re-bore or new barrel?

[Furncliff]

Rifle in question is a Win. mod 70 / .22-250 / heavy barrel, 1970's manuf... I'll be taking it to a smith (or two) to confirm, but I think it might have problems. As I understand my options, re-bore in .308 or new barrel in ???

I don't particularly like this caliber,and don't do any long distance any more. It's gotten heavy to lug around. Perhaps a lighter barrel in .223 ????

Thanks for your input.

Tom

 

[Smokey Joe]

Options

Furncliff--It's your call, not anyone else's. If you don't like the weight of the rifle, and you're not doing long range target shooting anymore, a lighter bbl sounds like a good choice. But that's MY opinion, and it's not my rifle.

Consult with the 'smith to see what CAN be done. Then choose the option that works best for YOU.

Just one suggestion: Don't choose the cheapest option merely because it is the least expensive.

 

[dakotasin]

i wouldn't re-bore, even if i liked the barrel weight.
i would re-barrel it to a contour i liked in whatever chambering i liked.

 

[Jim Watson]

Not a lot of reboring being done these days, finding a shop to handle it will take some looking. A new barrel would be easier to line up and little if any more expensive.

It would not be feasible to convert to .223, the bolt face and magazine are not right.

 

[Furncliff]

Jim....would I have to stick w/ .22-250?

 

[Aneat]

You can re-barrel the gun pretty easily with any caliber that shares the same bolt face and where the loaded round will fit in the magazine. I dont know what the max length you could get going from a 22-250 but I would think that anything in the 308 family would be fine (7mm-08) etc. 223 wouldnt work but if you wanted to stick with a 22 caliber 22 bench rest would be a fine one.

Also with re-barreling a gun you can get a barrel of much better quality that the factory offers.

Adam

 

[dakotasin]

furncliff- i'm not jim, but to answer for him, you do not have to stick w/ 22-250. the field is wide open - only money stops you.

 

[redneck2]

they're missing a big point. If you re-barrel to something with a smaller outside contour (thinner) there will be a big gap between the stock and the barrel. If it doesn't bother you, the go for it, but it may look funny

the head diameter is .473, which is pretty common IIRC. Head diameter on a .308 Win is .465. .223 is .377 so it's pretty much out of the question

You might want to find a book that lists relative sizes. I have Handloader Book of Cartridge Conversions You could look thru that and find something that has the same rim diameter and about the same length

the good news is that you have an action that's the basis for a custom rifle made the way you want. The bad news it that it will cost more than a new factory rifle

 

[Jim Watson]

I am not familiar with '70s vintage Winchesters. There are two things at work.
Casehead diameter vs bolt face; .22-250's is the same as a bazillion cartridges going back to 8mm of 1888. If you can't do it with one of them, it probably can't be done.
Overall length vs magazine; My Ruger .22-250 has a long enough magazine well and bolt travel for something like .308 but there is a spacer in the rear of the magazine that would have to be removed and a longer follower bought.

Question, what do you want to set it up FOR?

 

[Furncliff]

Varmint Vasectomy Facilitator MKII

 

[antarti]

Reboring, relining, and rechambering...

Call these guys and see what can be done, and at what price point, before you decide to rebarrel:

Redmans Rifling and Reboring
Randall Redman
189 Nichols Rd.
Omak, WA 98841
509-826-5512

LaBounty Precision Reboring Inc.
Cliff Labounty
7968 Silver Lake Rd.
Maple Falls, WA 98266
360-599-2047

 

[Essex County]

What Dakota and others have said..........Essex