I was searching around some gunsmith pages asking guys if they had any take factory barrels laying around (trying to find possible 7mmm RM and 338win barrels BTW!) And one fellow told me its actually quite easy to rethread a Rem 700 barrel to a M70 action. He said its more the width of the actual threads that needs to be changed.

Is this true, is it not too difficult to rethread a factory R700 barrel for a M70 action?? If so, this makes my life a LOT easier!

Yes you could do it that way.
A Remington is 1.0625X16 TPI
A Win is 1.0X16 TPI
So yes all you would have to do is reduce the major diameter to 1.0 and increase the thread depth to the proper pitch diameter. You will have to "pick up the thread" with the lathe but anyone that has single pointed threads a few time should know how to do this.

Hello Milehigh,
Yes it can be done, but as stated previously you'd have to turn the major dia. down and pick up the thread. You didn't say what model 70 you have but the breech face would also have to be redone. The pre 64's have a coned breech and extractor cut. The push feeds don't. Also if the 700 barrel has sights you'd have to index the barrel so the sight would be at the top. I believe Winchester has different thread diameters on the 70's such as the short mags. Paul.

push fed

what do you guys think would be the "average" cost of having this done? I mean we are talking an action I picked up dirt cheap, a stock off another M70 I wasn't going to use...I'd like to keep with a cheap barrel just for a plain ol' huntin gun. Would this be a cheaper option picking up a barrel for say 100$, having it rethreaded and installed vs even the cheapest aftermarket barrel that will have to be threaded, chambered and installed?

I've put a couple 700 barrels into 70's and one into a Howa 1500..to put it into a Model 70 you have to face off the Rem counter bore,..adjust the length of the tenon and rethread to 1" x 16 tpi,face the shoulder and breech to line up the sights and/or stamping and ream the chamber to headspace....assumng it's a push feed Model 70....a controlled feed version will require a coned breech and an extractor cut...same basic proceure to put a 700 barrel into a Howa/Vanguard.....

I haven't looked up the barrel tenon lengths of the two (the Mod 700 & push-feed Model 70) but that may also have to be altered if you use a M700 barrel.

I do my own barrels from blanks, and I wouldn't bother to use a $50 new (unfired) Remington take-off on a Winchester Model 70 over a completely new $150 blank of equivalent quality.

By the time you go to the trouble of facing the barrel off, deepening the chamber & throat, possibly having to turn the threads both deeper AND longer and setting the tenon shoulder back (depending on the tenon length required), having to pick up the threads rather than just turn new ones, it is more time and trouble in my eyes than just fitting a new barrel. And time & trouble costs me money in my shop. If I were to do that for other folks, I'd charge them for it too.

I think you'd be better off buying something like a Douglas barrel, in the taper you want. Maybe you could save some money by chintzing on the blue job.

MileHigh... you have a PM