Remington 700 barrel 30-06

[sarduy]

hello.

I'm getting tired of my Remington 700 sps-dm thin barrel, after 5/8 shots ... there is no human-possible way to get that barrel to shoot under 2 moa at 100 yards...the average is 2.5/3 moas.. and this is with almost all kind of brands and bullet weight, it shoot better "low 2-moa" with 180gr.....

bottom line... i need a new barrel.

is there a 20/22'' heavy barrel for a 30-06 out there?

if not... do you think it's a good idea to rebarrel with a heavy barrel in .308?

i was looking at the 30-06 & 308 and the bottom looks the same... will a 30-06 bolt face work with a 308 case...?


i mean... i just want to get a better barrel for my rem 700 or rebarrel it to 308... but i'm not sure what would be the best option.

 

[Uncle Mike]

Yes there are aftermarket 308 barrels that will fit your SPS. However it is going to take more than just a barrel swap to cure the problem.

You'll have to get another stock, if your going to get that big fat heavy barrel... more cash.
Have the barrel installed... more cash.
May have to swap out your scope mounts depending on how much room you have between the top of the barrel and the bottom of the scope... more cash.

I bet for what your going to spend on this venture complete, you could purchase a shiny new rifle... and a heavy barreled one to boot.

Or... you could just let your barrel cool between strings, I mean, is there a reason you need to get off 5-8 rounds in rapid succession?
Saves those pennies!

Take a look at the Savage Model 10, Weatherby Vanguard Predator or the Howa 1500 Varminter. All of these are in the price range of the SPS, give or take a bit.

oh... yea, your 30-06 bolt will work for 308.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

couldn't he just rebarrel in 30-06?

 

[USSR]

is there a 20/22'' heavy barrel for a 30-06 out there?

if not... do you think it's a good idea to rebarrel with a heavy barrel in .308?

i was looking at the 30-06 & 308 and the bottom looks the same... will a 30-06 bolt face work with a 308 case...?

You can have a barrel made in any contour or length for your rifle. The boltface is the same for both .30-06 and .308, so either will work with your rifle. Below is a rifle of mine that started life with a pencil-thin barrel, that now has a Krieger barrel with a muzzle diameter of .930".

Don

 

[Art Eatman]

Since targets are apparently a larger amount of your shooting than hunting, then, yeah, improvement is needed. For hunting, only the first one or two shots are important, so a three-shot group provides all the information one needs.

Before spending money: Have you tried free-floating the barrel, and then maybe put a little shim at the forearm tip? That can help--and it's cheap to do. (If you re-barrel and go with a thicker profile, you're going to have to hog out the barrel channel, anyway.)

 

[Reid73]

there is no human-possible way to get that barrel to shoot under 2 moa at 100 yards

Don't be so sure. Free-floating the barrel, bedding the action, and tuning the trigger might result in more improvement than you realize.

But anyway: sounds like you are very unhappy with the rifle. Rather than going to the time, trouble and expense of rebarrelling, I would suggest trading it in for a new one, as Uncle Mike suggests.

 

[sarduy]

is not that i'm unhappy with the rifle, is just that i cant get smaller groups, it's a great hunting rifle and 2 moas is ok for hunting.... but i dont do much hunting... i may endup getting a SPS-Varmint in .308 for target shhooting

 

[Reid73]

"Unhappy with" versus "getting tired of" ... I dunno, seems like splitting hairs to me!

Since you like the 700 action, here's another replacement option for you to consider (although personally I'm no fan of anything labled "tactical" ):