What is involved in changing the bolt face on a Remington 700 action?

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Hi. I am clearly not a gunsmith, and have only limited experience with anything more complicated than regular maintenance (with the exception of slow rust blueing or some stock refinishing).

I have a Remington 700 with what I believe is a .540 bolt face. The rifle was originally chambered in 338 Win Mag, and since then re-chambered in 338 Gaillard. I was hoping to save up and re-barrel the rifle in something else. I am tempted to go with something non-magnum. It is not an issue with recoil, as I am not bothered by it, but cost. I would like to reload for something a bit more frugal, and easier on the powder.

Is it possible to go with a smaller bolt face? As the rifle is a long action, I would love to try something new like 6.5 x 55, 280 Rem, etc. Heck, even a cartridge suitable for a short action, but in my long action would be a consideration. Is this something I can request a gunsmith do for me, or something I can try on my own? In my ignorance, I am unsure if it involves something like swapping out a bolt head.

I realize it might be easy (and cheaper?) to simply buy a used barrelled action, but I think perhaps finding a heavy barrelled action might be tough.

Thanks in advance to anyone kind enough to offer guidance.
 
The magnum feed rails on the action won't function with the smaller case. Closing the bolt face to a smaller size would probably cost more than a new bolt... with a new bolt you could use it as a single shot.

Look at the bolt head - it doesn't swap out, it is a permanent part of the bolt.

In general it's a lousy idea.
 
You could likely set back your existing barrel and rechamber it to one of the RSAUM cartridges or WSM cartridges, if it is heavy enough. The bolt face would be close enough so that you likely wouldn't have to alter it and still be able to utilize the same extractor.

I did this a few years ago with a 7mm Rem Mag. The 7mm WSM has a slightly larger body diameter and the reamer cleaned up the old chamber completely.

It doesn't stop there though.

I also had to find another floor plate and spring for the magwell, build and install a spacer block at the back to accommodate the longest cartridge length. I was luck and it fed fine.

It was much cheaper to shoot, powder wise but I don't know if it really saved anything by the time I picked up new cases and dies. I was able to trade for the reamer, which I sold after the job was finished.

All I can really advise you to do is sell your present rifle or trade it for one chambered in the cartridge you desire.

If you can't do the work yourself and seeing as your funds are limited, you won't be able to afford to do what you want to do.
 
Would really want to see your numbers, working out "more frugal, and easier on the powder" reloading, and then making such a change as you suggest, to be worth your while?? Sell your rifles as is, buy what you want. There has to be a Rem 700 out there that suits you to a "T"...
 
i have a magnum rem 700 action that I had swapped the magnum bolt out with a standard 3006 bolt used standard box mag and follower & spring feeds great with a 2506 , 3006 , and soon a 7mm08 . Just swap the bolt back to a magnum bolt change the box mag and follower and I have a 7mm rem mag and it feeds great. Remington 700 long actions really are versatile and accurate when set up . So yes you can do what you want just get the matched bolt that goes with the follower and box mag or get a Kwik Klip
 
I have done a number of barrel swaps and bolt swaps in my shop. To do that, you will need a barrel vice and table or bench strong enough to hold against torque, a receiver wrench for the action you are using, then proper headspace gauges to verify the fit/head spacing with the replaced barrel, and possibly a lathe and reamer to re-shoulder, re-thread and re-chamber the replacement barrel to your desired cartridge. Plus some know-how to verify that your replacement bolt is "clocked" properly within the action, and adequately bearing on its recoil lugs. Even without a lathe, the cost of the tooling to swap out a barrel is going to approach the cost of a complete used rifle.

I wasn't born with this information - had to learn it - so my shop also has several hundred dollars of "rifle shop manuals" and gunsmithing text books describing how to do this stuff. The Rem 700 brings the addition issue of also handling and holding the recoil lug as the barrel is tightened up - not "difficult", but another added aspect to re-barreling a Remington 700 versus rifles with recoil lugs that are integral with the receiver.

OP was asking about changing over, in order to save money on re-loading. The project is most definitely do-able - I have done several, but all on Mauser 98, Mauser 96 and M1917's. I do have a lathe, and can operate it well enough (barely) to create my own inserts from 1 1/2" aluminum rod for my barrel vise; or else, besides the barrel vice body, will need the proper sized insert(s) for the barrel(s) profile.

I have tried to help others with those inexpensive "wood block" type barrel vises - do NOT work well clamped to a kitchen or dining room table - the table will break when you lean into the action wrench, and they do not handle many milsurp rifle's clamping requirements - difficult or impossible to get the vise clamped tight enough to hold without slipping. I also have a number of receivers that are beyond repair because they were grabbed by pipe wrench, crescent wrench or bar through the magazine and are twisted and deformed to be useless. They were bought to salvage the associated action parts like triggers and magazine boxes. Mangle a receiver with improper tooling and you turn a $500 piece into a $60 parts lot...
 
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Buy a proper action wrench $125, Barrel vise $125 . Have your gunsmith Head space the barrel and index .Sorce out a use bolt $150 .A alternative to a expensive cartridge might be a good idea and keeping your platform .Buying a new gun in a more economical cartridge might be same price and also a good idea never have enough guns
 
Good post, I was going to ask the same thing. I have a rem 700 in .223 and I wanted to juice it up to a .243, .308 or
6.5cm... something a little bigger. My rifle is in a chassis so I would speculate that I would only need to swap mags to alleviate feeding issues.

A really good write up from Potashimner, I appreciate you bringing some experience and lessons learned. May just be better to put the ol gal up on the EE and hope for a trade... don't think there are many who want to trade down in calibre though...
 
TheMinusHuman said:
Good post, I was going to ask the same thing. I have a rem 700 in .223 and I wanted to juice it up to a .243, .308 or
6.5cm... something a little bigger. My rifle is in a chassis so I would speculate that I would only need to swap mags to alleviate feeding issues.
Click to expand...

Not really, your bolt won't work and a new bolt will cost a bundle... the last one I bought quite awhile ago was $250.

Bolt faces are sized according to 3 case head sizes... basically starting at the .222/223 size, then the .243/308/30-06 size, then the standard Magnum size... the lengths will be longer as well with the -06 bolt and both short and long lengths with the magnum face.
 
TheMinusHuman said:
Good post, I was going to ask the same thing. I have a rem 700 in .223 and I wanted to juice it up to a .243, .308 or
6.5cm... something a little bigger. My rifle is in a chassis so I would speculate that I would only need to swap mags to alleviate feeding issues.

A really good write up from Potashimner, I appreciate you bringing some experience and lessons learned. May just be better to put the ol gal up on the EE and hope for a trade... don't think there are many who want to trade down in calibre though...
Click to expand...

I bet you would find a trade partner easily
 
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