1500 round or so. I would constantly be worried about the condition of the barrel.

Thanks again for the help guys.

 

[benchracer]

The twist for the Ruger American in 22-250 is 1:10. I have confirmed this with Ruger Customer Service. Though there are not yet pre-fit barrels available for the Ruger, it has a barrel nut arrangement that would theoretically allow DIY barrel replacement just like the Savage rifles. If you are primarily hunting groundhogs, your barrel should last awhile.

The Ruger American in .223 has a 1:8 twist, which would allow for excellent versatility and long barrel life.

While I am personally a 22-250 fan, I can certainly see the potential virtues of the .223. It all depends on how much speed and splat factor you really want.

 

[tcob68]

You could get a Remington SPS Varmint at reasonable price and have great platform to build on with tons of aftermarket parts available. With several companies offering the Remage option now you get the best of both worlds with almost endless options.

 

[TacRabbit]

I have to agree with tcob68 about the Remage option. You could get a used rifle and pull the barrel. Have a machinist notch the action for a pinned lug and buy all of the components from Jim at Northland Shooters Supply. Replacement barrels are about $300. You would need to get an action wrench, barrel nut wrench, and go/no-go gauges. You get all of the aftermarket support of a Remington with the ability to swap your own barrels like a Savage.
I recently went this route and have been very pleased. I put together a 7mm-08 and its shooting around .6 with 162 SST's and minimal load development.

 

[thumbs]

Been doin a lot of surfing this evening and came across this.

Savage 19126 10FP-SR Law Enforcement Series 223

Does anyone know anything about this rifle. Sounds like what I am looking for as long as it shoots. Or at least looking into. Can't find it on the Savage site though.

 

[Trever]

A pro hunter pistol in 22-250 or 22-250AI from bullberry would make <300 interesting. Kind of keep you on your toes a little bit. shooting position and trigger control would he the competition then.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Thumbs, that 10FP is a realgood choice and will be a great platform to build off of..gun)