Ruger M77 Rebarrel in 6.5 Creedmoor have ?'s...

[68lemans462]

I have a nice Ruger M77 in 7x57. The gun doesnt shoot as well as I'd like it to and I've decided to take this in a different direction (rebarrel in 6.5 creedmoor). I contacted the Colorado school of trades, a trade school that does gunsmithing for cheap here in Denver. I've been pleased with their work in the past they are good guys. Guy there said to get a unturned barrel blank and have them machine it to where it needs to be.

After some research, I'm considering going with a 1:8 twist barrel, 24" in length. Thinking a chromoly barrel will work and I can have the unit reblued so it looks good. I'm not crazy about a stainless barrel but most I'm finding are stainless. I have been looking at everything from Green Mountain barrels to Krieger. I'd like a quality "match" grade barrel. One in particular I'm eyeballing is the Shilen 1:8 chromoly 6.5 unturned barrel. Availability also seems spotty for these.. Do these typically need to be ordered? Lead time? Any other suggestions or recommendations as I put this together on paper?

 

[68lemans462]

 

[Reloadron]

Krieger STD Palma Barrel
ITEM DETAILS
Caliber: 264/6.5 mm (.264)
Contour: Blank
Material: Stainless Steel
Style: Cut Rifled
Twist: 1-8.5
Made in the USA
Looking at about $380.00

The Shilen would be a backorder, I suggest a call to Brownells or a Shilen Distributor to look at lead times. You may want to start with a call to Shilen, as I recall they are real nice to talk to and can answer any questions you may have.

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS:
Phone - 1.972.875.5318
Facsimile - 1. 972.875.5402

EMAIL:
[email protected]

Ron

 

[Jim Watson]

I have a pretty good Pac Nor on a Savage.
A friend who went from a similarly disappointing 7x57 ended up with a Douglas .280.

 

[RevJim]

Go to Lilja barrels site; they have a .264 bore, 8" twist chrome moly barrel in stock for $250! It also qualifys for a "gunsmith student" discount. Check out the contour ( it looks like a straight taper, which may not need any turning down!)and see if it will work for you Pard! I've had one Lilja barrel and it was a Jim Dandy fast twist in .224 but he made it to match the factory contour of my little Kimber 84M in 7mm08. His lead time is around 14 weeks if you order a specific barrel, so the one he has in stock might work for you. BTW, I paid $450 for my barrel from them! I also would suggest you start off with a 26" bbl and you can always have it cut back later. In the Creedmoor, more is more in barrel length! Sure, 24" is OK, so I'm just making a suggestion. With an 8" twist you can shoot a 130 to 140 bullet fast enough to kill any elk that ever "pooted" in the mountains, ha. Have a ball man, projects are 75% of the enjoyment!

 

[68lemans462]

Go to Lilja barrels site; they have a .264 bore, 8" twist chrome moly barrel in stock for $250! It also qualifys for a "gunsmith student" discount. Check out the contour ( it looks like a straight taper, which may not need any turning down!)and see if it will work for you Pard! I've had one Lilja barrel and it was a Jim Dandy fast twist in .224 but he made it to match the factory contour of my little Kimber 84M in 7mm08. His lead time is around 14 weeks if you order a specific barrel, so the one he has in stock might work for you. BTW, I paid $450 for my barrel from them! I also would suggest you start off with a 26" bbl and you can always have it cut back later. In the Creedmoor, more is more in barrel length! Sure, 24" is OK, so I'm just making a suggestion. With an 8" twist you can shoot a 130 to 140 bullet fast enough to kill any elk that ever "pooted" in the mountains, ha. Have a ball man, projects are 75% of the enjoyment!

Thanks for the info!! I'm guessing this barrel could be contoured just as a blank could? Going to give this a hard look!

 

[farmerboy78]

You can check ebay, I bought my Bartlein blank there

 

[homers]

Go to Lilja barrels site; they have a .264 bore, 8" twist chrome moly barrel in stock for $250! It also qualifys for a "gunsmith student" discount. Check out the contour ( it looks like a straight taper, which may not need any turning down!)and see if it will work for you Pard! I've had one Lilja barrel and it was a Jim Dandy fast twist in .224 but he made it to match the factory contour of my little Kimber 84M in 7mm08. His lead time is around 14 weeks if you order a specific barrel, so the one he has in stock might work for you. BTW, I paid $450 for my barrel from them! I also would suggest you start off with a 26" bbl and you can always have it cut back later. In the Creedmoor, more is more in barrel length! Sure, 24" is OK, so I'm just making a suggestion. With an 8" twist you can shoot a 130 to 140 bullet fast enough to kill any elk that ever "pooted" in the mountains, ha. Have a ball man, projects are 75% of the enjoyment!

$250 a great price, I can't find it on their website. Best I see is $330.

 

[68lemans462]

$250 a great price, I can't find it on their website. Best I see is $330.

Looks like that barrel is already too small for what I need on terms of contour diameter. Nice find though. I may have located a shilen on midway. It's not a blank but is thicker contour than my current barrel. Can a factory contoured barrel be cut to proper size if it is larger diameter than then stock barrel diameter for the entire length? Thanks.....

 

[chiggerbyt]

Ruger at one time chambered their M77 MKll for 6.5X55 Swedish Mauser. Would it be possible to rechamber one of these rifles or barrel take off to the 6.5 Creedmore ?

 

[RevJim]

Your right Homers, it isn't available in the "In Stock", it was still listed on page 3 of the home/shop section. I clicked on it and it didn't go to cart. Someone got a sweet deal, ha.

Yes sir 68lemans, any barrel that is larger diameter can be turned down. They have a Varmint contour .264 8 twist for $350 so that would be a good one too. I used to get Adams & Bennett barrels off of Midway for $90! I broke them in slowly and they ended up great, good as any other I ever had! Some people like Shaw, but Shaw was one of those early $17 outsourced Mod 77 barrels...some were great, some were jack handles! I don't know about todays barrels, so not dissing, just gun-shy, ha.

I've had a lot of Shilens, all were great. I had one Pac Nor Varmint in 6mm (just awesome), That Lilja, the A&Bs, Remington take off barrels (worked fine on Rem) I've never seen Ruger take off barrels (factory). I had a Lothar Walther in 9.3 and .404, all the rest were Shilens. All were great.

 

[68lemans462]

I think I'll go for the shilen now that I know it can be further turned down. Just out of curiosity what are opinions on the green mountain barrels? Thanks for the suggestions gentlemen...