Rem 600 re-barrel - advice needed

R

rookie7

New member
Hello,

I have a Remington 600 in .243 with a 20" douglas barrel on it. It also has a Timney trigger. It came this way when my dad bought it over 20 years ago in a pawn shop.

Looking to get it re-barreled. Will use it mostly for deer and a coyote that may step out. Considered possibly going to a .260, but I have a lot of .243 brass and bullets. Plus, for Georgia whitetail the 85 grain Barnes TSX is instant death.

If I did stick with the .243 I am looking at getting it in a 1 in 8" twist so I can stabilize the Berger VLD bullets.

Don't want to spend a ton of money. $500 or less would be great, but I realize that isn't getting me far.

Hart barrels has a deal where you send them the action/barrel and they will re-barrel, true action, etc. for $700 plus shipping. Probably a total of $750.

I would like something between a magnum contour and the varmint contour 24" long to get more performance out of the 243, and reduce muzzle blast compared to the 20" barrel.

I have never had a rifle re-barreled. So, I am looking to the experience of others for the do's and dont's.

Thank you
 
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This is my 600/.223 rebarrelled to 6x45 by Pac Nor about 10 yrs ago and was $500 then. They did a nice job, consistently accurate.

To save some money you might want to look into a RemAge (Rem thread with Savage style barrel nut) barrel and do the rebarrel yourself.

ER Shaw will rebarrel with the cal. of your choice in your price range. I have a couple of Savage barrels that are good shooters from them.

 
Northland shooters supply will sell you a Criterion ( made by Krieger) Remage barrel for around $300. I think the nut is about $45. Those Criterion barrels have an excellent reputation, & if you're any good at all with mechanical stuff you can re-barrel yourself. I have spent money in the past on action truing, I'm not convinced I gained any accuracy from it. I did not have the last couple I did trued, just re-barreled them myself, & they shoot just as good as the one I spent big bucks on.

Oh yeah, one other thought, with a Remage setup, you could have multiple barrels ( multiple calibers ) as long as the bolt face dia. Is the same. Plus if you don't have the action trued, your .243 barrel will screw right back on....
Hope this helps RB9
 
I appreciate the replies, and I probably should have given a little more reason for wanting the new barrel. I might have been rushed with my op.

My belief: a 24" tube compared to a 20" tube in a .243, .260, 6.5 creedmoor will have less muzzle blast/noise, more velocity/better performance, and should handle a little better for off-hand shots i.e. stabilize - especially if I go with a profile somewhere between a sporter weight and a varmint barrel like a rem 700 sps tac or 700 sps varmint.

Besides what is already mentioned what barrel makers should I consider? Stainless or chrome moly? The action is blued on the Remington 600 I am using.

Would a varmint barrel like the 700 sps varmint but fluted be an ideal weight vs stability approach?

I am also throwing around the idea of not getting it in .243 but a 6.5 or the 7mm/08. I have another .243 if I really wanted to use one just for hunting. I have a Browning BLR in .243 that I have had for many years.

Sorry for rambling. It's like brainstorming out loud!
 
Rookie7,
You are right , a longer barrel will give higher velocity and a little less muzzle blast. Whether it's enough to matter is mostly personal opinion. I kind of like shorter barrels, but I use a suppressor, so it ends up being a pretty long package anyway.
As for the barrel itself, I like stainless, there's some that think they last longer, but I can't confirm that. Most any top of the line makers barrels will be good, I have had good barrels from Brux, Hart, Pac-Nor, Bartlein, Shilen, & Benchmark. I've never owned a Kreiger or a Criterion, or a Broughton, or a Hawk Hill, but all these barrel makers have excellent reputations, I wouldn't think twice about using a barrel from anyone I've mentioned. Check out bugholes.com ( Southern Precision Rifles ) , he keeps a bunch of barrels in stock, ready to ship. If you order from the maker it usually takes 6 months or more to get your barrel. Bullets.com also stocks some barrels. Whoever has the caliber & contour I want usually gets my business, as long as it's a good maker, I'm happy.
I can't comment on a fluted barrel, I haven't tried one yet, but I probably will before too much longer.
Any of your listed calibers would be fine, just have to figure out which one tickles your fancy the best..... And I really think those Criterion prefit Remage barrels are probably the best bargain out there. If I didn't have access to a lathe myself, I'd probably have several of them. Oh one other thing, your Rem 600 has the same barrel threads as a Rem 700, so no issues there.
Again I hope this helps & good luck,
RB9
 
Given your calibers an alternative would be Black Hole. They recently started offering the switch barrel ala Savage set ups. I'll probably have Ritch do a set up for me as I just happen to have an extra action laying around. I did have a 700 varmint from a 700 on my 60). It was a 24" 22-250. On the original stock it was way to nose heavy.

Greg
 
A 24" barrel for the GA woods seems a bit long, at least to me. I guess it depends on where and how you hunt. Is the current barrel having issues? Shot out?

I have hunted GA and MS deer, a 243 seems like plenty of gun. The 260 would be nice, as would a 7mm-08. Much comes down to personal preference.
 
Originally Posted By: muskrat30 A 24" barrel for the GA woods seems a bit long, at least to me. I guess it depends on where and how you hunt. Is the current barrel having issues? Shot out?

I have hunted GA and MS deer, a 243 seems like plenty of gun. The 260 would be nice, as would a 7mm-08. Much comes down to personal preference.

In some places it may be, but from my experience - when sitting in a tree waiting on deer - 4" won't make a difference. Besides, I have short lever guns that are just the ticket for tight places.

Not sure if the current barrel is shot out or not. Maybe that's why the guy sold it to a pawn shop 20+ years ago. You are right, .243 will cleanly kill any deer walking North America. I have had three 7mm/08 rifles over the years. Wish I had one of them back - a m700 in the original mossy oak camo. The whole gun was dipped in the hydrographics finish from the factory. It was a tack driver, but I sold it.

Anyway, I'm going to stick with the .243 b/c I already load for it.

Now I guess I turn my search to which barrel, and do I go with a barrel nut or not.
 
RB9,

I appreciate the websites. I looked at bugholes.com.

All of this is just a "want to". I'm kinda scratching my head on this one. I haven't really hunted with a rifle very much (for deer) over the past 20 years. I got really serious into archery and bowhunting. I even quit shooting my guns for many years and did zero reloading. However, for some reason over the past 4 to 5 years my interest in shooting has come back. And while that has increased my desire to shoot archery has decreased. None of it makes sense to me, but... here I am about to drop $700 on a rifle to re-barrel it.

To quote a friend of mine, "it's only money."
 
The Remington 600 is a very cool rifle. It is an excellent rifle for use in a deer blind.
I have this Remington 600 in .243 and used it on a Doe this year. Dropped it in it's tracks.
Good luck with your project.
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