Barrel replacement/installation - seeking advice

D

Diesel65

New member
I haven't a clue what is involved with installing a custom barrel (Rem 700). Admittedly, I thought I could just order a new barrel, screw it into the receiver, mount it in a stock and start shooting.:o The barrel Mfgs sites indicate that the barrel requires installation by a gunsmith for fitting, headspacing, trueing, lapping, etc., etc.:confused:

Could someone please help me understand exactly what items need to be done. I want to be as informed as possible before I take it to a gunsmith.
Thanks!
 
You can get some pre-made barrels but they won't be very accurate. Accuracy depends on careful attention to dimensions and making a gun very rigid. The barrel is first turned to make the bore and barrel concentric.The threads are cut to have a very snug fit to the receiver. Then the chamber is cut ,usually minimum headspace,the throat cut to match the bullet used .There are others details too. All this requires careful work.Then the stock is usually glass bedded ,again to make everything rigid and minimize stock changes from moisture etc. It all takes time and care and therefore some money !
 
The actual process of fitting a new rifle barrel is this:

First, the old barrel is removed by locking the barrel in a special barrel vise.
This is actually more of a press device using a hydraulic cylinder and brass or aluminum "jaws" that encircle the barrel and clamp it with tremendous force to prevent it from turning.

Then, a special receiver wrench is attached to the receiver.
This wrench is specially made to fit a specific brand and model of receiver, and encloses the front of the receiver to support it and prevent twisting or bending the receiver.
The receiver is then unscrewed from the barrel.

New barrels these days are virtually ready to be screwed into the receiver. You can usually buy new barrels that are threaded, short chambered, turned to the outer size and shape, and the muzzle is properly crowned.

The new barrel is screwed into the receiver, then the barrel vise and receiver wrench is used to torque the barrel in place.

The barrel usually comes with the chamber already cut, but "short chambered". This means that the chamber is cut just slightly short to allow the gunsmith to do the final fitting.

The gunsmith uses a special chambering reamer and head space gages to cut the chamber to the finial size.

The head space gages are used to gage the chamber so there is the correct head space.
In other words, the chamber can't be so short the bolt can't close on a cartridge, but not so long that there's TOO much space causing the cartridge to not be supported by the chamber and rupturing.

All this requires a considerable investment in tools and gages.

Some barrels come less finished.
These can range from barrel blanks, which are simply large diameter rifled cylinders, that must be threaded, chambered, the outside must be turned down to the right profile, and crowned, to the virtually finished short chambered models.
The barrel blanks require a VERY good gunsmith with even more equipment, like a precision lathe.

So, the amount of fitting work needed is directly related to the barrel you buy.
Again, these days, most barrels come in virtually finished models needing only to be attached to the receiver and to have the chamber finial fitted.

However, in no case can a rifle barrel be fitted by "just screwing it into the receiver". It requires an expert gunsmiths skills and tooling.
 
The latest American Rifleman magazine has an article/advertisement on installing a short-chambered barrel w/o a lathe. One of the recommended tools is a depth micrometer priced at $279.99. Maybe a smith can be found who already has the tools and is able to do the work in the same price range. To me, that seems the way to go.
 
My FLG jumped all over that Rifleman article on rebarreling a Mauser. Said they were treating it like a Remington or some such; that a Mauser barrel should be fitted against the internal shoulder, not the receiver ring. Of course a real custom job bears against both.

The advantage of the short chambered aftermarket barrel is that you can put one on without a lathe. But you have to have a reamer for every calibre of interest, along with headspace gauges and other tools. In olden times, anybody doing much gun work had a lathe, so much stuff had to be made because it couldn't be bought, and aftermarket barrels were chambered long because a headspace gauge is a lot less expensive than a reamer.

At one time you could get ready to shoot '98 Mauser barrels because all the makers were very consistent in the location of that internal shoulder and headspace would not be far enough out to matter. But Frank DeHaas said not to let that make you think it could be done with other actions lacking that internal shoulder.
 
Gentlemen, thanks for all the feedback! If I decide to do anything like this, I obviously need to get with a smith and have a complete custom job done.
 
suggestion

Contact Mark Skaggs, a gun smith in Oregon. Reasonable in price. Put a new barrel on a Mauser for me for $150 plus shipping (shipping both ways cost me from Texas, about another $40) Price included barrel, chambering, crowning and test firing. You can find posts by him on EBAY. Email address: casesc45@aol.com
 
It always amazes me how many folks who can't change a faucet washer think they can easily do all sorts of complex work on guns. I guess removing and installing a barrel is easier than it seemed to me when I did it.

Jim
 


Sell the Rem700 and get a Savage. Then all you need to change barrels is a barrel vice, barrel-nut-wrench and appropriate go/no-go gauges.




-tINY

 
Just a suggestion

OK, you found out rebarreling not that easy and special tools and etc. are needed. Same process I went through.
 
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A halfway decent barrel costs at least $120. I wonder how that smith bought a barrel, paid for shipping, chambered, crowned, bedded and test-fired for $150. Sounds like he's losing on that deal.
 
Huffmanite, thanks for sharing that info. I had a lead on an old 700 and I thought about picking it up and getting a new barrel for it. I've never done anything like this before so I thought it might be kind of fun to build something up. After little research, I could see that there seemed to be a significant amount of professional work involved, so I am trying to get better educated. Thanks again.
 
To SRG, I paid for shipping on just receiver & barrel. Skaggs just removed old barrel from receiver, installed a low priced short chambered Adams Bennett barrel that he did the final chambering of and crowned. Know he bought the barrel from Midway and yea its a Ford not a Cadillac. I did the blueing and bedding myself. Woodworking is a hobby of mine, so finishing out and bedding an inexpensive walnut stock I found in a rifle stock manufacturers bargain bin was easy for me. I had a 1891 Argentine Mauser with a good receiver, but a very bad barrel that had been in a closet unused for 35 years. I wanted to resurrect it at a low price. Skaggs allowed me to do this. Took the rifle to a local range a few days ago to shoot for the first time. Needed to sight in scope I had installed and bore sighted. Now I was only shooting at 50 yard target, but my first shot was almost dead center. Now this was just luck. Rifle still has mauser trigger with a heavy pull and I had not fired any rifle in over 20 years. However with just a few shots, I had sighted in the rifle and consistently hit center of target. This was better than the guy next to me who was also shooting at a 50 yard target with a scoped #1 Ruger. I have a rifle that I can shoot again and I'm happy.
 
I've also had a rebarrel doen by Mr Skaggs, and can verify that he does great work. He doesn't start with the short-chambered barrels though. He starts with the Adams and Bennet barrel blanks ($65 dealer price from MidwayUSA, though I'm not sure where he gets his). The then threads for your action, cuts the chamber, fits, and crowns.

I had a Turk Mauser rebarreled to .257 Roberts F34 contoured 24" barrel, and it shoots well under 1" at 100 yards. I'm now considering having my 6.5 Swede Mauser rebarreled by him (I bought it already sporterized but with original barrel cut down. Looks like it's got excessive throat wear and just isn't grouping how I'd like).
 
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