Rebarreling a favorite rifle

G

Geezerbiker

New member
It's late and I can't sleep and once again I'm thinking about rebarreling one of my favorite rifles. It's a Winchester 670 Ranger or in .30-06 in other words a Model 70 with a cheap stock with no floor plate like the ADL Remington (I have one of those too.)

I lived in a damp climate when I got her and I didn't do a very good job of taking care of her. One day I discovered the oil I was using to protect the bore had let me down and there were several small rust spots in the bore and on the outside of the barrel. I cleaned the bore the best I could but those pits have always bothered me. They don't seem to bother the rifle because she's always been a good shooter and the pits don't seem to bother her. I've been told if the pits bother you, don't look at them.

My long term goal was to put a new barrel on her some day and dress her up in a new stock. Here it is 27 years later and all I've done is put on a better scope and recoil pad. I'm revisiting the idea of dressing up my old friend.

So am I crazy or is this rebarreling her a good idea? I'm thinking of going one up and putting on a .338-06 AI barrel. That caliber has always intrigued me and the numbers look very good. If not a .338-06, then back to .30-06 but with a Kreiger or Shilen barrel. Anything less would be a slap in the face to this old friend...

Tony
 
I have more than one rifle or shotgun that when I was younger and taking less care of them and using them harder got a few shall we say "oopsies" from rust to dings. To me they are character, if it still shoots well and you take care of it now, personally I wouldn't change it unless it quits shooting.
 
I have a favorite rifle that I bought in my teens. It has many memories of hunting with my dad & brother attached to it. I wouldn't sell or trade it for anything. It is Rem 700 .270 BDL. After lots of shooting, when accuracy dropped to 2" at best, I had it rebarreled (with a Hart). Then recently (40+ years later) I removed that "bowling pin finish" that remington was so proud of bragging about, removed the white-lined plastic forend & grip cap & replaced them with ebony. I pillar bedded the stock & replaced the metal butt plate with a Limbsaver.

You know what, it is still my old favorite & the make over just added some more memories to its history.

I say go for the change & the .338-06 sounds like a great new life for your old friend!

FWIW...

..bug
 
Nothing wrong with dressing up an old friend, you get to make her better while keeping all the memories that she brings with her. You can create your perfect rifle, something I've found hard to find on the shelves of my LGS.
 
Is it still a good shooter??? As much as I like my guns to look their best, I am a performance first and looks second type of guy. Its hard for me to mess with a proven shooter. A gun that doesn't shoot good I will mess with it until it is a shooter.
 
As long as it shoots I'd not re-barrel. Coming from a guy who has been down the 338-06 path I can tell you that 200-220 gr bullets from the 30-06 will equal or beat 338-06 performance on game depending on range. At the muzzle the 338 has a small energy advantage, but the 30-06 out penetrates it at any range. Beyond about 150 yards the more aerodynamic .30 bullets hit harder, shoot flatter and out penetrate. Plus give you the option of shooting much lighter bullets for more versatility and much less recoil with all bullet weights.

It is not a bad round though and if it does not shoot well and a new barrel is needed would be a contender. As would the 280. I actually think the 280 makes a bit more sense as an all around chambering.

Instead I'd spend the money on a lightweight Edge stock from McMIllan and have the metal refinished in one of the durable coatings available today. Spend the rest on quality optics. You can end up with a very nice custom rifle that will come in around 7.5 lbs scoped and will likely shoot very well for a lot less than re-barreling and cutting corners on the stock and optics.
 
Well, the late great Col. T. Whelen once said, "The 30-06 is never a mistake." I'm inclined to agree but being the rifle loony that I am, the thought of a rebarrel to something else is always there at the back of my mind. However, the 338-06AI is one I'd be inclined to pass up. :eek: Not saying it's not a good cartridge but I see several drawbacks. One, there are two official versions. There is the Nosler version and the one by A-Square that there is enough difference between the two to cause problems. I believe both are considered proprietary and you certainly won't find ammo in your LGS. My preference would be, and I admit I'm totally prejudiced in favor of the .35 Whelen and in proper handloads, not the wimpy factory stuff put out by Remington and Federal.
Frankly, as has been said, if it still gives good groups, I'd leave it be. As the great Mr. Murphy once said, "If it ain't broke don't fix it."
My ex- son in law is extremely anal about his firearms. One one hunt he got a minor ding in the stock of his M70 Featherweight in .257 Robt. After the hunt he took it to be totally refinished by my gunsmith who is very pricey. He's had it on three more hunts in the last 5 years and every time my GS has had to refinish that rifle. At about $125 a refinish it's getting ridiculous. Last trip he had it reblued to a high polish.
The one very redeeming factor about a 30-06 is you can usually find ammo just about everywhere. Your bigger gun shops might have ammo for the Whelen but most likely not the 338-06 or the AI version.
When I elk hunt, I take my Whelen but a 30-06 always comes along as back up, just in case Mr. Murphy decides to play with his other rule.
Paul B.
 
I suppose the one thing making me resist the change is it has always been a good shooter, rust pits and all. My hand loads will shoot well under an inch at 100 yards with no particular effort. I load them .003" of the rifling and they always shoot to point of aim. I don't remember off hand how many rounds it takes to heat it up to where the accuracy drops off but it's more than 5 rounds as my 5 round groups are always good. The hot loads shoot a bit higher and the light loads a bit lower.

I haven't put a factory round down the bore of my '06 in 20+ years and I don't intend to change that. With some of the calibers I shoot, I'll buy cheap factory ammo to blast away with for the brass for reloading. However I bought 500 new cases a long while back and I've only used about 100 of them so far. Having a wildcat or other oddball round that I had to load for doesn't bother me a bit.

I don't have a magnum rifle and I guess I don't really want one either but I would like the .330-06 for elk. If I don't rebarrel this one, I'll probably get another rifle for this purpose later on.

I suppose it's one more late night musing that should be passed on. I will keep my eye out for a deal on a rifle to rebarrel to .338-06 but probably not this one. By the time I get to it one of my grandsons will probably want to hunt it with it as is...

Tony
 
Biker,

I still fondly remember my old Savage in 06'...

I'm of the opinion that even though I personally am looking into the "wildcatting scene", I would leave the 06' alone. As has been mentioned, it is a versatile round that has been with us for more than a century.

Soooo, if she still shoots well, I'd leave her alone.


Just my 2 cents.

Std7mag
 
Biker,

From your posts, you are a pretty knowledgeable gun guy & I'm sure, even though it wasn't mentioned in this thread, you may have considered getting the barrel re-bored as an option. Don't know the cost, but you get the same gun back with a new personality.

The "Don't fix something that ain't broke" principal, as others have mentioned along with yourself, is very understandable & practical. On the other hand, a .338-06 AI does sound intriguing, especially for elk. And that right there is the fun in being a shooter/hunter/hobbyist.

Good Luck,

...bug ;)
 
jmr40 said:
As long as it shoots I'd not re-barrel. Coming from a guy who has been down the 338-06 path I can tell you that 200-220 gr bullets from the 30-06 will equal or beat 338-06 performance on game depending on range. At the muzzle the 338 has a small energy advantage, but the 30-06 out penetrates it at any range. Beyond about 150 yards the more aerodynamic .30 bullets hit harder, shoot flatter and out penetrate. Plus give you the option of shooting much lighter bullets for more versatility and much less recoil with all bullet weights.

Instead I'd spend the money on a lightweight Edge stock from McMIllan and have the metal refinished in one of the durable coatings available today. Spend the rest on quality optics. You can end up with a very nice custom rifle that will come in around 7.5 lbs scoped and will likely shoot very well for a lot less than re-barreling and cutting corners on the stock and optics.
Click to expand...

While I usually agree with what you have to say I'll disagree on this one. It takes about 500 yards for the .30-06 shooting a 200 grain bullet at 2500 fps to catch up to a .338-06 shooting a 200 grain bullet at 2800 fps. Don't believe me run the numbers on a 200 grain .308 Accubond at 2500 fps and a 200 grain .338 Hornady SP at 2800 fps. The Hornady has a crappy BC but can be pushed to 2900+ fps from a 24" barrel according to Hornady. I push it at 2880 out of my 24" barreled .338-06.

While the 200 grain .30-06 might out penetrate a 200 grain .338-06, there isn't any game animal in the lower 48 where a 200 grain .338 won't give you all the penetration you need. If you need more penetration than a 200 grain .338 cup and core bullet can give you then step into a 210 grain Nosler Partition and you'll be set for even for big bears in Alaska. The .338 will always leave a larger wound channel than the .308 calibers will.

I agree that I wouldn't rebarrel a good shooting 06, but lets be a little honest here. 180 grain or less spitzer bullets are where the 06 really shines. If you step up to 200 grain or 220 without going to a RN you have to seat the bullets super deep in a 06 to get them to fit and feed from the magazine. 200 grain and heavier spitzer bullets are better left for the magnum cartridges and the extra powder room they have to push the bullet with.

I really like the idea of restocking and building a light weight hunting rifle out of it.
 
I'm going to wrap up my other gun projects and most of my house projects before I revisit this. I do want a .338-06 if only because I want one and I've found that a powerful motivator over the years.

Like taylorce1 said, when you get up to a 200~225g bullet the .338 really shines. I did a number comparison a long while back and as I recall a .338-06 will move a 200g bullet at about the same speed a .30-06 will move a 180 and the larger hole is just icing on the cake.

I'll probably spare my Model 70 Winny from this project and look for a deal on long action Savage for this project. I have plenty of time since this is a want and not a need. While I'm a pretty good shooter and reloader, I'm a rather pathetic hunter. Back when I hunted with a group of guys, they mostly kept me around because I know how to fix things...

Tony
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top