Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Switch Barrel Rifle - who’s built one?

I’m seeing more of this, and trying to decide if it’s a project I want to start after the season.

Primary use would be hunting. Some bench plinking. And soon, introducing my children to centerfire rifles.

I’m most intrigued by the designs that allow for minimal tools - like the WTO Switchlug.

I’ll hang up and listen to anyone who can share their experience.

O-Ag

Just get a Blaser :-)

I have built a couple on Rem 700's, one of them was a switch barrel/switch bolt rifle which was very versatile as far as changing to any caliber with the appropriate bolt head. Unfortunately after the newness of it wore off I decided that the trouble of switching barrels, having to check zero after switching, etc was more trouble than it was worth, I sold it and just bought another rifle instead.

drover

This!
It will actually be less expensive than what it will take to build a switch barrel gun.

Blazer for sure!

I’ve had a couple built on Rem 700 SS actions. One is a LA with 300 RUM and 338 RUM barrels. Both barrels have the same countour so the switch is simple, as both rifles use the same stock.

The other is more complicated. It’s built on a SA and the barrels are 308 Win and 35-284. The countours are very different so in addition to changing barrels, I also switch stocks.

The change requres a barrel vise and an action wrench. It was an idea that hasn’t worked out to be as practical as I thought and was more appealing when I had it done. I agree that now it’s aesier to just use a different rifle. It works well though, as far as performanc.

I think it sounds like a fun project, if I shot more I’d think about doing one myself. I’d look at using a Bighorn Origin. Switchlug looks solid, but so does Greg Young’s Bugnut. But with the origin you can get shouldered barrels from places like PVA for similar money. Rear entry action wrench and barrel vise would be all you’d need to swap tubes I think.

My biggest Hangup would be I’d want a lighter contour for hunting, and medium or light varmint for range time. So do you get stock inlet fort the heavier contour and live with excessive gap when running the lighter barrel or use two separate stocks? Chassis for range play on stock for hunting? Separate scopes for each?

Every time I’ve thought about these details I end up concluding it’s cheaper and easier to just buy a Tikka CTR for fun and a t3 lite for hunting (which is what I did)

I built one kinda by accident last year.

Bighorn TL3
McM A5
PTG Stealth
TT Diamond
10x SS MQ
SWFA Rings
Shilen 1-8" Varmint contour in 6 Dasher @ 22"



There is a definite conflict for a rifle loony having a set up such as the Bighorn in that its modularity makes doing stupid things rather tempting.

Didn't take longe before I had a Criterion in 20 Practical for varmint shoots.

And not long after that another Shilen in .22br for 88 eld's.

I've had flats milled on all of them and loc-tited bbl nuts and I can change them with a 3/4" end wrench and allen key (action has to come out for scope/bbl nut clearance.)



It's a fun project if you like playing with different cartridges or guns in general.

The real benefit is being able to order a new bbl while still burning out the current one.

I can agree with this.

Every time I’ve thought about these details I end up concluding it’s cheaper and easier to just buy a Tikka CTR for fun and a t3 lite for hunting (which is what I did)

Almost all of my 700's are switch barrel guns, however not all have more than one barrel.

It can be problematic checking zeroes all the time that makes it less appealing.

Quick release or picatinny rings in a 2nd scope does lesson the pain.

Seems all would need the zero checked , if their scopes were action mounted.

It’s easy to do. With all the interest with the Savage where barrels are switched regularly, other bolt guns can do the same. Action wrench, barrel vice, pinned recoil lug, and no headspace gauge needed. Any caliber with the same case head works. Checking zero is required regardless of what make rifle, but done right, you’ll hit paper each time.

Need to look at the options available for Tikka.

I've had a couple over the years and they've all worked well. There are different ways to set them up though and some definitely work better than others.

I've worked a lot with the Savage barrel nut system over the years and at one point had 8 actions and 23 barrels. There was a short and long action for each case head size and then one .473" target action and a .535" target action. I had most of the barrel nuts drilled and tapped for a set screw so that once I had a barrel headspaced I could just lock down the set screw and essentially have a shoulder to headspace off of after pullindg the barrel off. Swapping barrels just involved a barrel nut wrench (notched so that I didn't have to remove the scope) and a port entry action wrench. The scopes (4 different optics) were all mounted in QR rings so that I could swap them back and forth easily. I kept notes about where every barrel was zeroed with the specific optic and they would all be within .5 MOA after swapping scopes and barrels around. It was still necessary to verify zero after a swap but most of these guns were just used for long range "rock hunting" so it was easy to just send a shot into a dirt bank to verify zero.

For a while I had a Jim Borden switch barrel with identical contour 270 RUM, 7mm RUM and 338 Edge barrels fitted to a Borden BRM action in an HS Precision stock. Changing barrels on that one required a barrel vise c-clamped to the bed of my truck and a rear entry action wrench. I had the scope zeroed for the barrel I shot the most often (270 RUM zeroed at 350 yards with 150 Berger) and then just kept track of where the other barrels impacted from that zero. The 338 Edge (300gr OTM) was actually very close to the same zero as the 270 RUM but the 7 RUM (200gr Wildcat bullet) would end up being zeroed much closer to 570 yards. The windage adjustment between the 3 zeros was less than .5 MOA, it was just the elevation that was significantly different. I just entered the zero offset into my ballistics calculator and went from there. The return to zero after swapping barrels was within .25 MOA. Since this was also primarily a LR rock busting rifle that was well within a reasonable margin of error for shooting rocks past 1 mile.

I had an Accuracy International AT in my possession for a brief period of time as well with 308 and 6mm Creedmoor barrels. That one was probably the easiest to change barrels on in the field. The return to zero after swapping barrels was just as accurate as the Borden rifle, I just didn't need to have a barrel vise or action wrench. I just used one optic and kept the turrets zeroed for the barrel that got shot more.

All three systems worked well but I've moved away from the barrel nut system for the most part. I've found that it's just easier to just have one smith do all the barrel work for a specific action. Then I can just send them the action one time to fit the first barrel and get all the measurements off my specific action, and then they can chamber up future barrels for that action without me sending it in every time. The barrel nut system is the least expensive and allows the user to buy and sell barrels with anyone else using the same threads, so that's a nice bonus.

The reality is that I think most people love the idea of a switch barrel setup but usually end up with one barrel that they prefer and end up just leaving it on there most of the time.

Call Rick Steinhour at Extreme Rifleworks. Somewhere in Nebraska now. He makes a sweet switch barrel.

My problem with the common switch barrel rifles (Savage, Remington, Encore) is, when I get one barrel dialed in, I haven't wanted to mess with it, so I'd start again with another action/stock/scope. Reportedly Blaser does not suffer from this set-up/take-down dilemma. And if I were to add the money spent on my other switch-barrel projects, (...which I won't), Blaser platform doesn't seem so expensive.

This guy (..whoever he is) seems to have a fair-minded review;

https://gunsmagazine.com/switch-barrel-rifles/

I have done a few.

Lever actions on Marlins and Winchesters both. Most were in 30-30 with a short and a long barrel, but one was done with a 7-30 Waters 24" long barrel and an 16" 30-30. I have 2 take down waiting for work now, but neither one is going to be a "swap-caliber rifle".
I also did one for a man on a Browning M95 in 270 and 35 Whelen one time. Last year I did a swap barrel on a Savage with a 22-250 and a 300 savage.

Several on Mausers. Probably 20 or so. In fact I have one in the works now, with a 9X57 and a 257 Roberts front end. 2 barrels, 2 for-ends, 2 scopes and both reloading dies in the set. The 257 Roberts scope is set up for the standard mounting on the action, and the 9X57 is set up for scout mounting on the barrel. And the 9X57 has an "American twist" in that the barrel uses .358 bullets instead of the German standard .356", so loading ammo is super easy.
I have done them in both standard bolt face and magnums. Combinations have been from 6MM Remington to 9.3X57 and from 264 Win Mag to 338 Win Mag. One I did for a Navada man was a 270 and 35 Whelen. One I did for a Texan customer was a 300H&H and a 375H&H


One rifle that is often overlooked that has shown me it can be quite accurate and strong is the Browning BLR, Take-Down, but I don't know if Browning is offering 2 barrels in 2 calibers from their custom shop or not. Might be worth a call to ask. The BLRs with forward mounted scopes have shown me MOA accuracy quite a few times.

In my experience, I sight my R93 Blaser in prior to departure, clean it thoroughly and then fire a few fouling shots. The rifle gets taken apart, the bolt and scope (Zeiss rail mount) are removed and all is packed in a compact aluminum travel case made by Impact. The rifle case goes in checked baggage and makes several changes of planes before arriving in Africa, including the usual Customs inspections along the way.

Upon arrival at the final destination, the rifle is assembled, zero is rechecked and a hunting we will go.

Never had an issue with shifting zero or any other problems, despite lengthy trips with several changes of planes, the rifle has never failed to perfom as expected.

I have another compact case made by Americase that will hold the Blaser stock/receiver, two scoped barrels and two bolts. Again, very handy, but in my experience not as rugged as the Impact case.

My experiences only; YMMV.

I had Gradous build me one with pinned lug and bedding milled out ahead of the lug for a full float switch bbl set-up. I've never taken the bbl off lol.

A PF Model 70 is the most inexpensive way to begin as the standard ebay rejected barrels usually screw right in.
If you are fussy, a 'smith can make a few alternative chamberings in the same profile with the same bolt face and headspace them to your action.

Either way, as stated earlier, it gets tiresome changing out the barrels.

I put together a multiple barrel rifle on a Savage action over a decade ago. It was an interesting exercise, but not very practical, as you needed dedicated scope with QR mounts for each barrel.

Years ago around 2000 Sig came out with a switch barrel rifle whereby the bolt locked up directly to the barrel. It was a cool setup and review showed very acceptable hunting accuracy at 1 - 1.25 MOA upon removing and replacing. Below is their owners manual. Somewhat funny that only the 308 Win was offered and no supporting 243 Win. Back then I think long action and magnum were more in vogue. Bolt faces came in 0.473" and 0.532" Anyway it was a nice entry system switch barrel that never caught on here in the states. I handled a 270 Win back then, it was around $470.00, extra barrels were around $110.00. Wish I would have bought one in 25-06 with a 30-06 extra barrel. I think there are a few around still for sale out there. Extra barrels however may be hard to come by.


Sig SRH 970 Owners Manual

I have many switch barrel rigs, most remington 700's, some Stolle Panda's and Hall M's, couple of Ruger 77's, and Savage target actions.. I have made switch barrel rigs out of Sako A1's,

There is a lot of ignorance out there concerning switch barrel rifles and a guys needs vary from person to person.

The basic concept for my use is based on the fact that I save money, I buy one good scope, trigger, stock with just barrel replacements.

I use over size recoil lugs and none of them are pinned, one recoil lug for all barrels on a particular action. I have two options for a lug locator, I can order one from Pacific Tool and gauge, or bed the recoil lug(freefloat the bottom on Rem's), and use the stock as a lug locator.

I use a Bushnell professional bore sighter to get a reading on the (X,Y) axis when a particular barrel is sighted in, then go to that reading from barrel to barrel as each will have it's own (X,Y) coordinates. Using this method will get me to within 1 Inch.

If you go to a different contour, a larger stock maybe needed or you can order the stock set up for the largest barrel contour you would use, then the stock will work on smaller contours, even though it maybe unsightly, practical vs emotional preferences will vary from person to person on this.

One major point of misunderstanding is headspace on a switch barrel rig. ON non Savage or Remage type of barrels, the gunsmith will set the headspace with a particular recoil lug when he chambers the barrel, so the headspace will remain the same as long as you use that particular recoil lug.

The practical use of a Savage or Remage type of set up is that a person can just order the barrel without mailing in his action.

I use a barrel vise and a rear entry action wrench for each action maker, the change over is simple and easy.

When I was shooting 25K rounds a year on various varmints, I had a barrel vise welded to the grill guard on my pick up with barrel changes being made in the field within minutes including using the bore sighter.

For guys that like to chase a fantasy of playing with a lot of calibers, switch barrel rigs are very, very practical. The barrels do not go bad, just store them in a closet indoors.

If you have any questions, send me a PM.

When I want a new chambering,twist rate or whatever...I want a rifle to go with it.

Hint.

The LAST thing of "interest" to me,is a "Good Deal" on a piece of fhuqking schit and playing Ring Around The Rosie.

Pass the good stuff(and LOTS of it) and hold the Fluff.

Bless your heart.

Laughing!..............

I had a Sako with a 358 Winchester barrel on it and decided I needed a 257 Roberts. I converted the rifle to 257 Roberts and was reminded by my brother that I now had a switch barrel rifle. It has since been switched back and fourth a few times over several years but has settled on the original 358 Winchester option. What was amazing to me was how the rifle stays within hunting accuracy with the switch. Headspace is always right on the money but I always check anyway. This last time I didn't even need to adjust the scope. It's one of those rifles that satisfies a whim every other year or two.