Swaping Barrels, Do-it-yourself or Gunsmith Only?

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50calshooter

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Hey Guys, I have a Rem 700 .308, I've been talking to Jerry over at Mystic and we're discussing his line of McGowen swap out barrels. Is this a job I can do myself, IE with the right tools etc. or do I need to worry about truing the action and headspace? I'm just curious if any of you guys have done this yourself...
 
My M700 is setup as a switch barrel. I had my gunsmith pin the recoil lug and headspace several barrels the same. To swap them, all that is needed is a small barrel vice and an action wrench. I use the Tubb vice and clamp it down with c-clamps to a bench at the range. Its very simple. It isn't necessary to remove the scope. It isn't even necessary to remove the action from the stock if you don't bed the first few inches of the barrel. I do, so it takes a bit long, but I can still do the job in about 5 minutes.

I used to use a torque wrench for installing, but I've found that witness marks on the barrel are more repeatable and a ratchet is easy to carry in the shooting bag.

You will need to have a gunsmith remove the original barrel, true the action, pin the lug and headspace the barrels. But, then you can use any brand of barrels you like.

With the Savage nut, you have to remove not only the scope, but often the scope rail too. A friend of mine who uses Savage actions did away with the nut for that very reason. It also limits you in both caliber and barrel make.
 
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A shouldered barrel - that is, a barrel that has been threaded to fit YOUR receiver - is way easier to replace and swap than a barrel with a barrel nut. It is also a safer process, with guaranteed proper headspacing.

As a tip, Have your barrel vice welded to a trailer hitch. All you do is pop it into the 2" receiver of your vehicle, and you have an instant Barrel Vice you can take to the range.

CGN "Banished" even has the ends of his barrels machined into the shape of a nut so he can use a solid action wrench and a BFW on his barrel.

FYI, Pinning is definitely handy, but not absolutely necessary.
 
Jerry's prefit barrels will definately be the cheaper way to go with an about equal chance of precision. The barrel nut absolutely does not harm accuracy in any way so using this system leaves only the quality of the barrel to make the improvement. Truing an action is only a part of the accuracy solution. Having a tight fitting bolt is another, and so is a good trigger and etc etc. Basically, anything that should be improved is a problem and a possible source of inaccuracy. If your just wanting to have a good shooting rifle that you can improve your skill with, using one of Jerry's prefits is a great alternative. IMO, gunsmithing a 700 to shoot seriously is a waste of money so long as there are custom actions available for almost the same price in the end. If you already have a 700 kicking around doing nothing, sure true it up and try your luck.

BTW, swapping barrels is alot like reloading, some people shouldn't be doing it.
 
The difference is I know Rob knows what he's doing and I respect his opinions. Rob isn't wrong; its just that with the exception of a Barnard (which is not everyone's cup of tea) custom actions DO tend to be much more money and they also take 6 months or a year to get here.

I was also shocked to learn that the QC on PT&G "custom" bolts is not what I had come to believe, meaning that in the end, Rob has a very good point.

whether talking custom or 700, swapping barrels is exactly the same.
 
PEI ROB said:
If your just wanting to have a good shooting rifle that you can improve your skill with, using one of Jerry's prefits is a great alternative.
Click to expand...

I think that summation echoes the desires of at least some us accurate shooting wannabees. Its actually quite difficult to figure out what is the best way to proceed when trying to put a reasonably accurate gun together with all the information we have available.
Remington or Savage, I still find it hard to shoot good and even harder to shoot consistant.
 
Obtunded said:
. It is also a safer process, with guaranteed proper headspacing.

FYI, Pinning is definitely handy, but not absolutely necessary.
Click to expand...

Do we really have to debunk this every few posts?

If you think barrel nut swaps are dangerous, then you might consider reloading absolutely INSANE.

And yes, I would definitely have the lug pinned. The first time you swap a barrel and the lug is a few thou OFF and goes into the bedding #### eyed ruining it, you'll think a pinned lugs is a really good idea.

Comes standard on a Savage or Stevens...

Yes, a barrel nut swap can easily be done by anyone with any mechanical aptitude. The hardest part is the getting the factory nut off the first time.

Thousands of prefit barrels are sold each year in lawsuit happy USA and I have not heard of a single plaintiff. More barrel companies are making them too. The most recent I am aware of being Brux.

Is it safe, repeatable, consistent? I would hope so considering the hundreds of thousands of rifles that have been assembled and reassembled using this method over the last 40+yrs.

Until one actually tries it, it is very hard to believe how straightforward this process is. Is it for ALL applications? Of course not. Nothing is but for the vast majority of shooting both for sport or competition, it can work extremely well.

From an F class perspective, I go through alot of barrels. I have had barrels installed using the shouldered method by top tier gunsmiths and it is very very hard to get the chambers to be exactly the same. Variations in headspace length are small but they are there. Same reamer and guages used.

This is not a critique of these top smiths but a reality of machining and the issues of tolerance when dealing with the shoulder headspace barrel.

I have two Shilen barrels made a couple of months apart. The process used allows these chambers to be identical - yes, the same sizing of brass works in either barrel and the headspace is the same.

This is a fluke but both rifles shoot the identical load. And accuracy is identical when compared to the shouldered headspaced barrels.

Is it some miracle or some superior machining? NO (although the stuff is very very well machined) - that's how these barrels can be made time and time again.

Any quality gunsmith can replicate the same results - time and time again.

Jerry
 
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