Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 721 rebarre

hello everyone!
i have an old remington 721 in 30-06 that needs rebarreling. i havent felt comfortable hunting with it as it isnt consistant at the range and groups are only getting larger with same ammo that used to group well. i plan to use it for elk and mule deer at ranges of 300 to 450 yards. i am wondering if i should rebarrel it as a 30-06 or go with a .280 ackley. any thoughts?

Barrel might just need a good cleaning with copper solvent.

yup....not to say they don't exist.....I've never seen a 30-06 that is "Burned" out.

The likelihood that it needs a new barrel is very slim in my opinion.

Bedding and cleaning with copper solvents would be my first attempt.

So many folks look down the barrel from the muzzle to inspect riflig.....this isn't where the "burn" is found....it's immediately foreword of the chamber. Look to see if rifling still is sharp and visible from the chamber end.....a burned out barrel will show clear erosion several inches ahead of the chamber.

A rebarrel job will cost you as much as $500 or more by the time it is threaded, crowned, polished, and blued and new sights are installed.....one could find a very fine Howa/vanguard, M-70, M-700 on gunbroker for that.

BTW.....if you must rebarrel and want an ek rifle.....I'd opt to rebarrel to .30-06 or even the .338-06

very true. cleaning makes the rifle change point of impact by 10'' left or right and open up wider until fouled. when using an OAL gauge the 180 gr bullets don't contact the lands. is the rifle worth rebarreling/keeping? how many would just sell it and start over? local gunsmith said he would install the barrel for $65 with crown and flute for an additional $85, I just have to provide the barrel. douglas barrels are running around $315 and shaw are around $265. but as vapodog said

no arguments there. paid $325 OTD for the rifle in the first place.

If I were going to rebarrel it I would make it a 30-06 again.

I think the 721/722 are under rated. I have a couple and just rebarreled a 270 to a 30-06 mountain barrel. Check your stock, they can loosen up or get soft from oil. The dog knot makes them shift too from my experience but usually you can still get them to shoot 1-1/2" or better.

Another option is a take off barrel. Mine headspaced fine and indexed correctly and they are usually easy to come by one with low or no round count for $50.

The only problem with them is the extractor. They are as rare as hens teeth now and if it breaks you will need to either do an AR or Sako type or reface the bolt.

I gave $225 for my last one and will snag as many as I can for that money. Triggers are very good if clean.

Won't necessarily get your money back out of it but it will last another 60 years.

I'd send it out to the rebore folks for that.

They can clean out even the nastiest of copper fouling you might have.

Yep, just send to JES for a rebore to .338-06 and you're good to go.

Or be really cool and have it rebored to 35 Whelen.

I was in your same shoes. My grandfather's 721 had the first few inches of the throat burned. After cleaning thoroughly that area was dark, where the rest of the barrel was bright and the rifling still looked good.

I considered a 700 take off barrel, but wanted to keep the original barrel so ended up going with a re-bore.

I went 9.3x62, but if I were to do it again I'd go 338-06.

I could buy a new Thompson/Center Venture 30-06 on the local market from Gun Genie for less than $500. They aren't pretty but they are guaranteed by the manufacturer to shoot MOA of the box and they are durable enough to last a lifetime with proper maintenance.

T/C Venture 30-06, Gun Genie

You could get a new Rem 700 30-06 for about the same price, but it wouldn't be guaranteed to shoot MOA.

Remington 700ADL 30-06, Gun Genie

You can probably find similar prices where you live.

I would give it a good scrubbing first, then give it another chance at the range. If it still won't group, then my recommendation is to lose it and replace it.

The only reason that I would keep such a rifle is if it has sentimental value. I would keep a family heirloom but I wouldn't shoot it.

KC

I dont think a good 721 take off barrel in 30-06 would be hard to find

You can beat that price big time on the Venture

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/757853015 BIN of $287.99

338-06 rebore by JES sounds like a good option, less expensive than a re-barrel.

That should be a good round for stated use.

If it was mine, I'd glass the action and maybe free float vs full length bed.

DF

9.3x62 would be interesting. I think the next 721 i find may have to go to JES for a re-bore to that caliber.

I free floated my 721 in 270 and found it liked the forend pressure point better than free float. Easy enough to put back though. Some of them had some decent wood, albeit plain.

If re-barreling, would an aftermarket bolt be a good idea due to the 721 extraction issue?

That would up the cost a bit.

DF

Might want to check MV these days. When barrels start to wear, they slow down, generally speaking, which also means you are not likely in the sweet spot anymore.

I always chased MV to the sweet spots as our barrels aged on the ARs...

as what has been posted ,your barrel need`s cleaning. buy some sweet`s 7.62 solvent do what the directions tell you,also buy 2 new 30 caliber bronze brushes and scrub the heck out of that barrel. then take a bore scope and see if its clean should be only a steel shiny color ,if it shows a color kinda goldish more sweets over nite ,dry out again,more bore solvent on bronze bush and more scrubbing ,another good solvent is GM power tune engine cleaner buy it at GM garage.
the other thought is sell me that old 721 Remington and buy a new gun ? if your going to keep your gun stay with old reliable and easy to find ammo 30-06. good luck,Pete53

6.5 ai or 280 ai would be good