Savage Like Barrel Swaps for the REM 700

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Mystic Precision

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Here is a pic of what it will look like. Taken from Sniperhide.

Wondering what the interest would be for prechambered/threaded barrels for the Rem 700 that headspace the same way as the Savage using a barrel nut.

All the chambers, contours and length options would be available. Costs would also be very similar except for the added cost of the nut.

The nut would be removed with the same wrench as the Savage.

Looking for your thoughts and interests to see if it is worth pursuing.

Jerry

PS www.mysticprecision.com for pricing on the Savage barrels. Expect that the nut will be in the $40 range.
 
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If one is going to twist a custom barrel onto a Rem action they may as well do it right and have it trued by a smith and have the barrel properly mated to the action.

Truing of the action usually includes recutting the threads .010 over factory which means that one would have to know whether there action threads had been opened up in the past in order to know whether a pre threaded barrel would even fit on their action.

I say leave the pre-fits to Savage. Those who buy and true a Rem action do so for a reason.
 
This is my opinion only mind you. Savages barrel nut system works, we are seeing 1/2 MOA without much of a problem. This is without accurizing anything. Alot shoot that way from the factory. I think the Savages aren't as pretty as a Rem. style action and the nut looks a little bulky. I wouldn't see a nut like this on my Rem.'s but alot of people wouldn't care. I know for a fact that to put a barrel on a Rem. with the same nut system as Savage would work exactly the same and thus yes there would be a market for some people. Accuracy would be exactly the same. 1/2 MOA easily achievable.
I understand CyaN1de's comments and they are true. Savage people are replacing barrels on their own and their actions are varying in dimensions as are the Rem.'s but the proof is in the groups. Even with the variance you can still have a great shooting firearm with the swapping of a barrel that has been machined true. A firearm that will shoot awesome and group well in any discipline except the benchrest arena where I believe more accurizing is needed on the action to be competitive.
The smiths won't like this as there will be a percentage of people that would just swap their barrels out and save some cash. The groups they get will be quite good enough for them for the type of shooting they do. But then again there will be the rest of us that need to know that all has been done that can be done to achieve the most acuracy possible.
I say yes there is a market. How much would have to be proven out. Sorry for the long wind.
 
I thought about it as PAC-NOR does this.. or has in the past.. but I believe the floating bolt head in the Savage allows for some mis alignment due to poor factory tolerances on the action threads..

If I had a donor Rem action I would consider it just to mess with.. but other wise I wouldn't risk the money on something that may not shoot.
 
I have my precision gunsmith - a fellow that has built more match winning rifles than anyone I know - custom mate each of my barrels to my actions and his workmanship is second to nobody. The accuracy produced is second to nothing and the safety is beyond doubt.

I have more than one barrel for several of my actions and once they are custom mated, they need nothing more than the very simple tools to spin them off and replace them.

For those that want a cheaper (is it?) way to swap barrels , fly right at it. I prefer to change barrels properly, in the manner with which they were engineered and with the least possible risk to mis-spacing the chamber.

FYI, one of our board members here has his barrels machined with a hex nut milled out of the material at the muzzle to facilitate removal without a barrel vise - just a socket or a (torque) wrench. (it is just aft of the muzzle brake threads on one too) It is the coolest thing I have ever seen. Infinitely more straight forward, and I would argue that it is safer too.
 
All the points brought up have been excellent. The Rem action has some flaws that must be corrected inorder to achieve the best levels of accuracy. A by product of this work is that the lugs also mate well with the receiver allowing higher then standard pressures loads to function well.

The Savage platform certainly has an edge in this dept due to the floating bolt head and different production methods.

But there are alot of decent Rem actions that are only limited by the factory barrel. The barrel nut swap allows these shooters to enjoy greatly improved performance both in accuracy AND chamber choices. All with less time and money spent.

I see varminters, LR hunters and tactical shooters as being the biggest potential market. Depending on how far out of whack the action is, F class shooters could also do well with this swap. It would not be my choice for any BR work.

There is little reason to think that barrels installed this way can't shoot in the 1/4 to 1/3 min range depending on chambering and bullets used. More then accurate enough for the intended audience.

This has been done over the years by a variety of US gunsmiths with the limiting factor being the cost of making custom barrel nuts. There looks to be a manf that is going to make them in greater quantities making this critical item affordable and available.

Depending on the feedback, I will see about getting a batch of these nuts so that they could be included with the barrels bought. Whether the barrel was installed at home or with a 'smith would be up to the end user.

Let me know...

Jerry
 
Jerry, its been done but not offered as you propose. The barrel recess is a standard factory spec and not custom for each rifle. This can easily be duplicated and checked by Shilen if they choose to do so. Threading it like a Savage except 16tpi is actually much easier to do than a shouldered barrel. The first issue is one you are facing and that is a supplier for the 16tpi barrel nuts at a reasonable price. The second issue is the customer modifying the stock to allow for a barrel nut. Rem 700 actions are not pinned but it isn't a big deal to keep the recoil lug straight, a pin pressed into the lower half of the split insert described below works perfectly.

If a person was to do this, they would need the wrench and a strong vise. You could offer aluminum 2x2 bored and split inserts for sale, surely the maker of the 16tpi barrel nuts can make these as well. The 2x2 split insert can be used with a 6" bench top vise to hold the action and should be fairly cheap. I think selling headspace gauges would be prudent but that goes for Savage barrels as well.

If you want to go even cheaper, headspace shims actually work perfectly fine. The barrel can still be shouldered as factory but shouldered deeper and a shim would be required to set headspace. It sounds totally unacceptable to many but there are no functional issues at all. Finding a supplier for the shims may be problematic.

This is NOT how I would do it but you asked for thoughts and it seems like a way to make a rifle tune up cost and shoot between a factory and a full custom re-work.
 
Rob, great points. There seems to be a manf that want to make these barrel nuts in bulk so pricing is not that bad. Somewhere around $40 (hopefully less as volume goes up).

Given how wide the shoulder is on a standard barrel, I really don't think any inletting will be needed to make the nut fit the stock. It might be smaller.

The normal tools required to swap a Savage barrel would apply to the Rem so no new ground here.

Manf of the barrel will be no problem and one (maybe both) of the brands, I offer is ready to make them as ordered. The key was a supply of nuts on the Rem thread.

So really it boils too, how much interests there is with the Rem 700 owners in swapping barrels?

Jerry
 
I would be intersted Jerry. Funny that you should post this as Ive been searching all over internetdom looking for info on swapping barrels on the 700. I found a little info on this barrel nut for the 700, but not much.
 
I believe it was The Varmint Hunters Magazine had an article on this... It is great we will have a Canadian supplier of components to make these swaps easy..
 
I also would be quite intersted in this. I've done a Stevens 200 with your shilen barrel (17 Fireball) and it turned out very well. I presently have a Rem 700 action in .243 that I would like to turn into a .260 Rem. Bieng able to use my present tools and vise would be a definate asset and only having to buy another headspace guage. Looking forward to more on this subject....Ken
 
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Here is a pic of what it will look like. Taken from Sniperhide.

Well, I can officially make Rem barrel swaps happen.

I can get a supply of barrel nuts that are threaded for the Rem 700. They are a bit bigger in diameter then the barrel shank of a reg. barrel so some inletting will be necessary to fit into the stock. Will be a simple task with a dremel.

Barrels will be McGowen and all the options available for the Savage will also apply for the Rem. Pricing will also be the same so you can just look on my website for links to pricing, chambers, twists, contours, lengths, finish etc.

Please send me a PM to book the barrel nut and barrel. Nuts will be $40 with the purchase of the barrel. $50 by itself.

You can use the same barrel nut wrench as the Savage so these are available and cheap.

Let me know...

Jerry
 
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Apparently, it has been done but have not seen the final result. It would definitely help the action but a good lapping will do a similar thing and with the problem/cost of getting parts and fitting, way easier.

The only thing you can't do is change the threads.

Jerry
 
I have a Remington 700 bolt with a damaged nose. The lip that secures the extractor was ruined. I had heard of fitting a Savage bolthead to a Remington bolt, and have considered doing the conversion with this one.
 
tiriaq, you can also contact Guntech and he can rebuild your bolt for you. He repaired a bolt for me years ago and did a superb job. The bolt head was damaged from a case rupture I am guessing and those rings of steel didn't save the bolt head.

I think the main problem with swapping bolt heads is the availability of parts and the cost of an install (unless you can do the work yourself). For what this will likely cost, you can buy a Stevens for a bit more money and have everything you want in a set up that will work.

The nut/swap is wonderful with lapped/orig actions. fun to play with excellent accuracy.

If you intend to do alot of 'smithing on the action, you may as well go all the way and do a shouldered barrel install. Or get a Savage.

Jerry
 
tiriaq said:
I have a Remington 700 bolt with a damaged nose. The lip that secures the extractor was ruined. I had heard of fitting a Savage bolthead to a Remington bolt, and have considered doing the conversion with this one.
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Or you can order a new bolt from Pacific Tool and Gauge and it will have tighter tolerances than the factory bolt. Probably cheaper to buy a new bolt than to try and fit a Savage bolt head on anyway.

PT&G Bolts = .700
Rem Factory bolts = .693-.699

If one was going to spend the money to put a Savage bolt head on a Rem bolt, why not just get the action trued and you are in the realm of a Custom action. Boggles my mind to see people actually thinking of doing these things.
 
Some people need to step back and rethink. Truing a 700 and buying a tight bolt is a bad idea when for the SAME price you can buy a full custom action. Not the end of the world, just pointing out a better decision could be made.

Jerry is selling custom barrels a guy can install himself for what, $600, and get good accuracy. For the people against it, you can still true this action later if you want.
Gunsmiths normally don't NEED to take .010" off when they true an action. The last one I trued I didn't take near that much off. A proven and well respected gunsmith here says a slightly loose fit is better than a tight fit, good threads will self center the barrel.

These barrels will not have benchrest quality chambers and crowns but they should be very close and without a doubt much better than factory.

Not everybody can afford a $1000 tune up, the money spent on these barrels will be worth it. I certainly don't agree with Jerry all the time but on this as a good idea I do, many guys will be happy as pigs in #### with a rekindled rifle and the sport may pick up a few more semi-serious shooters because of it.
 
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