Remington 700 SS R5 Question

[358 BLR]

From what I've read in this forum, the Remington 700 SS R5 in .308 Win. looks to be an excellent starting platform for a 260 Rem build I'm considering. So, from what I
understand, it should only require changing out the barrel to end up with a nice dual purpose hunting/LR target rig that should perform well out to 1000 m, or better.
It does seem to be a shame, however, to waste a perfectly good .308 win barrel and I was wondering if swapping the barrels back and forth was something that
could be easily accomplished without messing up the rifles accuracy?
For those who own one of these fine rifles: do you think an out of the box Rem 700 R5 needs trigger work and what would be the cartridges maximum OAL
as limited by the action/magazine well?

Thanks Guys (and Gals).

 

[carbonrod]

If you want a hunting/field/target platform, don't change the barrel unless you shoot it out, or it was botched from the factory. Guys like Obtunded will some along and say that you need an Uber cartridge to compete in Fclass, and that is somewhat true, but if you want a combo cartidge in a short action, a 308 with heavies is hard to beat.

Yes, tune the trigger. Not a big deal. Part is to lower it to ~4 lbs so it is safely huntable, yet targettable. Then dry fire the snot out of it.

If you are more hike gun then range gun, take it to a good smith, and lop ~4inches from the barrel though. Dead weight inside of 6.

 

[BC_Guy]

From what I've read in this forum, the Remington 700 SS R5 in .308 Win. looks to be an excellent starting platform for a 260 Rem build I'm considering. So, from what I
understand, it should only require changing out the barrel to end up with a nice dual purpose hunting/LR target rig that should perform well out to 1000 m, or better.
It does seem to be a shame, however, to waste a perfectly good .308 win barrel and I was wondering if swapping the barrels back and forth was something that
could be easily accomplished without messing up the rifles accuracy?
For those who own one of these fine rifles: do you think an out of the box Rem 700 R5 needs trigger work and what would be the cartridges maximum OAL
as limited by the action/magazine well?

Thanks Guys (and Gals).

If you're just going to turn it into a 260 then you should get an sps. The action will be the same. I don't think changing the barrel back and forth is as simple as that.
The trigger will need to be taken down from the 10-ish pounds you get it at. Personally, I hate the xmark trigger, I'd swap it for anything else, even an older style rem trigger. Others seem to be ok with it.
When I had mine the OAL was 2.955", same long throat as all stock remingtons. You'd have to single load for that, obviously, the mag well tops out at about 2.9" if I recall. Fortunately, smks seem to be just fine with some jump to lands.

 

[358 BLR]

I've been looking at all the various cartridges that are currently popular with the long range crowd and what I like about the 260 Rem are it's Long Range
and hunting performance characteristics, that and the fact that it is easy on barrels. For a sort of do it all cartridge, I think the 260 Rem is an outstanding
choice for what I'm looking to do - nobody has talked me into this choice, but I do listen to and consider other peoples opinions (which is the real beauty of
these forums).
BC_Guy:
So a good alternative would be to pickup a Remington 700 SPS Long Action in 270 Win, or 30-06 (preferably without the X-mark trigger) and re-barrel that to a 260 Rem.
I imagine going with a Varmint barrel contour would require a replacement stock as well? In addition to fine tuning the trigger and bedding the action, would "Truing" the
action (whatever that means) be another basic requirement, or would it be good to go as is? As it stands, I have a line on a stainless 700 SPS in 30-06 for around $670.
Thanks for your input, Rob

 

[BC_Guy]

BC_Guy:
So a good alternative would be to pickup a Remington 700 SPS Long Action in 270 Win, or 30-06 (preferably without the X-mark trigger) and re-barrel that to a 260 Rem.
I imagine going with a Varmint barrel contour would require a replacement stock as well? In addition to fine tuning the trigger and bedding the action, would "Truing" the
action (whatever that means) be another basic requirement, or would it be good to go as is? As it stands, I have a line on a stainless 700 SPS in 30-06 for around $670.
Thanks for your input, Rob

Eventually I'd go with a different stock anyhow, unless you find you can live with the sps. That's why it's cheaper, the 5r's HS stock adds another $2-300 to the price (though you can usually recoup most of that selling it here on the EE).
Re: 'truing', since you're rebarrelling anyhow, you might as well. It's a relatively minor expense in the big picture that might help and certainly won't hurt. Check out this thread:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=534602
Some good replies by people who know a lot more than me. Maybe contact guntech or some other reputable smith, one phone conversation with them would probably map out your whole plan to get exactly what you want for the least possible cash.