savageyote94
New member
I have a ruger m77 mark 2 223, I would like to rebarrel it to 220 swift. What's the normal gunsmith bill to rebarrel the action?
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Rebarreling ruger m77
- Thread starter savageyote94
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Rustydust
Active member
It would be a bit more than just a simple rebarrel job. A .220 Swift has a rim size of .473" while the .223 has a .378" rim. I am not sure if someone can modify your bolt head to work all that cheaply for you or if you would need an entire bolt.
Even though I am a big fan of the .220 Swift have since I bought my first one 40 years ago perhaps you might be better off with something like the .223 AI. Not quite the screamer (or as cool) as a Swift it is a bit more practical. Should work in your standard magazine as well.
Even though I am a big fan of the .220 Swift have since I bought my first one 40 years ago perhaps you might be better off with something like the .223 AI. Not quite the screamer (or as cool) as a Swift it is a bit more practical. Should work in your standard magazine as well.
yotekiller47
Member
savageyote94, I believe you will have to buy another bolt to go with the rebarrel. The .220 has a bigger case head than the .223. That will make the price go up plus the box magazine will not be long enough. You would be better off buying a donor action and building a Swift or buying a complete rifle.
Rusty beat me to it.
Rusty beat me to it.
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savageyote94
New member
Do either of you have experience with the 223AI? My barrel is a 1-12 twist, or would I have to completely rebarrel?
crapshoot
Well-known member
Originally Posted By: savageyote94Do either of you have experience with the 223AI? My barrel is a 1-12 twist, or would I have to completely rebarrel?
You already purchased a barrel or you are wanting to re-chamber your factory barrel?
I'm getting ready to rebarrel my dads m77 with a Christiansen arms carbon barrel. The barrel is $600. Barrel with install is $1125.
You already purchased a barrel or you are wanting to re-chamber your factory barrel?
I'm getting ready to rebarrel my dads m77 with a Christiansen arms carbon barrel. The barrel is $600. Barrel with install is $1125.
savageyote94
New member
I would have liked to completely rebarrel to 220 swift, but if I were to go 223AI instead, would I have to replace the new barrel or could I punch my factory barrel to 223ai? It's got about a 200 round count.
Rustydust
Active member
Originally Posted By: savageyote94 I would have liked to completely rebarrel to 220 swift, but if I were to go 223AI instead, would I have to replace the new barrel or could I punch my factory barrel to 223ai? It's got about a 200 round count.
Sounds to me like you lucked out! If you only have 200 rounds down your factory tube then you for sure a simple rechamber job is all you need. See that gun I am holding in my Avatar? The barrel started life as a standard .223 that I had cut to a .223 AI by my local gunsmith. I can launch a 50 grain bullet over 3700 fps with it and a 40 grain over 4000 fps with it. Cool, eh? And once brass is fireformed it likely will never need trimming again either. Just keep shooting it until you split necks or primer pockets get loose.
I believe you have your answer. You will save a lot of money this way too. Made me a Big Fan after I did mine I can tell you that.
No, it will not quite have the steam of a .220 Swift but you can get pretty close and use about 10 grains less powder doing it.
So it is cheap to do, cheap to shoot, easy to find (and cheaper!) brass, accurate and long lasting. I do not see any negatives here.
Sounds to me like you lucked out! If you only have 200 rounds down your factory tube then you for sure a simple rechamber job is all you need. See that gun I am holding in my Avatar? The barrel started life as a standard .223 that I had cut to a .223 AI by my local gunsmith. I can launch a 50 grain bullet over 3700 fps with it and a 40 grain over 4000 fps with it. Cool, eh? And once brass is fireformed it likely will never need trimming again either. Just keep shooting it until you split necks or primer pockets get loose.
I believe you have your answer. You will save a lot of money this way too. Made me a Big Fan after I did mine I can tell you that.
No, it will not quite have the steam of a .220 Swift but you can get pretty close and use about 10 grains less powder doing it.
So it is cheap to do, cheap to shoot, easy to find (and cheaper!) brass, accurate and long lasting. I do not see any negatives here.
savageyote94
New member
Rusty Does it effect accuracy in any way?
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Rustydust
Active member
No. Not that I could tell. But for sure it does not make it inaccurate. I have taken thousands of ground squirrels and prairie dog with mine including my longest kills ever.
A fellow by the name of Steve Timm got me interested in the .223 AI about 10 years ago. He used to post here all the time. If you Google "Steve Timm .223 AI" you can find lots more great stuff.
A fellow by the name of Steve Timm got me interested in the .223 AI about 10 years ago. He used to post here all the time. If you Google "Steve Timm .223 AI" you can find lots more great stuff.
Varminterror
New member
Cheapest and easiest is to be satisfied with a 223AI. Simple reamer job, any gunsmith can do it, typically cost about $100-150 for this work.
Rebarreling and converting from 223 to 220S wouldn't need a new bolt, but would need the bolt face opened up. Not difficult or costly, but does carry extra expense over a standard rebarrel. Not sure, but I believe you need a new follower, if not new mag box as well.
Rebarreling shouldn't cost you $1000-1200, that's crazy high. Crapshoot's cost must include a pretty extensive action blue printing as well. Typically, you should be able to get into a barrel for $350 (Crapshoot's using a high dollar carbon wrapped barrel), get it spun on and finish chambered for about $150 with no blueprinting - that should have you all in between $500-600. Again, you'll have additional cost for swapping the mag box and follower, as well as the extra cost for opening the bolt face - but the whole shebang shouldn't cost you anywhere near $1,000 unless you're having them blue print the action along the way (which isn't a bad idea). I'd venture opening the bolt face, replacing the mag box and follower (about $50 in parts), installing and finish chambering a $350 barrel should get you somewhere around $750 with no other blueprinting done.
I've rebarreled Ruger's myself, even buying the tooling I wasn't $1100 into the first one.
Rebarreling and converting from 223 to 220S wouldn't need a new bolt, but would need the bolt face opened up. Not difficult or costly, but does carry extra expense over a standard rebarrel. Not sure, but I believe you need a new follower, if not new mag box as well.
Rebarreling shouldn't cost you $1000-1200, that's crazy high. Crapshoot's cost must include a pretty extensive action blue printing as well. Typically, you should be able to get into a barrel for $350 (Crapshoot's using a high dollar carbon wrapped barrel), get it spun on and finish chambered for about $150 with no blueprinting - that should have you all in between $500-600. Again, you'll have additional cost for swapping the mag box and follower, as well as the extra cost for opening the bolt face - but the whole shebang shouldn't cost you anywhere near $1,000 unless you're having them blue print the action along the way (which isn't a bad idea). I'd venture opening the bolt face, replacing the mag box and follower (about $50 in parts), installing and finish chambering a $350 barrel should get you somewhere around $750 with no other blueprinting done.
I've rebarreled Ruger's myself, even buying the tooling I wasn't $1100 into the first one.
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savageyote94
New member
I believe I'll find a donor action to build the 220
Ridgeline17
New member
Unless your wanting to stay Ruger, I would suggest a Savage or Remage with X caliber barrel and go from there. Me personally, that 223 AI is not a bad idea.
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savageyote94
New member
I like the ruger action quite a bit, for some reason I've always favored them over the others. I've gotten an eye for a remington vssf though so if I can't pick one of those up I may replicate one with a custom build