To thread the barrel or not? Afraid of loss of accuracy.

[IMtheNRA]

I lucked into an outstanding circa-2005 or so, Rem 700 5R "mil-spec" model in .308 This rifle is a solid - and I mean solid - 0.4 MOA shooter with 5 rounds of 167-gr Scenars.

My dilemma is that I'd like to have the barrel threaded for a muzzle brake so that I can use this in competitions where I need to see my own misses. Right now, there's just too much muzzle jump for me to see misses at close distances up to 500 yards or so, through my high magnification scope.

Considering that against overwhelming odds, I won the Remington Lottery with this one, I'm hesitant to do anything that could jeopardize the accuracy of this fun little rifle. What are the odds that removing, threading, and reinstalling the barrel will mess up the rifle's mojo even a little bit?

 

[MCMXI]

Low odds if you have it done by someone competent. What's the barrel OD at the muzzle? Your odds of success increase if you can maximize wall thickness while still adding threads e.g. 5/8-24 would be good, but there are some that want even larger diameter threads on a .30 cal. @MachIVshooter does great work if you don't have someone in mind yet.

 

[shoobe01]

Had mine done a few months back.

And it's a late 90s 700 5R PSS... which also shoots under 1/2 moa with good factory ammo, better when I handloaded in the past, so +/- your gun.

NO change even with the brake on there (still working out the effect of the suppressor), as everything was done very, very precisely. In my case, we didn't cut it, so it's got the factory crown, which I didn't know was a thing till I started chatting with the smith.

 

[IMtheNRA]

What's the barrel OD at the muzzle? Your odds of success increase if you can maximize wall thickness while still adding threads e.g. 5/8-24

It's a pretty thick one, 0.830 at the muzzle.


Shoobe01, what is the significance of the factory crown?

 

[MCMXI]

@IMtheNRA, you've got plenty of wall thickness to work with then. Do you have a specific brake in mind? If so, that might limit your choice of muzzle threads. I would try to get the largest thread diameter possible that leaves enough shoulder and works with the intended brake.

 

[IMtheNRA]

Yes, I have a 30-caliber JP Recoil Eliminator laying around here, so I thought I'd start with that. But if you have another suggestion that would help ensure my barrel integrity, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

It looks like the gunsmith you mentioned, MachIVShooter, is local to me, so I'm going to read some of his threads here to familiarize myself with his work and skills.

 

[MCMXI]

It looks like the gunsmith you mentioned, MachIVShooter, is local to me, so I'm going to read some of his threads here to familiarize myself with his work and skills.

You might want to consider the Hellfire self timing muzzle brake and could possibly have your muzzle threaded 3/4-24 but discuss that with @MachIVshooter. The Hellfire can be purchased with a number of universal adapters including 5/8-24 and 3/4-24. I don't have any experience with that particular brake but it's a quick on/off deal which is useful if you plan to shoot suppressed sometimes too.

https://www.area419.com/product/hellfire_st/

You're very lucky to be local to @MachIVshooter. He will certainly do a great job and can advise you on the best way forward better than I. He's modified three suppressors for me and fixed a receiver with bad threads. I'm going to be sending him some Marlin lever action barrels this year to get them threaded for suppressors. He does excellent work.

 

[<*(((><]

@MachIVshooter (Nick) does great work, another satisfied customer here. I wouldn’t worry about losing accuracy threading it, as stated by @MCMXI just go with the largest thread diameter and go with it.

 

[MachIVshooter]

It's a pretty thick one, 0.830 at the muzzle.

I would go 3/4-24. You'll be more limited on your options for a muzzle device, but there should be no issue with bore diameter increase doing 3/4-24 on a .30 cal. It can happen with smaller tenons, and though it usually won't impact accuracy enough for a person to notice (if at all), no reason to roll the dice when you have enough meat to go larger.

 

[AlexanderA]

Be aware that a threaded barrel is one characteristic that might make a gun into an "assault weapon" under various ban bills that are being proposed around the country. I would be hesitant to thread a barrel that was not already threaded, for this reason. There is something to be said for hedging your bets, so that not all your guns would be banned.

 

[badkarmamib]

Be aware that a threaded barrel is one characteristic that might make a gun into an "assault weapon" under various ban bills that are being proposed around the country. I would be hesitant to thread a barrel that was not already threaded, for this reason. There is something to be said for hedging your bets, so that not all your guns would be banned.

When they start passing bans that include bolt actions, we will truly have already lost.

 

[earlthegoat2]

At least it’s easy to reverse if your worried about potential bans.

 

[<*(((><]

Be aware that a threaded barrel is one characteristic that might make a gun into an "assault weapon" under various ban bills that are being proposed around the country. I would be hesitant to thread a barrel that was not already threaded, for this reason. There is something to be said for hedging your bets, so that not all your guns would be banned.

Are we really at the stage of worrying about threading a barrel on our bolt action rifles in this country? Better check our powder is dry, cause the roof is starting to leak. Non-compliance is often the start of a populaces turn towards gaining freedoms; especially non-compliance that is backed up by a Constitutional Amendment.

If one desires it can be easily rectified. If the nanny state comes to your state; and you wish to comply; pin weld a cap on the threaded barrel.