what is the approximate cost of turning down the O.D. of a rifle barrel and must it be removed from the action to do it?

You have to take the barrel off.

No idea of the price.

May I ask why?

Yes, as Saeed said, tell us more details.
Price is between 50 and 500 dollars; more or less. Depending on what you mean by "turning down".
PM me with details if you want.

What no one ever saw a barreled action with the muzzle chucked up in the lathe chuck and the chamber area in the steady rest? When done slip it thru the spindle and support the heavy end in the spider and turn the rest. Recommend no, but seen it done.

What do you do with a 20 inch barrel?
Just saying.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
What do you do with a 20 inch barrel?
Just saying.

Turn it down as Don said, holding the muzzle in a 3 jaw (we did mention bubba, right?) and then cut off the last 2 inches that you can't turn. You'll have an 18" barrel rifle then, a lot handier to carry and point. You can cut off the 2 inches with a hacksaw, file it more or less flat, and recrown it with a marble turned with your fingers and some valve grinding compound.

Dave that last two inches can be cut down the other way just don’t high speed with an unbalanced action hanging off the lathe. Same way you can thread a barrel for a brake. And yes bubba but works.

Here's why I'm asking:
I'm looking at a pre-64 M70 .22-250 with a 26" barrel that's .700 at the muzzle which makes the rifle much heavier than I want. I realize there are standard weight M70s in .22-250 out there, but I prefer the old ones. So I'd like to compare the cost of reducing the O.D. vs. re-barreling. thanks guys.

You should have asked that first; it will cost less to turn it down than to fit a new barrel. Probably 1/2 the cost.
I would turn it down to a pre 64 pattern.

Don, I know you can; and that you were being serious. I was just being flippant. DPCD I think was getting at the length was too short at 20" to to through his headstock to turn it down.

For a speedy job of doing this, and reasonable cost, without taking either the stock or action off, I can whole heatedly recommend a gentleman who used to work in our workshop, retired very early, and is now working in India!

I fired him when I caught him drunk on the job.

But, he was an absolute genius, and never stopped giving us incredible insight into the human mind!

Here is an example.

He was with me when a friend delivered several cartons of fired 9mm brass.

We put those boxes next to large steel drums we had full of lead shotgun pellets - I bought about 20 drums full of this from a scrap yard, they had them stored in a disused swimming pool! These are the large ones holding about 50 gallons.

This happened in the morning, and after lunch, I called him and gave him small zip lock bags, and asked to go and put 100 brass cases in each bag.

Off he went.

A couple of hours later, when I expected him to have finished, I called him on the phone.

I asked how long before he finishes.

He said it will take a very long time.

Knowing him, I thought I better go out and investigate.

I was utterly speechless, when I arrived at the workshop and saw what he was doing.

He was counting, and putting 100 #4 shotgun pellets in each bag.

He has not even made a slight dent in the level of one of the drums yet!

When you are drunk, the words, Brass, and Shot, sound alike.
And SS, your solution sounded perfectly reasonable to me.

Here is a somewhat related question: can some weight savings on a barelled action cz 550 be had by cutting some of the barrel off at the chamber end and rechambering versus turning down the barrel? The 7x57 I have comes up to 9lbs with a scope and is too heavy. 8.25 sure but even that is heavy for the caliber in my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by bluefish:
Here is a somewhat related question: can some weight savings on a barelled action cz 550 be had by cutting some of the barrel off at the chamber end and rechambering versus turning down the barrel? The 7x57 I have comes up to 9lbs with a scope and is too heavy. 8.25 sure but even that is heavy for the caliber in my opinion.

That is a failing common to the CZ 550.

Yes, you can shorten the barrel at the breech end and then rethread and chamber IF you have sufficient material. You'd have to measure.

Or, you can buy a 98.

Of course the problem, Mike is I have a pair of these CZs in the aforementioned 7x57 and 9.3x62. The x62 I inherited so am loathe to part with it.

I’ve fired like 10 people over the last decade for being drunk on the job.

??? Sounds like one of them slipped through and kept his...

I traded into a CZ 9,3x62 and couldn't stand the weight and unwieldiness of it. I ordered a factory full stock and shortened the barrel. It still isn't exactly light but it is handy and balances well. In ten years I may appreciate the heft.

You did a nice job on one 550 in 9.3x62 you once provided a pic of.

I've always questioned the validity of chopping off the barrel to loose weight OR for handling in the bush...if you want to get a right field estimate go to one of the barrel maker sites and use the weight calculator or just compare barrel profiles...whacking off basically the lightest part of the barrel doesn't get you much beside losing you ballistics...chopping and turning down will gain you a bit but HOW MUCH....use the calculator for a good estimate.

You can gain much more weight reduction by working on the stock...hollow out the butt end, hollow out the forend, get rid of the pistol grip...shorten the forend and thin it out...get a lighter scope or remove the scope altogether and keep your shots withing 100 yds or less...OR USE A LIGHTER PLASTIC POS.

Lots of ways to loose weight, but leave the barrel length alone...I've never had any trouble with 24-28" barrels in the bush because that scenario is mostly in dreamland...I "still" hunted in the bush and in trees most of my life and NEVER tried to shoot THROUGH them and if you haven't learned HOW to handle your weapon in the bush, you need to start...that "handling problems" is total BS for the most part...BUT there WERE times and places where a shorter barrel saved my bacon...MAYBE, I didn't have the option of re-shooting the dust-up and using a longer barreled tool to re-enact...I WASN'T hunting Bambi.

If it were me today and I JUST HAD TO...I would install a new barrel with the length and contour I thought was best AND save the other barrel...you might be able to flog it for half the cost of your re-do job....and CHOP the **** outta the stock, etc.

WAY the heck in the old days Tommy Bish(?) wrote a neat article for one of the Gun Digest books on just this subject. I think the finished rifle weighted around ≈4#(?) give or take. I took a early model 7x57 Ruger M77 with that boat anchor, log of a stock, worked it over like Tommy did but left the barrel alone. Got it down to just under 6 lbs...maybe replacing with a 20 #1 contour barrel would have reduced it to ≈5# and helped with the final weight pizzz-poor balance...don't know the twist was wrong for the bullets I wanted to shoot...couldn't hit the ground 5' in front of me so the stock ended up as a platform for several stock re-shapes using screwed/glued on wood and Aluminum shapes, the barrel ended up a stub barrel for some strange cats I was playing with and as gauges/pieces and parts etc., and the receiver ended up with a 28" 6mm-284 barrel...and others on into the future.

Good Luck whatever your do. Talk to your local gunsmith about the cost...you will get a REAL estimate instead of a "guesstimate".

Good Hunting

Let's play then. I will offer up the CZ 550 in 7x57 as an experiment. Since it is for my wife, I found a takeoff Euro hogsback stock which is a better fit for her and have messed with it a bit. Still not right and the rifle is still a pig.

Any takers? The rules are I pay for shipping to participating gunmaker, I get it all back by midsummer of this year costs of which I will also pay for and the gunmaker may make a pattern stock for himself with the finished product should he choose and the whole business gets put up here on AR for educational purposes for the benefit of the forum members. I will also provide a couple of items I need on it anyway including a new safety, new bolt handle, sling swivel on the barrel and an island front sight with element. Natuarlly, the costs of said are on me as are installation costs.

To Nonagonagin's point, the CZ is, in fact, an excellent action and the barrels are also very good so a new barrel is not part of the project.

The goal is to arrive at a 7-7.25lb bare rifle sans scope, rings, ammo and sling.

Who is game to take on the challenge?