Donor hunting rifle is a Rem 700 CDL Boone & Crocket .30-06. All factory including the laminated stock. .338-06 is the plan. I like the stock fluted barrel which makes me want to rebore. However, rebarreling with a stainless barrel to the satin blue action would be nice. Maybe a #4 XX Douglas? Appearance aside, what are your thoughts (and why) on rebarrel verses rebore.

I was doing some looking at this issue a while back and after seeing the prices for reboring I'd go with a rebarrel nearly every time.
The price is almost equal for both plus you have the factory barrel you could sell which would make the rebarrel an even better deal.

JHMO

There is some gunsmith up there in Washington along I 5 who is supposed to be real good at rebores.. and is supposed to be pretty reasonable on pricing also..

my 338/06 was a rebore of a Model 70 in 270...it was done by Bob West up in Eugene.. he has since passed...

he had worked under P.O. Ackley.. but when he did it, he was in his upper 80s at the time....

but he sure did a good job..

I'm wondering how deep the flutes are. Might be a problem with enough steel left after the rebore.

The best around that I know is Delta Gun Shop/Clearwater Reboring, in Colville, WA. They're the ones who turned my .308 RSI into a .338 Fed RSI; I liked working with them and will do it again. They have a nice website at www.deltagunshop.com if you want to look them up.

The .308 RSI was just too small in diameter to rebore to .338, so I went with a new barrel.

Dennis

+1 They rebored/rechambered my Mauser from a .25-6 all the way out to 9.3x62. Also cut the bbl from 26" to 20" and recrowned it.
VERY GOOD people to deal with. VERY accurate rifle.

Delta Gun Shop/Clearwater Reboring will rebore a barrel and cut a new neck/throat for $350.

Pac-Nor charges $550, and Hart charges $600 (IIRC) to install one of their barrels.

so guess where my SS M70 7mm WSM is right now getting rebored to .358 WSM

Never had any reboring done but it sure wouldn't scare me, especially with good references.

If you rebarrel I sure wouldn't go as heavy as a #4 Douglas though. The 338/06 is one heck of a nice round but IMO too many build them too heavy. If it were me I'd shoot for at most 8 lbs all up and ready to hunt (scope/sling/rounds etc)

Best of luck to ya

Dober

How could a barrel be "rebored" to a smaller caliber ?
I'm not a rocket scientist but I think that's pretty much impossible . Get yourself a nice 24" CDL .243 take off barrel from Gun Broker or Auction Arms . Have it rechambered to 338-06 and you're good to go for a very moderate cost . It's a piece of cake for any Gunsmith worth his salt !!

The OP has a 30-06 and he wants a .338-06.

I'm sorry , for some reason my brain was thinking 6mm-06 ! Of all the things I have lost I think I miss my mind the most . That is a wicked good cartridge that .338-06 . I have a Ruger .338 Fed barrel that I can't quite decide what to do with . Use as is or rechamber to .338-06 , It's definatly going on a Rem. 760 though !

I have three Cliff LaBounty rebores, 338-06, 35 Whelen and 9.3x62, and they are all exceptional shooters. Two of the three rifles had unique barrels and/or sights that I wanted to preserve. The third was a Wally World M700 ADL 270 that became my 338-06 fifteen years ago. As far as barrel "meat" goes, Cliff's rule of thumb was .10" a side at the muzzle. My pre-war JP Sauer Sporter Mauser 35 Whelen measures .560" at the muzzle. I suspect that Jim Dubell offers the same top notch quality as he bought Cliff's business and was trained my Cliff as well.

Yes he does... !

My .308 RSI was exactly .500 at the muzzle -- ending up with .081 after reboring. Didn't fit the process, so I bought a PacNor .338 barrel just enough larger that it still fit in the RSI stock. All I needed in the barrel was .540... .

I do recommend Jim Dubell and his crew.

Dennis

I had Jesse of JES reboring up in Washington rebore my Tikka .270 to 35 Whelen, it shoots great and cost less than half of what a rebarrel would cost you...


Rebarrel $600 Rebore $250

I would go with a Douglas #2 and have IT & D do the work.

+1
And you don't have a factory barrel with a factory chamber like you'd have if you merely rebored.

Plus a nice factory barrel to sell.

I have used ID&T out in Ohio myself and would recommend them highly if you decide to rebarrel. I would also agree with Dober, a #4 Douglas is just flat to heavy.

I have also used JES (Jesse Ocumpaugh) for an 06 to 35 whelen rebore that came out perfectly....would also highly recommend him although he was in Oregon when I used him...seems like 07 or 08, must have moved since then.

It seems to me like a rebarrel offers a SS barrel if that appeals to you plus you get to keep the original if you ever want to roll'er back. I would also wonder if the flutes in your current barrel will even allow for a rebore to .338"...good luck which ever way you go.

Josh

Re-barrel.Too much room for error on re-bore,hard to correct that.You have all kinds of choices in barrels,and also you get to keep or get rid of your old barrel.Feasibly better to re-barrel if it were me and my gun.

I have done two pre 64 '06 barrels to 338 by Dan Pederson at Classic Barrel and Gun Works. Would not trade for his work and one was a fwt barrel that just barely fit the specs and rifle comes in all in ready to shoot at just 8 lbs.

my .358 WSM is also just above the minimum barrel diameter for reboring. they said they need .1" per side of barrel left and the Winchester Sporter barrel has a muzzle dia of .6". that leaves .12" per side. i am also thinking 8# all up is a good number for this one, considering my 7.5# .350 RM is a little rough shooting prone...

Toad--do you use 300 or 325 brass? I've used both for my 338 WSM and aside from the 325 being a bit less work to neck up I've found no diff.

Also, what do you like for primers and powder in your rig?

Thx
Dober

Mark, this is a rebore of the 7mm WSM, so i'll have to use 7mm WSM for the parent case. they are a tad longer to the shoulder than the rest. the gun is still at the 'smith, but i'm thinking i may start with RL 17, along with RL 15 and H4895 since i stock quite a bit of the latter two. Federal match magnum primers since i'm sitting on 10K of them. i will, however, be using Redding .358/.300 WSM dies and setting them accordingly, because Redding had them in stock. this redding die set comes with a tapered expander plug that will neck 7mm up to .358 in one step.

i would have liked using .325 brass just for the smaller step up in neck size, but that would have ment the rebarrel or barrel set-back and the extra cost. this is a budget build (temporary interuption in the 'ol disposable cash flow), so the tupperware stock and rebore will get me there for what i can afford with the other projects i have going (two .264s in for new barrels at Capitol Sports, a light weight Brux barreled 700 in McM Classic ADL and a mid weight Lilja barreled 700 in a McM A1-3)

somebody told me Precision Shooting Magazine did this same .350 project (on the 7mm) but also went to .375 WSM and .416 WSM with it. 7mm to .416 seems like a huge step up, though... i can't find a copy of that magazine, but i'll get one somehow...

Thanks for all the feedback and recommendations. I'm leaning toward a rebore (as of this minute!). This weekend I was given a recommendation for a local guy that supposedly has a great reputation for reboring with the benchrest shooters. He's closed today. Hopefully after yaking with him tomorrow, I'll know which way my $$ will go.

I have decided on a Leupy 2.5-8x36 for the rifle. I've always used Leupy rings and bases, but for this rig want to try the Talley One-piece Lightweights. Do I need low or ultra low with this scope on a 700 long-action? Standard or extended front?

Fantastic cartridge choice.

I'm strongly considering having my 1903-A3 rebored to 375 Whelen... it'd be flat out unpatriotic to do it in a 9.3x62...

Also agree with Dober on weight. I have a rebarreled Savage 110 with a heavy-mag contour barrel and laminate stock that is a lug. I've already been talking w/ my 'smith about building a really light weight one...

Good luck High Road,

efw

I just purchased some Norma brass and a box of 200g Ballistic Silvertip's. Not sure what powder I'll start with -- I have RL-15 and H414 on-hand. Dober has spoken highly of RL-17, maybe I'll try that. Who knows -- I've got to get the rifle back 1st!

I've gotten great results with RL-15, -17, and H-380 with 180s-215s.

Of the three you mention RL-15 would be my first choice... but that is my first choice on just about any cartridge just because I've always had such great luck w/ it.

I spent an hour with Larry Conley today (Classic Precision Gunsmithing). I drove away without my rifle! I've opted to rebarrel. Douglas #3, Stainless Premium, 24", fluted with bead blasted finish. Larry will free-float in the factory laminated stock and tweek the factory X-Mark Pro trigger. I'll post finished pics in about 4-6 weeks. Thanks for all the advice.

JD

Labounty Precision Reboring is upposed to be excellent. Maple Falls WA. 360-599-2047

I think you made a good choice JD.

Why spend that kind of money and still have a factory barrel with a factory chamber.

Sell the factory barrel now and the price of the job just got that much better.

LaBounty has been sold, a couple of years ago, to Delta Gun Shop/Clearwater Reboring, in Colville, WA. They have a nice website at www.deltagunshop.com if you want to look them up. Nice people.

Dennis

I had Delta Gun Shop rebore my pre 64 M70 from 30-06 to 9.3x62. That rifle shot great with the first load I tried. They do a great job!