A short time back I bought a Remington 700 in 7mm magnum. It is a bit of a beater, and I find that I am not satisfied with its accuracy (about 2-2 1/2 inch groups at 100 yds, factory ammo). I'd like to rebarrel to the same caliber. I have also found an unfired take off barrelt to replace with, that I can get at reasonable price ($30). What can I expect to pay for this service? Is any gunsmith going to be capable of this procedure? There are a couple of smiths local to me, I just don't know what their works is like quality wise.

Thanks for any advice.

Coot

If you've got the replacement barrel (already chambered and all) the switch should be quite cheap. Around $100 or less.
I'd walk into the smith's shop, unannounced, and just chat him up. Ask to see some of his work and maybe a contact for a few folks that he's done work for. Tell him exactly what you've got and what you want. He should be able to give you a pretty exact price and time frame. I assume the barrel you're switching is the same brand as the rifle you're wanting it placed on.

Cooter,
Are you sure the barrel isn't just fouled real badly on that 7 mag? I would make sure it isn't loaded up with copper before I re-barreled and if I went to the trouble and expense of a re-barrel it certainly would not be with a take-off barrel. It only costs a little bit more to go first class. Jim

Lightning- Yes, I have cleaned the bore extensively. It is not copper build up. I don't have a bore scope to check, but I am not getting any blue with Sweets.
The take-off is a Remington of new manufacture, same length/contour as the original. I realize that a "name" barrel won't cost that much more than a take-off, but it does put the price up out of my reach.

Thanks,

Coot

How many different factory loads have you tried and in what bullet weights?Most guns prefer a certain bullet weight and powder and if you insist on using a certain bullet or powder you may never be happy with the accuracy.

Try some easier things before you assume that the barrel is any worse or better than the other one. Have you worked on the bedding, scope or loads?

Just shooting a factory load in a rifle that you just got and then changing the barrel is not the next thing to do.

While the barrels may both be good or bad we don't know yet! Maybe the bolt lugs are not contacting the same. Take it easy and conserve your money right now.

My Model 70 shot 2.5" groups at first; it improved when I started reloading and neck sizing. Once the cases fit better in the chamber it started shooting nicer groups, good enough to highlight the fact that it doesn't shoot well with a hot barrel.

Tom

Cooter, 7mags will burn out barrels. Don't doubt it. That new remington barrel may be a tack driver. Remington does make good barrels. Were I you, I'd take the chance.

Cooter, I too agree that this new barrel may be an excellent idea. But before you do that let me share something with you that I experienced during the last couple of weeks in my own 7mm.

I have an old Sako L61R Finnbear in 7mm Remington Magnum that I bought used in 1985. Since then I've put over 1,000 rounds through it (and who knows how many the original owner put through it in the 15-odd years he owned it before). Many years ago this Sako used to shoot all bullets from 120 through 175 grains with spectacular accuracy. Its favourite bullet was the 162-grain Hornady. Then the accuracy fell off. Now, I literally get shotgun patters with the 162-grain Hornady at 100 yards. I was convinced that the barrel was toast.

But I was wrong.

A few weeks ago I decided to try some 175-grain Spire Points I had sitting around. I loaded them over max charges of Reloder 22, IMR 7828 and IMR 4350. Just to be crazy I even tried them at 200 metres. Would you believe that both IMR powders put three shots into 3/4 inch at 200 metres? I only wish that I'd cleaned the barrel between groups because it took the first 2 shots out of a 5-shot group with the new powder to settle in to the new load.

Last weekend I tried it with H 4831 and the 175 Hornadys and had basically the same results, hovering around 1 inch at 200 metres, with the last three shots actually going into about 1/2 inch.

My gunsmith had a theory about why this worked out so well. Remember, that 7mm Mag can really burn the throat unevenly, especially after 1000+ rounds. If the bullet is stubby and has a short bearing surface (like a 139-grain boattail, for example) it's possible that the bearing surface portion will have left the mouth of the case entirely before it engages the rifling. The boattail, of course, is less than bullet diameter and is not supported in the case neck at all. If the bearing surface has left the case mouth but has not engaged the rifling, it will be "floating" without any support until it hits the rifling. This allows the bullet to "wobble" before it is slammed into the rifling.

When looking at that 175-grain Hornady, I can see that the long, cylindrical bearing surface on that bullet is like a piston. It's so long that by the time the front part engages the rifling, the rear part is still probably held snugly in the case mouth. So there's no possibility of it wobbling and entering the rifling off-center.

All the other 7mm bullets I had on hand had relatively short bearing surfaces in comparison. No wonder they don't shoot anymore!

So here's my recommendation: give the long, heavy bullets a try, and seat them out as far as you can. If it works, you can stick with those bullets or else have a gunsmith cut about 1 inch from the shank of your barrel, re-thread it and rechamber. That's what I plan to do with mine.

P-17 ,

I have some 175 gr. barnes X's that I'll give you a good deal on when after you've shot another 1000 rounds. 175 gr. X These bullets are loooooooong.!

Cooter,
If you haven't already you might try going at the bore with some JB and then go back to the Sweets. Its worked for me on a couple of occasions.
Jim

Cooter,
I wouldn't waste my time on a barrel that won't shoot..I want my barrels to shoot even when they are gunked up beyond description..thats a "good" rifle...

You may get lucky and your new barrel might just headspace right up, it happens...

I'd send it to Dennis Olsen in Plains, Mt. he does good work at good prices...

p-17, by going to the 175's you were doing the same thing as seating the shorter bullets out further. I had a 22-250 that every time the groups started going south, I'd re-adjust the bullet seating die and the groups would tighten back up. When I finally had the rifle rebarrelled I was seating my bullets almost 1/4" further out than when I started with the rifle. Yep, the bullet was seated into about half of the neck of the case.

Thanks, beeman. My point, however, was that the long shank of the heaver bullet is needed in this situation. The principle is that the bullet needs support as it engages the rifling. The shorter bullets are free of the case mouth before they engage the rifling. Therefore, you simply can't seat them out far enough to solve the problem. The only solution is go with a bulet that is so long that its base is still supported by the case mouth when the front of the ogive engages the rifling.