Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Remington 700 barrel swap

I am thinking of swapping barrels on my M700. It is currently a 22-250 with the factory Remington sporter barrel. I have a new take off Remington factory barrel in 243 with the same contour I would like to use. How much work is this going to take? Any help would be appreciated.

It will screw on and will probable headspace within spec but it is unlikely to index. GD

Thanks, indexing is not a big deal.

Most barrels turn right on with no HS issues

I’ve done a few and had no issues with head space.

Same here.

I screwed a 700 .260 take-off unto a 725 SA. Lapped the bolt and done - for a very tight fit. The stamping is upside down, but who cares?

They pretty much always headspace. Most of them have plenty of thread locker and heat is helpful.

Best method I have found for factory barrels, which are more or less glued in with the thread locker, is to not use anything in your clamping setup that will melt when you hit the barrel/action with heat. Rosin always seems to melt and turn into a lubricant by the time the thread locker gets soft.

Basically get a barrel vice with metal inserts (not midway) some very very thin lead sheet (not the stuff midway sells, it's too thick), lay the barrel in the clamps with the lead for maximum surface contact, clean all surfaces including the lead sheet with acetone. Take your time getting the barrel position just right and cutting the lead sheet so you get max surface area. Remington barrels have very short shanks so pretty much the whole barrel is tapered which makes it harder. Then clamp the absolute Sh*ite out of it.

Wrap the action in one wrap of paper sheetrock tape, position the lug cutout in your action wrench so it is bearing directly against the recoil lug (on the correct side), and heat the whole thing up with some patience. The tape will probably char/burn where it is exposed, but not where it is clamped. Not sure what the temp is when the thread locker lets loose, but it's too hot to touch, but not enough to burn the paper where it is clamped.

Lean on it or whack with a hammer to break it loose or sometimes it helps to tighten it very slightly first, then loosen it. Then usually they just come off.

The things that don't work are wood shims (like the midway barrel vice) and also rosin doesn't seem to play well with the heat you generally need to melt the thread locker.

Lots of other folks on here have done this more than me, but that's what works for me.

There is a decent chance that your investment in tools might be much less than what a gunsmith will charge.

Lean on it or whack with a hammer to break it loose or sometimes it helps to tighten it very slightly first, then loosen it. Then usually they just come off.

THIS.

I've never had to use heat. Not to say it may not be needed or just advantageous.