considering re-barreling Rem 700, advice?

[borrowedtime69]

hello all, i will be acquiring a Remington 700 in .270, built in the early to mid 1970's in the near future. It has a tapered barrel with open sights. i know its a high quality gun as its been a one-owner (in the family), barely used, and well cared for.

despite the fact its an accurate rifle in a decent caliber, with a nice trigger (i know some of you might be calling me all kinds of idiot for ruining a perfectly decent rifle, more on that later) i would like to consider making a budget "tactical" type rifle out of it. I was thinking of putting on an "affordable" heavy barrel chambered for .308, and getting a good synthetic stock and a decent Vortex scope on it.

i would like to get advice on costs for re-barreling with an affordable heavy barrel, ?? $200 - $300?? i dont have any idea the cost involved, including what gunsmith labor charges would be. or what manufacturers there are that make them.

actually, i also dont know if re-chambering it in .308 would work with the magazine built for the .270?

so basically, i would be very grateful for your advice & experiences with this process. And if the general consensus is that it should be left alone, i shall do so, only upgrading the old scope on it. Thank you everybody!

 

[mcb]

If it's a 270 Winchester then it's a long action 700 and the 308 Winchester is classically a short action rifle cartridge. That said the Army M24 308 sniper rifle was built on a Remington Long Action with a 308 barrel so it could work if you want to do it.

 

[Boomholzer]

Premium barrel blanks will run you in the mid-high $300's. High $200s to cut chamber and install the barrel, +$100 for the action true.
Many Teir-1 custom barrels are "close to home" for me. Bartlein, Broughton, Rock, Obermeyer, Krieger. I run all of these except Rock & Krieger, add a Lothar Walther.
I would go with Bartlein.

I would look into buying a Rem 700 bare action or a clone and do not donate your deer rifle. And after you add all this up your going to second-guess chambering in .308.

 

[Dale Alan]

Long action with .308 is fine , I prefer them . You will be able to shoot about any 30 cal bullet without being limited to mag length.

I am not sure about having a barrel fitted by a gunsmith these day . I use Remage barrels and they start at about 300 dollars . If you have the tools/skills it is very easy ,

 

[P89DCSS]

You can avoid gunsmith fees by going with a Remage barrel.
http://northlandshooterssupply.com/barrels/criterion-remington-remage/

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

A pre-fit Rem-age barrel is probably the most economic DIY route. This task doesn't require a gunsmith and just requires a couple of extra tools. You will likely need to do some minor stock inletting afterwards to make room for the barrel nut.

Lots of videos on YouTube on how to do one of these -- here's one from McGowen:



Here are a few Rem-age suppliers:

https://criterionbarrels.com/products/prefits/rem-age/rem-age-pre-fit-barrel/?v=7516fd43adaa
https://matchgrademachine.com/savage-remage-pre-fit-barrels/
https://mcgowenbarrel.com/remington-pre-fit-barrels/
https://pac-nor.com/prefit/

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

You can avoid gunsmith fees by going with a Remage barrel.
http://northlandshooterssupply.com/barrels/criterion-remington-remage/

Great minds think alike!

 

[GooseGestapo]

My REM M700 in .270 is one of my favorite hunting rifles. I’d be loathe to mess with it.
I have a REM M700 HB Tactical. (20”HB”).
It’s taken quite a bit of tweaking to get it to shoot anywhere close to the .270!

My recommendation is to find a M700 Police Tactical w/5R rifling on gunbroker.

By the time you get finished with converting the .270, you’ll have more money in it than if you just bought a used HB Tactical.

Unless you’re going to use it for something like F-class competition, you’ll be $$$ and months of waiting time ahead.
Hence, the recommendations of the Remage options.

 

[borrowedtime69]

Well, it looks like maybe I'll keep it as is due to cost & what may be a bunch of tweaking that may be needed... I'm not much for too much tweaking & would get discouraged easily due to medical issues & brain fog. Not to mention the cost of ammo to get it dialed in could be more than my wallet could accomidate.

I want to thank you all very much for your replies and knowlege here, it probably saved me a great deal of money, time & frustration. I love this place!

 

[redneck2]

If you had a shot out or damaged barrel, that’s one thing. To do most any modifications that can be achieved via a factory model are seldom fiscally sound.

If you want to do it “just because”, it’s your money. Do as you please.

 

[Legionnaire]

I agree with your decision not to tamper with the .270. You’ll be better off buying or trading for a more tactical rig. I enjoy building Remages and they aren’t hard to do if you have some basic skills and patience. My Remages are in handloader cartridges: .22-250 AI, .243 AI, .260 AI. But sometimes it’s better to buy a complete rifle in your preferred configuration.