Re Barrel a Remington 660?

Powerfisher

Powerfisher

New member
I have a 660 in a .243 and would like to rebarrel it with a longer barrel. What do you think? My thought process is to be able to keep a better group at longer distances. I have little experience with this rifle. I have 2 700s and am quite familiar with what they can do at extended ranges but not this particular rifle. It is new to me and have not found the right load yet. The bore is good. Its a moa shooter but I just cant seem to shrink the grouping. I havent gone out to 200yds + cuz...it shoots moa and I want better. So, stock/bed and bbl? "CAN" it shoot better as is? I have used IMR 4831, IMR 4395, Benchmark and Varget. My goal is to put a 85gr pill on the 10 ring @ 400 yds. I can do this with my 22-250 (55gr Nosler) and mostly 9s with my 30.06 (165gr Nosler). Can this be done with the 660? Any and all help would be nice. Thanks.

Tony
 
The beauty of the 660 is that it's an easy to point and quick shooting carbine. A perfect truck gun. Maybe you should bed it or pillar bed and skim bed the action before you change the barrel. You might even think about selling it and going with something else instead of changing a very popular classic. I'd love to have one in 6mm.
 
I have a 600 Mohawk in .308, Dad has one in 6mm

It is virtually the same gun as a 660.

My action is bedded and barrel floated. Everything else is stock. It puts 110gr. Vmax's into .5" or less at 100. I would be very surprised if it wouldn't do very well at longer distances. Your gun should do the same. Have you checked the crown on the muzzle? I've seen several of the shorter-barreled rifles with damage to crowns due to being hauled in truck cabs, etc
 
I would do some checking about the value of that gun before you decide to mod it too much. I have seen used ones in fair to good condition sell for $700-$1,000. A friend of mine bought one in the last 6-8 months in the same condition as mine for $1,300. Just be sure of what you have before you diminish it's collector value.

I have a 660 in 6.5mm Rem Mag that was given to me by my dad. I killed my first deer with that gun. They are just about perfect for carrying in thick woods/brush as they are from the factory. Mine is a great shooter and has the factory laminated stock. 6.5 Rem Mag is a great caliber, Remington just handicapped it way back when by not giving it a barrel that was long enough to deliver top performance. I have an Encore in the same caliber that I will never part with either.

If you want a shooter and don't want to spend a bunch, check out the Savage Axis/Edge/whatever they are calling it now. You could have a sub-moa gun for about the cost of a good rebarrel job on your 660.
 
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Shorter barrels are stiffer than long ones. What makes you think a longer barrel will produce a tighter group?

You haven't even shot the gun @ 200yds yet and you already want to get rid of the barrel?

Sounds to me like you have only begun load development with this rifle...........
 
You are correct. I have only used 4 different powders and one size bullet. I am under the impression that a longer bbl makes life easier for longer ranges. Isnt that why they make 26" hvy bull bbls? Otherwise, why arent ALL bbls 20" or 22"? If a handgun has a longer bbl on it, isnt it more accurate? I thought the same would apply to rifles as well. Anyhow, there is no way I am going to re-barrel it. After doing some research, I am going to keep it as is since this rifle is no longer made and is perfect for my 11 year old boy. After all, its a hunting rifle and not a paper puncher. By the way, why go out to 200yds when the best you can get is moa @ 100yds? I dont think its gonna shrink with an extra 100yds added to the distance.
 
A longer barrel, whether on a handgun or long gun is inherently more accurate at longer ranges due to the longer sight radius... If you are using optics, then the barrel length doesn't really affect it that much..

With any barrel length, you need to match your powder burn rate with the bullet weight and the barrel length...If all three factors are in balance, you will find your best accuracy...It takes a lot of experimentation if you really want optimal results.. but most people won't go to that trouble...
 
Spend some time researching loads and experimenting with your 660, it might surprise you. My 660 in 6.5mm RM shoots right at .5 moa with the hunting loads I use, so punching paper can be fun.
 
Try a different bullet. My 25-06 shot pretty good with the Sierra 90gr hpbt. Then I tried the Speer 87gr TNT and it shrank the groups. Used the same powder and primers.
Tarey
 


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