Rebarrel a Winchester 70 Sporter 30-06 to 6.5x55mm?

[Joel]

I'm thinking about having a new Winchester 70 Sporter in 30-06 rebarreled to 6.5x55 Swedish. Now I know they made the Featherweight in this caliber, but they are not readily found and I like the stock with the cheekpiece rather than one without.

It seems like the rifle would feed a mag full of 6.5x55mm rounds just fine, but for the case head being slightly wider than the .473" of the 30-06 family. Do you guys think there's enough meat on a 70 bolt face to open it up just a hair and allow it to function with the Swede, and that it wouldn't be too tricky of an operation?

And if you ever had a similar thing done, who would you suggest for the job?

 

[bcsteve]

You won’t need to open the bolt face. Most if not all North American 6.5x55 ammo use the standard .473 case head diameter. Buy a box and try it out.

 

[Joel]

Edit: Steve, you are correct, sir.

After removing the bolt, it does look like it will work as you say. With the bolt in the rifle, it seems to be chamber dimensions that keep them from chambering not bolt face as I had initially thought.

Cheers.