I am going to have a 600 and 700 rebarrelled shortly, and was looking at prices. I have a local gunsmith who is very good, and very expensive. So, I was looking at sending them to Pac-Nor instead, as their prices seem pretty reasonable. I was wondering if anyone has had them chamber their rifles and what they thought of the job.

Their website also mentions that they "true" the action, which I suspect means they chase the threads and square the front ring- anyone know for certain?

These will be sporter-weight rifles, so benchrest accuracy is not needed, but I sure like little 1/2 groups with good loads.

Thanks,
Doug

They do an OK job - I've had them do quite a number. Their smith tends to make tight chmabers, like min SAAMI or sometimes even less. I had a 284 and a 257 returned to me, and neither would chamber factory ammo without significant pressure on the bolt. I had to have both "let out" a bit my local smith, and now they shoot (and feed/chamber) very well.

Since then, I simply include in my instructions to pac-nor that they leave headspacing closer to factory specs.

I am not sure they chase the threads - perhaps so, but they d square teh face of the receiver and lap th bolt lugs. However, I have gotten rifle back from them that had not had the lugs lapped very carefully...

Anyway, pac-nor had a recent price hike (about a year ago), and since then I have stopped using them. I was willing to put up with OK work for $400 barrel job, but that it is closer to $500, I'd think about sending my action to Hart or some other house.

Also, if you're just looking for hunting accuracy, give Shaw a try. I've used them qutie a bit and had better luck with them (gunsmithing wise) than pac-nor. Accuracy has been good (MOA) to excellent (sub MOA), and their barrels foul no worse than douglas or shilen CM barrels.

I have about 10 Pac Nor barrels and they are great for accuracy....

I have had local smiths do the chambering and mounting of the barrels tho.. cheaper than PacNor does....

However, one thing I wonder if other people do....

When I am going to have a rifle rebarreled or chambered in another round.... the first think I do I buy a die set for it.. and then load up some dummy bullets and make them to magazine length....

Then I send them to the outfit that will be chambering the rifle... and tell then to chamber it so that the enclosed rounds will fit it.....

So I have no problems when I get it back....
just a suggestion...

cheers
seafire

Seafire-
I do the same thing,too, and has always worked out well. Especially with ackley chambers and wildcats (though I seem to recall you might be anti-Ackley, and not have to worry about them.)

I guess part of my hesitation with having Pac-Nor do the work is that I am not sure how much time they will take to discuss throat length, minimum chamber, send reamer drawings, etc.

The whole idea of custom barrels for me is getting it set up exactly like I want it, and I usually have 1 or 2 bullets in mind when I rebarrel.

Doug

Doug;

I am not anti Ackley.. they just don't offer anything special in my world is all.....

I hear your concerns.....

Even tho you are in Alaska, may I make a suggestion....

Anyone can order a barrel from PacNor...Order what you want and then have it shipped to any gunsmith you want to finish the chambering and mounting....

I would like to suggest Kevin Wyatt here locally in Medford Oregon.. Kevin was a former Marine armorer.... I have had him do a lot of work for me and he does impeccable work...

He will give you what you want....

his website is http://www.wyattsoutdoor.com when I supply the barrel....he charges $175.00 for chambering and mounting the barrel... and that will include bluing if it is a chromemoly barrel...

another inside tip I can give you about PacNor barrels, from those that have worked there or know the owner personally.....The only difference in their match and super match barrel quality is the price...

a good stainless barrel is $190.00....

cheers
and good luck
seafire

quote:

I guess part of my hesitation with having Pac-Nor do the work is that I am not sure how much time they will take to discuss throat length, minimum chamber, send reamer drawings, etc.

Send them a handful of dummy rounds, and they will throat the chamber to those rounds for no extra charge. I've had this done on a number of occasions and it worked out just fine. Also, Penny will be happy to send you the reamer and/or chamber drawing of any reamer they have in stock.

quote:

The whole idea of custom barrels for me is getting it set up exactly like I want it, and I usually have 1 or 2 bullets in mind when I rebarrel.

Well, that is pac-nor's motto, at least that's what Penny always tells me...

quote:

However, one thing I wonder if other people do....

When I am going to have a rifle rebarreled or chambered in another round.... the first think I do I buy a die set for it.. and then load up some dummy bullets and make them to magazine length....

Then I send them to the outfit that will be chambering the rifle... and tell then to chamber it so that the enclosed rounds will fit it.....

This is a good insurance policy, but should be unnecessary if the smith is using a SAAMI or CIP spec reamer and is competant with headspace gauges. This is, after all, the raison d'etre for such specs and gauges for standardized rounds.

quote:

This is a good insurance policy, but should be unnecessary if the smith is using a SAAMI or CIP spec reamer and is competant with headspace gauges. This is, after all, the raison d'etre for such specs and gauges for standardized rounds.

9.3 :

I don't do this for the Smiths really.. it is for my own peace of mind.. If I doubt the gunsmith.. my rifle isn't going to be on his workbench anyway.....

just clarifying that statement....

I have actually had an idea, and bought a set of dies and loaded up a few dummy rounds.. just to see how they look...

I am sure this is just cosmetic or an old wives tale... but If the dummy round just doesn't float my boat, then I just sell the die and go onto another "come to me in the middle of the night" bright idea... normally I can recover within $5 to $10.00 of what I Paid for the die.. so I am not out much....

It is a lot cheaper that way.. than having something rebarreled and then being disappointed...

Like Visually I can see a purpose for a 25 WSSM or a 6.5 WSSM, and maybe even a 6mm WSSM... with the longer and heavier bullets.... but I looked at a 223 WSSM and I thought that was the stupidest looking thing around....maybe with a 75 or 80 grain Match bullet seated way out.. but beyond that.. I'll stick with a 22.250.....

In fact I just got back a 22.250 with a one in 8 twist barrel... on a Ruger Short action... but that 80 grain bullet on the dummy round I made up for the gunsmith that rechambered it for me ( it use to be a 223 barrel).... that 80 grain Nosler on a Remington Nickle 22.250 case, just LOOKS right and Cool in my book....It was a tack driver what it was a 223 barrel.. now we can see what it will do as a 22.250.....

cheers
seafire

Well I confess, I know what you mean about the "look" of a round. Further, I agree that the 223 WSSM is pretty goofy looking. The 25 WSSM looked good to me, so I gave it a try, but it didn't work out so well.

Speaking of 25s, did you get a 250-3000 put together? As I recall, I tried to talk you into one some years ago... in some sense, it is THE original short mag...

9.3 :

the 250 Savage thing, I decided to do one as a varmint round instead of a hunting round...I just hunt too much with the 6mm, 6.5mm and 7mm cartridges tooooo much....

My current kick is the switch barrel simplicity on Savages.....

I have a 12 BVSS, and a 116 that will get a varmint stock put on it...

The Savage 250 Barrel in a varmint contour shooting 75 grain V Maxes and 87 grain Vmaxes and 85 grain Ballistic Tips are all in the 116's near future....

But I also have a couple of short actions around here, that the barrels are not as accurate as they should be.... down the road one of them may find a 250 Savage barrel sitting on them....

The 250 and the 7/08 are two established cartridges that I have a high interest in... but don't own anything chambered for.....

Then their is that 1903 Springfield that I rescued from the junk heap that needs a new stock and a new barrel on it....

I just have to quit running a 'gospel rescue mission' for old unwanted rifles with bad barrels and bad stocks but good actions for a cheap price..... ....


seafire

Seafire,
I think you will like the 250 Savage.
I have not shot mine much [it need a new barrel], but I have shot 75 gr Vmaxs in the 257 Roberts Ackley allot.

The 257RAI and the 250S pair are like the 22-250 and the .223 pair, all the extra powder is like getting 50 yards closer.

I have one big thing against my 257RAI, it is so loud that the ear plugs and hearing protectors cannot keep the 10,000 psi muzzle pressure shock wave from comming through my cheeks and into my head.

i've had two guns rebarrelled by pac-nor both super match stainless a 7mm rem and a 6mm rem niether shot very well, sent them to nw armswerrks he blueprinted actions and they're both sub-moa guns, i love thier barrells but would have them installed elsewhere.

Check out Kevin Weaver His rifles and his work is very reasonable. He presently has two of my rifles that he is puting Pac-nor barrles on. I'm amazed at how accurate his rifles are. He builds his hunting rifles with benchrest precision. You won't regret doing bussiness with Kevin.
Dr B

WEAVER RIFLES
http://www.weaverrifles.com/
16850 SAGE CREEK ROAD
PEYTON, COLO. 80831
719-683-3024
kevin@weaverrifles.com

Am reviving an old post.

Dr B:

I just got a quote from Kevin last week.
He'll chamber and barrel your action to anything you want and with the barrel of your choice for $540.

Just thought I'd throw this out, as this is a subject that keeps coming up for us gunnuts.

George

quote:

He'll chamber and barrel your action to anything you want and with the barrel of your choice for $540.

Kevin Wyatt at Wyatt's Outdoor ( www.wyattsoutdoor.com) will chamber a rifle, with a Pac Nor out the door at $375.00.....that $170.00 difference can go a long way for the purchase of a great scope to go with it!

The last time I supplied the barrel, Kevin Wyatt Charged me $175.00 to chamber it, thread it, put a recessed crown on it, it was a tack driver as always.. the barrel was a Pac Nor that I got cheap from a local contact of mine...was surplus and rusty on the outside, but was a stainless steel barrel...Kevin shined her up just fine.. the bore was excellent...

Chick Donnelly, the last guy alive who worked under Ackley, is a local gunsmith.. he also mounts, chambers, threads and blues a barrel for under $400.00.....he is under Siskiyou Gunworks...

Just passing this on...

cheers
seafire

George

I just looked on Kevin Weavers web page and copied his new Aptil 1 price for barrel work. Pac-Nor supr match SS barrel is $240. You can get a standard barrel for $180.

Fit and Chamber new barrel to your Bolt action - - $195.00

This price includes:

-Checking action for trueness and lapping the lugs, squaring receiver face and surface grinding the recoil lug (Remington/Savage action).

-Cutting your chamber with high quality piloted chamber reamer.

-Using GTR fluid flush chambering methods.

-Any type muzzle crown you choose

-Extractor cuts for Winchester pre-64 type actions

The above prices are without shiping, but I don't see them adding up to $540 for a barrel

You need to check your numbers I'm sure some other work was included.

Dr B