Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Swapping barrels in Canada?

Does anybody know the law specifically regarding swapping the barrel on a 30-06 to make it a 338-06? Do you have to totally re-register it as a new/different firearm?

I have a Savage bolt. After researching the Savage forums it appears to be a relatively easy procedure to change the barrel. Wondered if anyone knows what the law says?

Has anyone in Canada changed the barrel on a Savage? Especially anybody in BC or southern Alberta?

Well the short answer is that the chaps in New Brunswick do expect us to notify them of any changes in caliber, etc. My understanding was you simply notify them, not re-register, but please, please ask them as YMMV, big time. BTW, I've found that they are not likely to give you an answer in writing.
Awhile back, I bought a .250 AI that had been registered as a .300 Savage. After a long chat with the nice lady to convince her that I did know of what I was speaking about the current caliber, she asked how it came to be?
When I told her rifle barrels just screwed in and out like the lug nuts on her car, her response was, well it was unprintable!
As to the barrel swap, it is only a matter of which smith has the reamer you want. Ask for a quote first of course.
I�ve owned rifles re-barreled by 2 southern BC smiths, Chris Wilcox in Lumby and Mick Mcphee in Kamloops. I�d send work to either one again if the need arises, and given my past activity, I�m likely to do just that. Hope that helps.
Good luck in your project.
Dwayne

You can get pre-fit barrels for your action. Check out Pac-Nor's web page. They are reamed to your caliber already. Installation and head spacing is required by a qualified gunsmith. I know I can order an original factory Weatherby barrel from the factory. Same goes for some newer Savage rifles. Prefit barrels will ensure that it is properly reamed and threaded to your action.

Thanks for the info on a smith. I will check with them. Have talked to one smith in the lower mainland about another project, which I wound up doing myself, and was not impressed enough to try him again. Don't even remember his name.

As to the swap, the Savage barrel is an easy do it yourself project according to many Savage owners. However, it takes a special barrel nut wrench, which a guy can make, and a couple of head space guages that run about $18 each. Some guys say they can change the barrel on their Savage in five minutes on a pick-up tailgate. I just want to do it once so a smith is probably the way to go, whether ream or swap. Just thought I'd see if anyone with experience is in my neck of the woods. Legality is the bigger issue, natch.

Kind of funny that the gun registration lady didnt know the barrels are a changeable part that screws in. It figures. Kind of like the Kelowna newspaper story that wrote of a 30-06 Mannlicher shotgun.

The Savage bolt action rifle barrels apparently assemble different than most other bolt action barrels that just screw in.

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Kind of funny that the gun registration lady didnt know the barrels are a changeable part that screws in. It figures. Kind of like the Kelowna newspaper story that wrote of a 30-06 Mannlicher shotgun.

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What should one expect from a government office located on the east coast? I'm even surprised you even got a human voice at the other end. It's a well known fact that most of the guns are at the western part of Canada, so of course the government would place it's office in Maramashee in New Brunswick. Makes sense of course to them.

If you can get a factory or pre-threaded barrel in the caliber of choice, all one generally needs is a barrel wrench to remove the barrel. You would likely need an action vise as well. As noted headspace gauges would be needed to install the new barrel.

A bit of a warning. I have seen 2 Mausers, a 98 and a 96 wrecked by not having the proper action wrench. The actions were twisted when the chaps tried to remove the barrel. I have seen one Remington 700 that the fellow said was tough to take the barrel off. It was damaged somewhat in the process, as it didn�t seem to be a smooth as before the operation.

Without getting into detail that might incriminate anyone, like me, I can tell you that in our experience many Remington 700 barrels will screw in and out without any alteration. Please, please check headspace if attempting this at home, etc. The sight holes didn�t generally line up, but we had one action that IIRC, we had 5 different factory takeoff barrels that headspaced perfectly. I�m quite certain that Miramichi would not approve of that activity any longer.

Most bolt action center-fire barrels simply screw in and are torqued down against the action or in the case of a Remington type action, the recoil lug. Different actions appear to have different torque specs and gunsmiths will sometimes have their own take on how much to torque a particular action down.

The Savage is somewhat unique in that it utilizes a jam-nut on the barrel to torque it down instead of torquing the barrel itself against the recoil lug.

I�ve found that a lot, OK all, the Savage 110�s that have come across my path have shot very well. I believe that the jam-nut is part of the secret, but then again, I�m frequently dead wrong!

Sorry about being long winded. PM me if you can�t find the smiths in the book, I think they are still both in business. Good luck on the project, which IMO sounds like fun!
Dwayne

I wonder how they deal with takedowns that have more than one barrel in Miramichi?

Kute,
An trouble getting a drilling registered. I have a buddy with a Savage 24 in 22lr/20 gauge. I wonder if this confused them?

I wouldn't tell them Aholes nothing. I only registered the one I hunt with. So have about a dozen other fellas I know. We just don't see the sense to it. When the question was posed to an RCMP upper management on how many 7-11s had been robbed in the last 10 years with a long gun. He didn't seem to find any data at all and was at a loss for an answer. Also murder rates haven't gun down, and actually are on the increase but people use automobiles, hammers, axes, knives and even poisons to achieve the same ends. At this time in Canada their are far more murder by vehicle and knives than any gun deaths

Did you see the report on the random stabbings by four black men in Calgary. Register knives next?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070711.wstab0711/BNStory/National/home

Spate of stabbings leaves one dead in Calgary
Canadian Press

July 11, 2007 at 6:35 PM EDT

CALGARY � Calgary police believe five early-morning stabbings that left one person dead and four others wounded are connected.

A woman died from injuries she sustained in an attack shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday in the southern Alberta city that is in the middle of its annual Calgary Stampede and filled with visitors.

Within the next hour, police responded to four other calls and found three men and one other woman suffering from non-critical stab wounds.

Police said the victims didn't know each other and the stabbings appeared to be random, although officers also said they believe the attacks were all done by the same group of men.

A citywide search has been launched for three or four black males between the ages of 20 and 30, who are believed to be driving a newer-model light-coloured sedan.

The female victim is Calgary's 15th homicide of the year.

No actually I didn't read that because I'm over in Africa now, but it doesn't surprise me at all. Sounds like pimps and hoes to me.

TC Contender barrels used to give them fits as well. Shotguns with different barrels too. The whole registration monkey dance is not new to those of us who�ve owned restricted class in Canada. I�ve learned to smile, nod and be polite but firm when I know I�m right.

Unfortunately, I�ve had a bit of experience over time trying to explain the vagaries of specific firearms to a few government types. I recall one long evening trying to teach an RCMP officer the legal way to measure a short shotgun barrel. Not my own either, I was just a bystander and felt the officer was going to cost this miner his bear gun if I didn�t step in��
You�d think I�d learn, but that night ended with the miner retaining his �bear medicine�. Didn�t even get the miner�s name.

My buddy says it�s my Saskatchewan roots that cause this abhorrent behavior! Charging one windmill at a time!
Dwayne

Okanagan,

I tempted to do the same with a Sako M75 Greyolf in 30-06 and gettting it rechambered to 338-06. I will get Corlane's Sports/ocky Mountain Rifles in Dawson Creek,BC to do my work.

Great topic.

Since the receiver is what forms the firearm you probably are not breaking any law if you do not advise them of a barrel change. In spite of this there is probably someone down there who would argue the point with you.

I agree with 10ntario. I think you're creating a problem that doesn't exist. You register the action not the barrel. None of my registrations say anything about calibre, all they say is barrel length over 470 mm. By the way I'm getting a 338-06 done too. Hope it's ready by the end of August.

The following is JMO. Please note, I am not here to contend with anyone.
I am no longer involved directly with any Fed. Gov�nt. programs regarding firearms, but at one time, I did teach the Federal Firearm course.
I try to be a serious student of all things involving firearms in Canada, no more than that.
The gray area develops thusly.
If you check on a registration from a firearm registered in the initial run in 2000, they did in fact require specs for caliber, barrel length and magazine capacity. At that point in time, the non-restricted registration was for all intents and purposes, identical to the restricted-prohibited registration.
Some time shortly after, IIRC, they sent us some plastic registration cards with magnetic strips for the restricted-prohibited class as well.
Then, and I am not sure about specific time line here, the Feds. dropped the requirement to list caliber, barrel length and magazine capacity.
So, I believe, and again, this is only my take on the situation, it likely depends on whether you are obtaining a new firearm or one that was previously registered. In all likelihood then, when and how it was originally registered will make different data pop up on the screen at Miramichi.
Honestly, I gain no pleasure whatsoever telling anyone who will listen, �I told you so� when it comes to this registration mess!
I hope I helped and did not confuse.
FWIW, I've found .33 calibers are fine, so do proceed and keep us informed.
Dwayne

why worry about it?, like BC30cal says,...the caliber is not on the registration cert....and neither is the owner's license number...I've lost count of how many rifles I've rebarreled since I started twisting up my own three years ago....never re-registered one of them...most don't have the caliber stamped on the barrel either...they can sort it out at my estate sale....maybe I'll stamp my 300 Win as a 350 Rem Mag and will it to my stupid brother in law....

When you register online their is a field where you must state caliber though.
The last two rifles i sold i was asked what the caliber was. A Parker Hale in .30-06 and a Marlin in Triple 4. It may not be on the cert. but there is a field on their computer screen stating the caliber.

When you fellas upgraded from Possesion only to non-restricted did your card come with a new number? Is it the same number on it?