Is it possible?

coyoteman23

coyoteman23

New member
Hello everyone. I have a Remington 700 ADL .243 sitting in my gun safe that I need to do something with. I want to change the caliber to something a little more suitable for varmints. Now I already have a T/C Encore in .223 and I am about to buy a barrel for deer hunting. Something like a .270 or something so I don't need a .243 anymore. What all calibers can I make the Remington into without changing the bolt. I just want to change the barrel and stock and trigger. Thanks
 
In factory catrtridges you can rebarrel it into either .308 Win., 260 Rem., 7mm-.308, 22-250, 220 Swift, 250 Savage, .257 Roberts, .358 Win., .300 Savage, or .284 Win, just to name a few.

In wildcat rounds you have many, many more choices like, 22 Cheeta, 22-250AI, 22-243, 6mm-284, 25-284, 6.5-284, 30-284, .338-284, 22 BR, 6mm BR, 250 Savage AI, .257 Roberts AI, 25-308, or 243 Win. AI just to name a few.
 
1shotshooter thanks for the reply. I didn't realize there were so many. I guess I should have done a search on the net before I asked. I don't reload right now so my choices would probably be in the factory range. I am leaning towards the 22-250 or the 220 swift. Is all I would have to do is change the barrel? Nothing else? Thanks again.
 
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Thanks brokenaero, I am not much of a gunsmith so I appreciate any ideas. This might be a stupid question but the .220 swift is a short action right?
 
Basically any round for a short action, with a .473" rim diameter would work.

For a 22-250 all you would have to do is re-barrel.

The .220 Swift is a little trickier. The .220 Swift loaded case AOL is 2.860" versus the .243 WIn you have now at 2.710". That's .150" longer than the current .243 Win round you have. Thats factory specs.

The 220 Swift will work in a short action, but may have to be used as a single shot, as they may be just a tad too long to fit inot the magazine. You may need to measure your internal magazine length to see if they will fit into the magazine well or not. A buddy of mine rebarreled his M700 BDL 6mm Rem. into a .220 Swift with a 26" med-heavy Hart SS barrel. He shots it single shot, because he seats his bullets out as far as he can, which makes them too long to fit into the magazine.
 
Hey everyone thanks for the info. After looking at some ballistic's I think i will go with the .22-250 instead of the .220. I found a factory take off barrel on ebay for pretty cheap. Would I be better off buying an after market barrel or would a factory barrel work. I think the barrel on ebay is off an VSSF 11. Thanks again
 
Coyoteman, the ideal varmint choice on that action and bolt configuration would be a 22-250. If you reload, may as well go ahead and open it up to a 22-250 AI. It will then run with the swifts on velocity, without the case stretch associated with the swift.

1shot, welcome to the site, good information you have passed on.
 
Problem with take off barrels is always the nagging question "why was it taken off" Swifts can be a barrel burner if loaded to maximum.

for the cost your going to have in rebarreling I'd sure think about getting a new premium barrel. You'd be money ahead in the future.

Aftermarket barrels will usually give you better accuracy given competent installation.

As far as changeing from the 243 family of cartridges to the 223 family of cartridges If your going to rebarrel than also means a gunsmith is going to headspace the new barrel. New bolts with the correct face for the 223 family of cartridges are not that expensive and the smith can headspace for any cartridge you desire.

I've shot a 243 for years and another thing you might consider is go to a lighter bullet. I've been shooting the 55 grain Noslers at 3950 or so fps and they are deadly on coyotes, but not fur friendly.
 
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RajnCajn and IDBob thanks for the replies. Lots of good info in there. I am not sure which way to go. It took me 8 months to decide which new rifle to buy, so I decided on the T/C Encore .223. Now I am back to trying to decide what to do. I know one thing for sure. This build is going to be for P-dogs mainly. I already have a good calling rifle, so now I want a good heavy rifle to p-dogs. That is why I wanted to change from the .243 to sometime a lil smaller. 243 is a little much for p-dogs and I dont want to the recoil of a .243. RajnCajn, will you explain to me the difference between the 22-250 and the 22-250AI. I dont know much about the Ackleys. Thanks
 
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All in all, the 22-250 would hard to beat in a factory round. What IDBob said about factory take off barrels is correct, in that you may be buying someone elses problem. Even if it were new unfired it would have to be headspaced by a gunsmith. It may be pretty cheap but I personally would be leary and would opted for a quality after market barrel. I truely think that if you went with a quality aftermarket barrel you would be totally satisfied. It may cost more initially but in the long run, I think you would have a rifle that would live up to your expectations, accuracy and longivity wise.
 
thanks 1shotshooter, hey I had a list of barrel makers saved on my computer but I can seem to find it. Can anyone give me some names. What does everyone think of Pac-Nor barrels. That's who I was going to go with on a another gun a while back. Thanks again
 
The AI si strictly a reloading option. AI stands for Ackley Improved. P.O.Ackley (I know there is debate on this) Standardized the practice. Thus it was named after him. In simple terms, you take a loaded 22-250 cartridge, fire it in an Ackley chamber and it blows the shoulder and case walls out. This will allow more powder to fit in the case and with less taper, it is easier on the brass. Once the cases have been formed, the velocities are consistant with the Swift.
 
Some of the names that come to mind right off, in on particular order, are: Hart, Lilja, Shilen, Krieger, Pac-Nor, Schnieder, H-S Precision, Douglas, and McGowen. I have used most of the ones I listed here in the shop over the years. I haven't had the opportunity to use Pac-Nor yet, but I have heard nothing but great things about thier barrels. I have a .257 Wea Mag, that the life is gone out of the factory barrel. It just might be the opportunity to get some first hand experience with Pac-Nor barrels.
 
Check midway usa , they used to offer threaded and short chambered barrels for the 700 remington in a number of calibers, then it is a matter of finishing the chamber as you headspace, Something you can do yourself with a hand reamer thru the action and a go gauge.. Is not ideal but is an option, Depends on you comfort level with the operation.It could also be headspaced by using different thickness of recoil lugs. Keep in mind a used take off barrel will most likely require the headspacing operation although ocassionally one will work without changing any dimensions.
 
Hey thanks everyone for all the information. This helps me alot. I am pretty sure I am going to rechamber my 700 in 22-250 but I am still not sure which barrel to use. But thanks again and I am sure I will be asking alot more questions down the road. Coyoteman23
 
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The AI si strictly a reloading option. AI stands for Ackley Improved. P.O.Ackley (I know there is debate on this) Standardized the practice. Thus it was named after him. In simple terms, you take a loaded 22-250 cartridge, fire it in an Ackley chamber and it blows the shoulder and case walls out. This will allow more powder to fit in the case and with less taper, it is easier on the brass. Once the cases have been formed, the velocities are consistant with the Swift.



Very true, but I thought I'd throw in the fact that converting to an AI in a repeating rifle can be problematic sometimes. Taking all the taper out of the case and sharpening the shoulder can lead to feeding problems.

Just thought I'd add that to the OP's "worries" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 


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