I dislike anything besides a .22 or PCC with a barrel shorter than about 20"s, but functionally and 18.5 7x57 should be fine.
It is cheap.
And other than the short barrel it is nice.
I’ve thought of barreling before. Is that something a reasonably mechanical guy could do without too much investment in tools?
Greg
No.
Needs a barrel vise, action wrench, chamber reamer, headspace gauge.
If you dont really WANT to do the work yourself i think having it done by a smith, or even decent machine shop, is a better option.
I do quite a bit of garage gunsmithing.
I built a bench barrel/action vice, swaping out teak blocks allows me to adjust for what ever action im currently working with. If its one i dont have i just cut up a new set of blocks. Teaks sticky, and ive yet to have a receiver besides my Abolt (which has relatively little surface area) spin. Ive also used a big 8" vice with the same blocks clamped in it at work.
I normally use a pair of big pipe wrenches to remove barrels, as I have no intention of reinstalling them. when set with handles opposite each other ive had much less issue torquing barrels free than using an actual action wrench. If I cant get a barrel to pop using what i consider reasonable effort it gets wacked with a small sledge, if that fails then Ive made a relief cut. So far havent had any issues, or failures, in the 1/2 dozen guns Ive done.
I order threaded, profiled, and short chambered barrels. My go to is ERshaw, with the cost being about 200-240 for a basic barrel blued or stainless.
Installation is usually done with rented tools, and gauges from 4d reamer rentals. tho Ive fudged a couple using resized cases as go gauges, borrowed reamers, and a strap wrench to torque the tube.
The tools youll need to do the job properly, IF you already own something you can use as a barrel vice, are the correct action wrench, headspace gauges, finish reamer and T-handle. youll also want a good cutting oil.
Ive had nothing but good results with what Ive done SO FAR. This dosent mean that I wont screw something up eventually, or that I think the 175 bucks or so having a barrel properly installed isnt worth the cash. I really LIKE doing this stuff myself, and fine precision isnt necessary for what I want from the guns Ive built.