Rebarreling a Mo.16 questions.

[Huntz]

Hi,I have a Mo .16 in 308 that I would like to rebarrel to 260 Rem.I have never done this before.I am guessing i need a barrel  nut wrench   and a action wrench or vice and go,no go gauges .Any thing else????Where is the best place to buy this stuff????Is it very difficult to do???Any help is appreciated.Thanks ahead,Huntz

[kmbrown]

It's not real hard to do but unless you plan on swapping barrels back and forth or doing several guns, it will be cheaper to have a gunsmith do it for you.  I rebarrelled a 111 in 30-06 to 338-06.  A local gunsmith did it for me for $75.  To buy all the tools to do it myself would have cost twice that.  Just a thought.

[Huntz]

Thanks for the advice.

[Slowpoke Slim]

I disagree.

Once you do one barrel swap, you'll do more. It's very easy to do. Buy the tools and do it yourself. Then you won't be dependent on a smith for a 15 minute job. I have done about a half dozen or so now, and it takes me longer to round up all the tools and get set up, than it does to actually do the swap.

Go for it, you'll enjoy doing it, especially if you like to "tinker" with stuff.

I bought the action wrench and barrel nut wrench at Midway. You'll also need a "go" gauge, but you don't need a "no go" gauge. Those are a waste of money.

If you get the tools to do it, I can walk you through it step by step, with pictures, or you can go to the savageshooters forum and read all about it yourself.

One of the best advantages to the barrel nut/floating bolt head design is the ability to swap and headspace barrels yourself, and you're missing out on that benefit.

[Huntz]

Thanks Slim,I was kind of figuring on doing that.I appreciate your offer on walking me through doing it and probably will take you up on it.Now I gotta check the piggy bank for available funds!!!!

[chutesnreloads]

I was able to skip the action wrench useing a nylon rope with a prusic knot and a 2x4.Got everything else for the job from Midway.You can probably make the barrel vise yourself too if you're inclined.There's directions for doing the job without useing a vise on savageshooters.com.I may try that on my next swap.

[FW Conch]

  I agree with "Slim" !  And I'm glad to hear him say we don't need the "no go" gauge.  Why do I want to know what it's NOT supposed to

  be ?  I have also set the headspace with a sized or a fireformed case but I don't recommend this until you get some experience useing the

  "go gauge".


  I make my own barrel & action vise using solid oak wood in a bench vise.  The hardest part in the process can be getting the nut off the

  first time.  The last one I did seemed to have some sort of "thread lock" on the threads & I managed to get it loose by applying a small amount

  of heat with a torch.  Once the nut is removed the first time you basically have a "switch barrel" rifle.  I re-torque the nut to 40 ft/lbs & that

  seems to be plenty & it's no problem to remove the next time.

  It's not a difficult job & it's very rewarding.  I say go for it & enjoy !    Jim