Rem 700 Mcgowen barrels with barrel nut?

[kimberman]

Many of you have been following my thread I started on the 6.5x47 lapua. Most of the posts have been very helpfull and I've decided to go ahead with it.

So..... I'm wondering about the mcgowen barrel with the nut to make barrel swaps faster and cheaper. I'm probably gonna stat with a rem action I have on hand to help with cost for now. Eventually, and possibly when the can$$ comes up over par, I will look at buying a custom action. The barrel, stock and trigger will all switch over anyway. How is the accuracy of the mcgowans? Does the barrel nut feature take anything away from the accuracy of the barrel? I believe the mcgowans are button rifled versus a krieger that is cut, how big of deal is that?

 

[Obtunded]

If you want to go with a McGowan barrel, that's fine, they are inexpensive and should work ok, however it is false economy to think you can make life easier by using a barrel nut. I'm sorry... with all due respect to the vendor and their commercial interests, IN MY OPINION these are a disaster waiting to happen in the hands of the wrong person. If this were a universally endorsed idea, it would have been used long ago. Don't just ask me, speak with some of the gunsmiths around.

Whatever barrel you ultimately choose, Have your barrel properly installed by a gunsmith, including chambering, AND HEADSPACING. Once the barrel has been properly chambered, you can use a barrel vice and an action wrench and you can change your own barrels and you do not need to concern yourself with headspacing. It is faster and safer. Some of the guys I shoot with have mounted their barrel vices on a trailer hitch! They just pop it into the receiver and they have a barrel switch done at the range in minutes.

Improper installation defeats great barrels.

 

[PEI ROB]

Many of you have been following my thread I started on the 6.5x47 lapua. Most of the posts have been very helpfull and I've decided to go ahead with it.

So..... I'm wondering about the mcgowen barrel with the nut to make barrel swaps faster and cheaper. I'm probably gonna stat with a rem action I have on hand to help with cost for now. Eventually, and possibly when the can$$ comes up over par, I will look at buying a custom action. The barrel, stock and trigger will all switch over anyway. How is the accuracy of the mcgowans? Does the barrel nut feature take anything away from the accuracy of the barrel? I believe the mcgowans are button rifled versus a krieger that is cut, how big of deal is that?

First of all, I just bought a Stiller action and the dollar is strong, look at their website and price the actions. Barnards are very good and available from Robertson. Then price a Rem action including quality custom work. If you already have Rem doing nothing, go ahead and sell it then get the custom.

Barrel accuracy is not really the issue. The custom barrels are well made and IF there is any difference at all it is greatly overshadowed by the ammo and action. Which would you prefer to shoot, a sometimes capable .2 MOA rifle or a consistent .3 MOA rifle?

The custom barrel nut ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT take away from accuracy. It isn't my way of installing a new barrel but it is much cheaper. It is SLOWER to swap, considerably. If you have a properly installed shouldered barrel it will simply headspace the exact same every time you re-install it to the same torque. With a barrel nut you need to use a headspace gauge every time.

Don't forget to cost the stock.

 

[Mystic Precision]

Many of you have been following my thread I started on the 6.5x47 lapua. Most of the posts have been very helpfull and I've decided to go ahead with it.

So..... I'm wondering about the mcgowen barrel with the nut to make barrel swaps faster and cheaper. I'm probably gonna stat with a rem action I have on hand to help with cost for now. Eventually, and possibly when the can$$ comes up over par, I will look at buying a custom action. The barrel, stock and trigger will all switch over anyway. How is the accuracy of the mcgowans? Does the barrel nut feature take anything away from the accuracy of the barrel? I believe the mcgowans are button rifled versus a krieger that is cut, how big of deal is that?

My McGowen barrels are shooting in the 2's and 3's so they are a very good shooting barrel. I have them installed on Savages.

The barrel nut DOES NOT AFFECT accuracy of the barrel in any way, shape or form. And yes, I have tested rifles/barrels to support my conclusions.

Cut vs button will rage as long as there are these different forms of manf. Both make excellent barrels. Both can make stinkers...

If you look for the interview with the guys from BARTLIEN barrels (cut rifling makers) at this years SHOT show, they offer the same conclusion.

The big issue when using the REM action is that you cannot change the action threads or else the barrel will not fit. SO, if the action is reasonably straight and the lugs contact the receiver well, no problem - work like a charm.

if the action is wonky and needs some serious smithing which includes recutting the threads then NO, this process does not work.

Given that most shooters will have no way to confirm their Rem actions (they can check their lug contact as a starter), I recommend this process to those looking for varmint level accuracy. Even if things are not bang on, the action and barrel will still work well enough to give you 1/4 to 1/2 min accuracy without fuss.

For competition accuracy, I would recommend a Rem be tweaked by a competent smith and the barrel installed as needed.

This would be a recommendation I would offer to anyone building a solid front locking lug action. They are all blessed with the same/similar problems.

The barrel nut concept is radical but has proven itself to be not only cost effective to manf but also dead reliable for maintaining headspace. This process is now how many decades old and being used in how many rifles?

How many aftermarket barrels and parts are sold specifically for barrel swappers on Savage/Stevens actions in the US and around the world?

how long would this process survive in law suit happy America if there were obvious flaws in the process?

It is an extremely safe way to headspace a barrel and will be much more consistent/repeatable then shoulder headspace barrels.

It can be very time consuming AND expensive to shoulder headspace multiple barrels to the same chamber specs. With the barrel nut install, how many do you want?

for those who fear catastrophic failure, I have even shot rifles where the nut was not tightened enough and worked loose allowing the barrel to move. Of course, the barrel did not rotate much before it became obvious something was up BUT the barrel was indeed loose in the action.

[DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMENDED]

The result, a larger group with longer then desired brass. I have resized these cases and continue to use them.

Until, one tries this process, it is really hard to believe how simple and SAFE it really is.

Jerry

PS if barrel swapping is something you want to get into, I would strongly recommend a Savage or Stevens or even a Marlin XS/XL rifle. The floating bolt head eliminates so many problems and results are consistently excellent