i was talking to a buddy of mine last night about putting a brake on my r700, he said i should look at putting a heavy barrel on my gun first. right now its chambered for 30.06 and i think if i can get some muzzle control over this gun id be happy staying with this caliber. he said there should be some factory heavy barrels floating around and to look for those before looking aftermarket. so, couple things, what can i expect to pay for a good used heavy barrel and is it worth going that route or better to go aftermarket? and also how is the barrel attached to this gun? is it threaded in or is is soldered in place? and any help in pointing me in the right direction to find one would be great aswell. thanks guys
barrel talk
- Thread starter uchi
- Start date
stevesummit
CGN Regular
- Location
- spruce grove
I would talk to Jerry at mystic persicion about a shilen or McGowan pre chambered barrel and have a smith install it they work very well
cdnredneck_t3
Regular
They are threaded in. The barrel has a shoulder that is cut at the right spot so when the barrel is tightened up you have the proper head space. Head space is the distance between the the shoulder of the chamber and the face of the bolt.
A pre-chamber, as mentioned above is a barrel that has no shoulder but a jam nut that is used to lock the barrel in place when the desired head space is set. Most people use go no-go gauges for both types, they can be purchased for around a 100 bucks but most smiths will have them in the common calibers. Savage uses this system of head spacing barrels.
A used factory barrel will run you around $150 plus smith work to install and head space. There is also no guarantee a factory barrel is a good shooter. Someone may have taken it off because it did not perform and now you just bought it with high expectations.
I recommend you talk to Mystic Precision http://www.mysticprecision.com/wp/ or
juanvaldez (SP?) http://www.northshorebarrels.ca/home who are both members on this site. They both offer gun smith services and can get you going for not much more than the price of a factory barrel install because it too will need to be head spaced. If you want to spend a little more money for a full blown tactical build go with another site member Alberta Tactical Rifle http://www.albertatacticalrifle.com/.
I recommend these three because I have first hand experience with each of their products. There are also many more competent smiths on this site that can help you out.
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thats great info thanks for the help and the links, got some pages open gonna do some reading. only think ive found while looking on my own is that there isnt much for the 30.06, would the r700 feed .308 rounds correctly in its current configuration with a .308 barrel?
It would be really easy for you to find out if your long action will feed .308 without altering the magazine. Hint: try it.
You will find brand new take off barrels in the EE for $50 - $150, depending.
A take off Remington 700 barrel might or might not just screw onto your rifle. If it has to be fitted by a 'smith, using a lathe and reamer, the cost is going to skyrocket. A new take off factory barrel is a bit of a pig in a poke. It might shoot very well, it might only be so so, factory barrels being what they are.
There is no reason not to put a brake on your '06 if you want to. It will definitely make the rifle more comfortable to shoot. If it is more comfortable to shoot, you may shoot better with it. Doesn't improve the accuracy of the rifle, but it might make it easier for the shooter to do well. Figure $50 - $100 to have a 'smith machine your barrel for the brake. Personally I would not shoot a braked rifle without hearing protection.
You will find brand new take off barrels in the EE for $50 - $150, depending.
A take off Remington 700 barrel might or might not just screw onto your rifle. If it has to be fitted by a 'smith, using a lathe and reamer, the cost is going to skyrocket. A new take off factory barrel is a bit of a pig in a poke. It might shoot very well, it might only be so so, factory barrels being what they are.
There is no reason not to put a brake on your '06 if you want to. It will definitely make the rifle more comfortable to shoot. If it is more comfortable to shoot, you may shoot better with it. Doesn't improve the accuracy of the rifle, but it might make it easier for the shooter to do well. Figure $50 - $100 to have a 'smith machine your barrel for the brake. Personally I would not shoot a braked rifle without hearing protection.
Bolivar
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
My thought would be if you area after accuracy and looking at a new to you heavy barrel, get a decent match quality one from somebody like Mystic or Northshore barrels. It may cost you double a factory barrel but it we ALMOST definitely be more accurate.
There is no guarantee that a factory heavy barrel will shoot any better than your current one.
If you want to hunt with the same rifle, a heavy barrel may not do you a lot of good cause the rifle gets heavy and hard to carry. Not sure if that is a factor for you.
Just my 2 cents. I give full refunds if you don't feel you go your money's worth
There is no guarantee that a factory heavy barrel will shoot any better than your current one.
If you want to hunt with the same rifle, a heavy barrel may not do you a lot of good cause the rifle gets heavy and hard to carry. Not sure if that is a factor for you.
Just my 2 cents. I give full refunds if you don't feel you go your money's worth
If you go with a heavier barrel, you will likely have to restock, don't think that the stock on your SPS is suitable for opening out the barrel channel.
You have a long action. While a long action can be fitted with a barrel for a short action cartridge, if you want to stick with the action you have, it would make sense to go with a long cartridge. 6.5x55 comes to mind.
A new barrel, plus a new stock, plus whatever 'smithing you need to have done = a fairly expensive project.
You just might be better off to keep your scope - its a decent one - sell your .30-06, and get a different rifle, more suited for precision shooting.
If you want to shoot recreationally, stay with the '06, have a brake installed if you wish, and use the rifle more or less as is.
You have a long action. While a long action can be fitted with a barrel for a short action cartridge, if you want to stick with the action you have, it would make sense to go with a long cartridge. 6.5x55 comes to mind.
A new barrel, plus a new stock, plus whatever 'smithing you need to have done = a fairly expensive project.
You just might be better off to keep your scope - its a decent one - sell your .30-06, and get a different rifle, more suited for precision shooting.
If you want to shoot recreationally, stay with the '06, have a brake installed if you wish, and use the rifle more or less as is.
thanks for all the help guys. my gun shoots fairly well. im far from a great shooter but ive managed to shoot 1.25" at 200y with it the way it sits, stock x mark pro trigger cheap bi pod and a rear bag. the gun is accurate so i wouldnt want to sacrifice that with a factory barrel that isnt. i contacted a place in hamilton that makes and installs brakes and they said 190 for the brake and 90 to thread my barrel, painted black and installed, takes 3 days. thats not a bad deal at all. ill end up going that way shortly.
what i was saying is that everything i look at has the more common rounds, .223, .208, but i havent seen as much available for the 30.06. maybe im not looking hard enough who knows. i think for now ill stick with this setup, put the brake on, i just bought a trigger for it should be in this week i hope maybe next week at the latest, figure between those two it should help me a little. i wont bother hunting with this thing, its a paper hole maker and exploder of reactive things i find to shoot, thats about it. so ill see how she works with those two and if i have an issue ill look into an aftermarket barrel for it.
thanks for all the help and guidance guys. much appreciated. someone had recommended the place im dealing with for the brake and smith work in another post and the guy has been quick about getting back to me today and so far good to deal with. so im hoping to have this done in the next month and a bit or so.
what i was saying is that everything i look at has the more common rounds, .223, .208, but i havent seen as much available for the 30.06. maybe im not looking hard enough who knows. i think for now ill stick with this setup, put the brake on, i just bought a trigger for it should be in this week i hope maybe next week at the latest, figure between those two it should help me a little. i wont bother hunting with this thing, its a paper hole maker and exploder of reactive things i find to shoot, thats about it. so ill see how she works with those two and if i have an issue ill look into an aftermarket barrel for it.
thanks for all the help and guidance guys. much appreciated. someone had recommended the place im dealing with for the brake and smith work in another post and the guy has been quick about getting back to me today and so far good to deal with. so im hoping to have this done in the next month and a bit or so.
Bolivar
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
The 30.06 used to be considered a fine match chambering. But as military cartridges progressed it was dropped in favor of the 308/7.62 Nato. Now most target rifles are short actions unless you get into the magnum cartridges (300 WM, 338 Lapua) etc.
Nothing actually changed with the 30.06 though. Still an accurate cartridge. Enjoy it. As for your upgrades. The trigger can be kept if/when you decide to go to a different barrel/chambering. The brake might to, depending on barrel diameters.
Let us know how your upgrades work.
Nothing actually changed with the 30.06 though. Still an accurate cartridge. Enjoy it. As for your upgrades. The trigger can be kept if/when you decide to go to a different barrel/chambering. The brake might to, depending on barrel diameters.
Let us know how your upgrades work.
sounds good thanks for the help. its a nice round, ive got no complaints about it. i thought about changing the caliber to something a little less violent, i find the barrel hops alot with this gun, ive shot two guns with brakes and both i could see the round hitting the paper. .308 savage and .338 lapua timberwolf, both with brakes, and both were great to shoot. so im hoping i get similar results with this, and both had extremely light triggers compared to my factory unit. im looking forward to these upgrades, like with all my goodies, i cant leave anything alone and un modified, lol
