Rifle Assembly

[Mostro]

Merry Christmas to all!

1st time using a forum so please bare with me. I have 2 different barrels. Would like to build rifles using these existing barrels if at all possible. Done a lot of googling and to know avail. Never built one so these will be my first.

1st - CAL. 30-06 by P.O. Ackley Inc. SLC UT
2nd - CAL. 7MM REM. MAG. by Remington

Any guidance or direction you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kimberkid]

What kind of rifle are you wanting to build?

 

[Dibbs]

You have to install these rifle barrels on a receiver, of some sort. Generally, barrels are made for a specific receiver. You don't just "make a rifle",
starting with a barrel. What make and model of rifle were these barrels supposed to be installed upon ?

 

[Telekinesis]

Are these chambered barrel blanks or have they been threaded and profiled for a rifle already? And do you know if the first barrel is chambered for the standard .30-06 or the .30-06 Ackley Improved?

As Dibbs noted, if they have already been threaded for a rifle you’ll likely need to stay with that type of receiver. I might also recommend finding a smith to do the work. Headspacing a rifle is not always easy if you don’t have the right tools.

 

[Mostro]

My apologies for placing the post in the wrong thread. Thank you all for the quick responses and unfortunately I have no answers as these barrels were giving to me by a friend that flips homes. He found them in the basement. I will take Telekinesis advice and have a gun smith take a look at them.

 

[herrwalther]

PO Ackley was a gunsmith known for his Mauser builds. But other than that it would be hard to determine what the barrels would fit.

 

[LoonWulf]

Well a remington branded barrel in 7mm Rem mag would most likely be for a remington 700, and would not be a barrel id build a gun around.

The Ackley barrel would interest me if it was found to be in good condition. The easiest way to figure out what action those barrels go to is look at pictures online. 700s are distinctive because of the recess for the bolt nose.

 

[Rob Starline]

Usually barrels found laying around in a basement have been remove from an action for a reason.

 

[Poper]

Usually barrels found laying around in a basement have been remove from an action for a reason.

Yes.
And storage in a basement is usually a less than ideal environment.

 

[kimberkid]

Usually barrels found laying around in a basement have been remove from an action for a reason.

Ditto what Rob said ...

Now, depending on the contour of the barrel, and if its worth saving, you may be able to have the chamber end cut off and re-contoured/re-chambered ... there's a good chance its not worth all the effort.

Years ago, before all the US made parts were available, I bought a custom 308 stainless Mauser bull barrel, had a machinist cut off the Mauser receiver threads and turn it down to press in to an HK91 trunnion to build a one-off PSG1 clone ... since my original machinist couldn't flute the chamber it didn't extract very well and I ended up sending it to a HK smith in Texas, I think his name was Urbach ... anyway, he pulled the barrel and trunnion re-made everything along with a custom trunnion for the barrel, fluted the chamber using an EDM process (IIRC) and put it all back together and it shoots like a dream.



The venture ended up costing more than I could have bought a PSG-1 clone for from Mr. Urbach ... but it was fun.

I have a another story about building a Mauser in 22-250, when it was all said and done, I could have bought a Kimber 22-250 for about the same money, the problem was it started as an economy build, but over the 2 years it took to complete, I kept up-grading parts ... like a Boyd stock, Parker Hale bolt and trigger BenchMark barrel ... I don't seem to have a picture on my current photo host.

 

[Dibbs]

What you need is the barrel's histories, if you can find it. Check the old tax records of the house, talk with some neighbors, was this guy possibly a gunsmith ?
Did he have a preference for, or specialize in any sort of rifle? Ask at the local gun store,if they recognize the guy's name.

If you can't find any information the easy way, it's going to be all gunsmith. But given the situation, if you think those barrels were a cheap or easy way into a new gun, ENNNNNNNNNNNT! Wrong answer, sorry.

 

[Mostro]

Thank you all again for your responses. I am currently looking for a good gun smith in my area. As for thinking that it was a cheap way to a new gun well that couldn't be further from the truth. As I am willing to invest the necessary money to get both barrels used. However this has not been a complete lost as the knowledge I have received from everyone in this forum has been invaluable. Thank you again and rest assure I will be frequently visiting to read and to ask questions.

 

[Legionnaire]

Can’t give you much specific info without knowing more about the barrels. That said, Brownell’s website has a good series on how to build a Remington 700 that provides a good outline of the steps involved in building a bolt action rifle.

https://www.brownells.com/aspx/learn/learndetail.aspx?lid=10506

 

[Rob Starline]

If you can’t do the work yourself and have to pay a “Smith”, then you should start out with a new barrel for your build. The barrel and action are the heart of a build. Talk to a smith, show him the barrels in question. Do good barrels cost money, yep, sure do. Having a rifle built “for” you will cost lots more then buying outright, and starting out with a questionable barrel makes no sense especially with calibers like 30-06 or 7mag. Good luck on whatever route you decide on.

 

[someguy2800]

The PO Ackely barrel would be interesting to figure out what it came off from. I think it would be neat to have a rifle with a PO Ackely marked barrel. The 7mm Remington barrel is probably not worth messing with.

 

[LoonWulf]

Merry Christmas to all!

1st time using a forum so please bare with me. I have 2 different barrels. Would like to build rifles using these existing barrels if at all possible. Done a lot of googling and to know avail. Never built one so these will be my first.

1st - CAL. 30-06 by P.O. Ackley Inc. SLC UT
2nd - CAL. 7MM REM. MAG. by Remington

Any guidance or direction you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

could we perhaps get pictures of the barrels?

 

[Demi-human]

Basement, huh? Hmm.

If the barrels are not rusted,
If the crowns are undamaged,
If the chambers are still bright, despite the less than optimum storage.

If they are not shot out,
If they are not poorly chambered,
If the rifling is Nice and the barrel is otherwise unharmed...

Why are they not already in a rifle?

I get "using them to use them". I do it too. I have a '61 Ward's Snowblower. Still runs like angry bear...

But I wouldn't be

willing to invest the necessary money to get both barrels used.

For all the price to build these rifles, add four hundred more for a fine barrel.
Krieger, Bartlein, and Shilen may pricey but a McGowan, Hart, Shaw or Green mountain can shoot just as tight for some bit less.

But like, @someguy2800 says, it would be neat to have a P.O. Barrel.
Though if I did, mine would be shot out in short order. But being that it's an original, I couldn't bear to tomato stake it.
So I would probably take it off and display it, until my wife complained about enough.
I would then squirrel it away into the dark depths of my sanctuary as a relic for a new discoverer to think about and admire and dream...

 

[z7]

Unless you find out that these barrels are awesome, I’d scrap em or put them up for sale for like $50. You will spend hundreds just to see if they shoot

if you don’t have a receiver to hang the barrel on, you gotta buy one, then as others have said, Pay a smith a few hundred to install,

There are savage style prefit barrels for a home install available for Remington, savage and tikka rifles in many calibers if you want to build your own bolt gun

 

[Mostro]

Can’t give you much specific info without knowing more about the barrels. That said, Brownell’s website has a good series on how to build a Remington 700 that provides a good outline of the steps involved in building a bolt action rifle.

https://www.brownells.com/aspx/learn/learndetail.aspx?lid=10506

Thanks

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

FYI note: Frank de Haas' book on Bolt Action Rifles has an appendix with common rifle breech thread dimensions, extractor cuts, etc. Useful for identifying what action the barrel was taken off.