remington 700 action

[Franklin7x57]

my father-in-law left me a short action, I really don't know how or where to start. I'm thinking a 260, 7mm-08,but how do you know about the bolt face? Is it best to send the action to someone or is it something a local smith can do? How do replacement or drop-in stocks workout?
Thank for any direction.
Frank

[charles p]

I would think a local smith could square everything up, and seat the lugs.  Assuming your barrel is good, you might be presently surprised.  Trigger work on a Rem is not too difficult but let the smith do it if you have never done before. 

[Rangr44]

I would try-fit any of the .308 family of cartridges (.243, .260, .7mm-08, .338Fed, .358Win) case heads in the bolt face, to get your answer.

If that size is too big for the bolt face, the action/bolt is from a .223-class/length cartridge.
If too small, maybe one of the short magnums.

You can make your plans from there.

.

[Catfish]

I would ask around some of the shooters in your area about a good smith. What you want done is not dificult, but some smith just do a better job and some will take years to get a job done.

[Franklin7x57]

Thanks for the replies, one thing there is no barrel, just receiver, bolt and trigger.
Will that make a different as how I should be about it? It looks like the bolt face is from the 308 family
Frank

[Catfish]

The .473 bolt face is the most command and gives you the greatest choice in rounds without bolt work. The round you select would depend on what you are going to hunt and the range your shots will be. As for drop in stocks some really are and others take some work.

[Franklin7x57]

I'm thinking 260 because he had about 700 .264 bullets, I guess there have been stranger ways to pick a calibur I really would like 6.5 Swedish but not sure it would work. I only hunt whitetail.

[helmickarms]

The Remington 700 action is a great action to do your first custom build on. There are infinite choices when it comes to parts and accessories and I believe that you will have lots of fun with this project. Be warned though...once you go down this road it's hard to ever look at a off the shelf stock rifle the same way ever again.

If you have 700 .264 bullets the 260 Rem. sounds like a winner to me, and it has similar to slightly better ballistics than the 6.5x55. It sounds like now is all you need is a good barrel and a good smith to hang it for you.

As far as stocks go, all of our stocks at Helmick Arms are a finished drop-in. You will just have to give us the make and contour of the barrel you choose and a couple of quick measurements and we will do the rest.

Good luck on your project and let us know if we can help when the time comes.

[diggler1833]

Like stated above, check the boltface.  .4728 or .473 as it is referred to a lot is the most common and all the .308 family of cartridges will fit on it perfectly (along with a boatload of other cartridges, the .473 is about the most common for non-magnums).

What kind of .264 bullets do you have? 

I've got a custom .260Rem built off of a Remmy 700 short action, and love it.  Although I'm about to go through my 5th stock on the rifle as soon as my McMillan A4 comes in for it.  I've had other McMillans on it, a Manners, and a couple of H-S Precisions when the rifle was a .308.

The .260 is a great round, and will kill any whitetail out there with less recoil, flatter trajectory, and less wind drift (bullet depending) than a .308.  The 6.5mm/.264 projectiles that are heavy-for-caliber are quite a bit of fun to shoot.  Barrel life will be less than a .308, but better than most magnums.

Hit me up in PM land if you want to talk about it some. 

[usherj]

6.5x55 is out since it is a short action. My advice would be to take your time in choosing your gunsmith so you don't regret it later and be sure to get the action squared up. Also handle rifles with different stock options before you decide. Everyone has different preferences. If you can find a smith that can do the action/bbl work and bed a synthetic stock, the turnaround time will be shorter. The decent barrels are all around the same cost. Many smiths send more work to a given barrel maker and get get quicker delivery times from them. Good luck!

[Franklin7x57]

Thanks for the replies. It looks like this project is going to cost more and take more time than I have now. What is the average cost to get a decent barrel and action squared up. Just a ballpark figure just to see if I want to move forward.

[diggler1833]

$600-1K depending on the 'smith and components.  You can go with a cheaper barrel and get the minimum done for less than that though.  Most high-end (competition winning) tubes will run you about $300-350 shipped without fluting or anything else.   Some guys have had luck with less expensive stuff too though.

Some barrel manufacturers will screw a new tube of for you too.  Pac-Nor, Hart, Bartlein and Krieger come to mind quickly, and any one of those manufacturers has a few trophies behind thier work.  Cost runs pretty close to that of a custom smith doing the work.

[nilz]

you can have a 6.5X55 in a short 700, problem is you cant use the heaviest bullets or seat the bullets out to far
this would make it a .260Rem twin
second problem is that the X55 has a sligtly bigger boltface,

if i were you i would camber a nice barrel in .260 since you got the bullets and like that cartrige
get a smith to adjust and mayby smooth the trigger
then find a cheap takeoff stock that some tacticoolguy scraped, load/get lots of ammo and go shoot
getting a better/more expensive stock can bee done at a later stage

the most importent thing is to get it out shootin

[usherj]

Hart will square up action, lap-in lugs and install barrel for $650 (that includes bbl cost) last time I checked (9/10).
Bbl cost generally runs $350 or less, action square up around $150, and bbl installation (thread, chamber, crown, non-blue finish) $150-200.
So roughly $700. Addl options (non-std contours, fluting, etc) are extras. When you drop your action off, the smith will usually need deposit at least covering the bbl cost. Turnaround time can range from 4-6 or more months, so you can budget it that way (Two payments of roughly $350). Hope this helps

[gunnut69]

The last batch of 6.5 Swedish I checked (made in USA) had the standard case head...  The others will usually fit, depending on the individual rifle.. I have never had an issue with several 94-96 Swefes and a M70 featherweight.  The Swede would be a good choice if handloads are used and the round has a larger case than the 260 and will outperform it if all else is equal(pressure). It does limt factory loads some.. The 125 Partition is a very lethal and accurate bullet.. As to length remembr reminton chamber the 55mm (aka 244) in a short action and that was based on a 57 milimeter case..

[usherj]

6.5x55 case head should be .479. If based on .473 brass you will get a noticeable swell above case head. Sierra advises against this practice for this cal in their manual. If the rifle is to be used for LR target work you can get away with the 6.5x55 since you will be single loading anyway, but most would support using the 6.5-284 for that application. For hunting useage you will defeat the usefulness of the Old Swede by using it in a SA and be better off with the 260. And I am a dedicated fan of the 6.5 x 55. My Tikka T3 is my go to deer rifle in that cal and I use a 1902 CG for 600y target practice.

[Franklin7x57]

I think when I pull the trigger it will be in the 308 family for sure. If will just be easier. I didn't realize it would be that expensive, so it will have to wait for awhile.

[gunnut69]

I am amazed as the Swedes I am loading for have produced no swelled case heads and they are loaded pretty warm.. Perhaps not as warm as some of the Norma loadings but they do a fine job. The short action cutting into the velocity possible does not hold up. The Swede has more case capacity rhan the 260 and so even with some loss of capacity the swede will give better velocity than the 260 again when they are loaded to the same pressure levels.. Seating cast bullets deeply has a deletarious effect on accuracy but jacketed bullets are not affected. The remington short action will handle the swede just fine as will it the 260.

[usherj]

But it would simply reach its full potential with the magazine length of a long action, especially with the ability to seat the bullets close to the lands. As I said I'm a fan of the 6.5x55 because of the nostalgia, efficiency and effectiveness on game, but admittedly the 260 comes darn close in a shorter package. You can't argue with the physics and the inherent accuracy potential of that short, fat case of the 308.