Nice Rebarrel v new $1000 rifle

[greyling22]

If I rebarrel (with a nice barrel like a benchmark, mcgowen or something, contoured, chambered, threaded installed) a Remington 700 cdl and have it pillar bedded I have been quoted $700. I could take that same money, sell the 700 as an action/stock in need of a barrel for 300 or so pretty easy, I am left with about a grand I could put toward a new rifle.

Would it make more sense to pick of a bergara hmr or something similar, or dump a ton into a nice rebarrel? I find I mostly hunt with an AR in 6.5 Grendel, so this would be more of a bench/target gun in 6.5 creedmoor.

 

[homers]

700 CDL should shoot pretty well already, are you just wanting a 6.5CM? If so, buy a new gun.

 

[gotboostvr]

If you've got other work already invested in the Remington action, I might get it rebarreled. Otherwise, I'd look at something on a more refined action.

My Remington 700 already has a very nice trigger job and a blueprinted action in a bedded fiberglass stock. I'd probably rebarrel than dump the whole thing if I thought my barrel was toast. I'm considering rebarreling just to change calibers actually.

 

[jmr40]

What cartridge is your 700 chambered in? Is the barrel worn out, or do you just want another cartridge.

I'm not a huge fan of 700's. For what you want to do I'd look hard at a Tikka CTR. Accurate enough for target work, but still mobile enough for all but the toughest backpack hunts.

 

[Rob Starline]

Even if you don’t have a lot of work already done, you should ask yourself if you like the Remington action. If so, go for it. There’s lot of stuff available for Remington rifles and they are the easiest for rebarreling and accurizing.

 

[someguy2800]

I pick the third option of putting a remage barrel on your rifle and bedding it yourself.

 

[Legionnaire]

^^ This.

Years ago I sold a Remington 700 VSSF in .308 that I’d had accurized by Arnold Arms to buy a nice .260 Rem. Had I known then what I know now, I’d have rebarreled it myself with a Remage from McGowen or Criterion.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Keep in mind that part of a good rebarrel job often includes action truing and other accuracy perks. I guess it comes down to how much you value the specific action type to be rebarreled.

My most recent rebarrel job was a Ruger No.1, and although I could have bought a brand new No.1 for about the same money, part of my motivation was to end up with a chambering that was not available from the factory.

 

[Legionnaire]

When I did my first Remage (on a Model Seven), I paid $75 for my gunsmith to pull the factory barrel and square/true the action face, bolt face, and locking lugs. I can now put any quality Remage barrel I want on the action and know it is true. Like Dave DeLaurant, I ordered a barrel in a chambering not available from the factory: a .243 Ackley. I'm very happy with it.

 

[skeeterfogger]

If it shoots good and all you want is different caliber then just get new gun in caliber desired. If yoy don't want the 700 sell it.

 

[Varminterror]

Keep in mind that part of a good rebarrel job often includes action truing and other accuracy perks.

That $700 total barrel cost likely doesn’t touch the action at all. Example costs: Bartlein blank =$385, thread, chamber, and muzzle thread = $350. That’s not even sending the action, just a tenon print.

It’s a personal decision whether to buy new or rebarrel. For just a factory Rem 700, if you have no upgrades done and no sentimental attachment to the rifle, then selling and buying new usually does save money. It does replace the rifle with another factory rifle, and its factory barrel, which doesn’t really do you any favors for the money. Replacing the barrel would likely mean more for your money in terms of precision and ease of cleaning.

Personally, if I have a rifle long enough to wear out the barrel, I usually am either emotionally attached to it, or have done significant other work such the “replacement cost” is significantly more than a rebarrel, even including the resale value.

 

[greyling22]

The barrel is shot out. It holds about 3 Moa and I have had two different Smith's scope it and they both say a ton of throat erosion and alligator cracking most of the length of the barrel.

 

[Gordon]

Like I said ; buy a $200 factory new pull off never fired barrel on ebay and a Remington factory recoil washer and have a gunsmith install it and head space it for $200. I do it my self and with barrel vises and a set of go/no go gauges (that work for .243-to 308) I find the facotry tolerance to be very close, certainly close enough if no iron sights are involved .. I find Remington factory 5r barrels to be very uniformly accurate, just a hint !

 

[Skylerbone]

Sell the Savage action and go the Remage route? One project funds the other and you get a complete rifle from the deal. That is assuming you still have the other rifle (I think I recall a recent thread of yours)?

I’m a masochist so I’d wind up keeping both and burning good money after bad. Some day I’ll start with better rifles and just shoot them. Another option, if you do still have the other rifle, is selling both and funding a nice semi-custom or a RPR if funds are tight.

 

[Slamfire]

ER Shaw will sell you a barrel for $300, install for an additonal $130. https://www.shawcustombarrels.com/barrels/price-list-for-barrels-and-services-/164. You might be able to find a used M700 for that amount of money. But, less than $500 for an ER Shaw barrel installed. I learned to bed actions the old fashioned way, by screwing things things up!. My bedding jobs work, they are not pretty. You need a dremel tool, a drill press, lots of Johnson's paste wax as a release agent, popsicle sticks, but it can be done.

This Remington lightweight rifle shot poorly at 100 yards. The action slide in the stock, the factory bedding was horrible, and there was a pressure point in the stock channel. Bad idea in my opinion.







Drilled through stock and created pillars by pouring, in this instance, Bisonite. Let cure, remove action, and voilà, pillars!




Routed an ungodly amount of wood around the front pillar.




Filled the voids with Bisonite and now I have very stiff action bedding.

Free floated the barrel. Slide paper between the barrel and stock, noted the location where it jammed, (the numbers on tape), cleared that area, until barrel was completely free floated.

Shot rounder groups:






All the way out to 300 yards



Core Lokts did well in this rifle



Most of the time



It loves SMK's.



This is not difficult, you need a drill press, drills, a dremel tool, release agent, and time.