Remington 673 - Rebarrel

famous wolf

I plan to purchase a new Rem 673 chambered in 6.5 Rem Mag. However, I also plan to immediately put a new, longer barrel on it - probably 25 or 26" - for 2 reasons: (1) I don't like the ventilated rib on the 673 and (2) I want to get as much out of the cartridge as possible (w/in reason). How much does something like this cost and are there issues that need to be dealt with that I am not aware of? I have access to a really good gunsmith. Thanks!

tsr1965

It should cost about $150.00 plus the price of the barrel. Some barrel makers will install the barrel also, but that requires sending the gun. I would suggest a 26-28 inch barrel if you are staying with the same chambering. I would also have a longer magazine well installed and the chamber throated for a little longer OAL so you can seat the bullet out further as not to intrude on the powder space. I am sure nononsense will be along shortly to help you out further.

Best

hadjii

I'm not sure the longer magazine will help much because the 673 uses the model 7 action, which is a short action. I'm also not sure you will get your money's worth with a longer barrel unless you have a longer action. I could be wrong. If you're going to replace the barrel, You would be better off doing what I am going to do when I get back from my upcoming deployment. Buy a used 700 in long action, perhaps a used 7mm Mag, 300 Mag. That way the proper bolt is already there as well as the rails won't need modifying. All you'd have to do is replace the barrel. If you do that, you might as well have the gunsmith do a proper bedding job as well, and don't forget the trigger. That way, you should get about as much out of the gun as possible. One more thing I would consider doing. I would have a thicker recoil lug installed. It may not be necessary, but they don't cost much at all, and the recoil lug has to be taken off anyway, and on top of that, it sure isn't going to hurt any. Best of luck on whatever you decide.

famous wolf

How much does it cost to put in a longer magazine and lengthen the throat?

The idea of going with long action seems to defeat the purpose of using this cartridge to begin with. I much prefer to stick with a short action.

hadjii

famous wolf, if you want to stay with the short action, I wouldn't worry with the magazine length, unless you want to use the really long bullets like the Berger VLD's, the Hornady 129 gr. SST's, or the A-Max's. The Nosler 140 gr. Partitions I load have a flat base as well as the Speer Hot-Cor 140's, so they aren't quite as long. They are way more than adequate, and the added performance you would get probably wouldn't be worth the expense. You would do as well to just replace the barrel with a 24 or a 26 inch. If you hunt wooded areas more than open areas, you wouldn't even need to do that. If you shoot paper at extended ranges then the added length would benefit you. As I said earlier, if you're going to go to the expense of replacing the barrel, you should also properly bed the action, float the barrel and either replace the trigger or get the factory trigger worked on. You would be surprised at the difference that makes. Best of Luck

famous wolf

hadjii,
Thanks for the information.

Any suggestions on barrels and what I should expect to pay for a good barrel?

nononsense

famous wolf,

This is a list of barrel makers:

Rifle Barrel Makers

Shilen Barrels
Hart Rifle Barrels
Lilja Barrels
Classic Barrels and Gun Works
Pac-Nor Barrels
Krieger Barrels
Lothar Walther Barrels
Broughton
Satern
Bartlein
Spencer Rifle Barrels
Broughton Rifle Barrels
Douglas Barrels
Bullberry Barrel Works
Blackstar Barrels
Schneider Barrels
Wiseman Barrels
Lawton Rifle Barrels
Benchmark Barrels
Gaillard Barrels
E.R. Shaw Barrels
Butler Creek Barrels
Volquartzen Barrels
Badger Barrels
Border Barrels
Montana Rifleman Barrels
VanHorn Barrels
Green Mountain Barrels

All of these folks have websites except for Gary Schneider. There is some variation in the pricing of barrels with the cut rifled barrels being just a tad more expensive. Blanks are cheaper than buying a contoured and finished barrel but you have to finish them yourself or pay someone to do it for you. Read through some of the websites and look at the variations, it'll all make sense after you've studied it for while.

The small custom shops all have longer waiting times and the larger factory shops with great reputations will have waiting time also. Factory shops like Shilen will sometimes have certain barrels in stock. There are also retailers that carry a selection of barrels like Brownells and Midway. Lester Bruno in Phoenix carries a good selection of barrels for sale.

On average a best quality barrel will cost about $300.00 and still need to be threaded, chambered, crowned and headspaced. There are some pre-fit barrels available from Pac-Nor and Lothar Walther, USA. These need to have the headspace adjusted. Pick a 25" or 26" and start working up loads.

Enjoy the process!

Best.