Rem 700 Barrel Swap

firebawlp

I just picked up a cheap 700 and I am thinking about changing it from 30-06 to .308. Could anyone gimme a general step-by-step or refence to a site that will help. THANKS in advance. Adam.

D@D

Wont work the 06 is a long action.

perry shooter

Hello It could work but you will need a insert in the magazine box "you can't put a long cartridge in a short action but you can put a short cartridge in a long action". But I must ask you WHY. the 30-06 is the same size bore will shoot the exact same bullet to swap barrels it will cost a fair amount of money and you will only be able to use scope sights or have added expense of intalling Iron sights a barrel off of one Remington 700 will most likely not line up with another 700 action and then you will either have to cut the barrel threads back and rechamber or have the sight holes and writing off register.You can load 30-06 to any 308 load but not the reverse.

Ray B

Since the 700 is of the enclosed boltface/spring ejector style, the longer action length will handle shorter cartridges. The main thing to keep in mind is when loading make sure they are lined up, not one way to the front on top of one way to the back, etc. The result of such is that the cartridge may not feed correctly into the chamber. Other than you may have other 308s or a pile of brass, why would anyone want to change a 30-06 into a 308?

firebawlp

I do have other 308's, so it looks like I better just keep this the way it is. I only paid $300, so I figured if it was easy, I would try it since take off barrels are so cheap. Having a 30-06 still isn't bad, especially for the money. Thanks for the info. Adam.

TWalker

The easiest thing to do and the cheapest is to sell the 30-06 and then buy a .308.

Highball

The viable reason to chamber a 308 in the long action is that you can seat the 178-180 grain bullets long enough to reach the rifling..actually .005 to .010 thou off...most reamers cut the throat a god-awful long way from the bullet.

Allows using a slower powder...and a pretty respectable velocity out of the 308/heavy bullet.

Check the tables and you find that the heavy-for-caliber bullet often performs better at longer ranges.

JustC

if you are not trying to keep iron sights,..it is as simple as a barrel swap with a headspacing. Seat the 308's in the long mag where the boltface reliably grabs them each time, and it should be a go. There may be some sublties that need doing,..but a factory takeoff tube can be had for $25.[;)]

browser900

A good caliber to change to would be 25-06 or 270 Win. I exchanged my 30-06 barrell for a 25-06. I had a gunsmith remove the 30-06 barrel and I made a barrel vice and a tool to fit into the action so I can remove and replace barrels on my 700 Rem in about 10 min. I also exchanged my 308 barrel on my 700 short action to a 257 Roberts.