Do these line up closely as far as sights and stamping when swapped?..or are they a hit and miss proposition? Does one normaly have to take them back a turn and rechamber...I know all about headspacing so forget about lecturing on that part of the job.

What I'm contemplating is taking a 1947 270 barrel and putting it into a 1953 receiver in which someone has previously opened up the bolt face & extractor to a .532" belted mag.....it will also be rechambered to 270 Wtby.

I will soon be getting my 43rd P-64 Mod. 70 since I bought my treaured first in .338WM in January, 1968. My experience is that the barrels USUALLY index correctly and my buddy and I often build up "home custom" hunting rifles this way....and with classic sts tubes, as well.

I am just finishing a 1946 action, classic sts Fwt. tube .270Win, Micky edge handle and various goodies and it will be my main backpack hunting piece this year and it did not cost huge bux.

The second rifle I ever handloaded for was an Al Beisen .270Roy on a P-64 and BOY, that sucker would SHOOT! This was in spring '68 and was the first "name" American custom rifle I ever shot.

So, I think, based on what I saw from you on CGN some years ago and what I have seen with "old" Mod. 70s, you will be just fine and the only real snag is that the short Roy rounds often "stovepipe" in P-64 and other crf actions. You need to sometimes relieve the underside of the receiver bridge to make the short magnums feed without catching there, this is not difficult but can be tricky.

HTH, if you run into a snag, ask Jim Wisner who posts here as he knows more about P-64s than anyone I know of and he has helped me in past years.

its "miss, miss, miss x1,000,000 and 1 hit"
your gunsmith will need to index it for you

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
its "miss, miss, miss x1,000,000 and 1 hit"
your gunsmith will need to index it for you

That is not correct with pre-64 Model 70's and 54's

I don't know the correct machining terminology, but the receiver and barrel threads were all set up and threaded to have common indexing.

Dewey,

thanks for the tips...I just removed a 257 Weatherby barrel from this action today and it fed and shot fine but the chamber was cut from a 250 Ackley Magnum and left a .01" step on my brass where the Ackley shoulder was...

I can rebarrel to any 2.5" belted mag without any other mods...they modded the rails a bit when it was rechambered to the Ackley Mag.

I have a couple other options...I have a stainless 35 cal blank and a 350 Rem Mag would not be too short for the 3.4" mag box..also have a 30 cal blank that would make a 308 Norma but it would require barrel channel mods to fit....I could do a 300 Win Mag with this blank but it's a bit long for the mag box...I did at one time have an original Pre'64 in 300 Win and don't recall any problems with seating bullets deep enough to fit the box...I'd be about .180" off the lands with a 180 TSX.

rechambering an origianl 270 barrel to the Wtby would mean no stock mods.....but I also have a Pre'64 in 270 Win, so it's a bit redundant....

I have always considered the P-64 action to be best suited for .300 mags., .338Win. and the two H&H rounds. It is heavier than need be for .270s and such and while I have three .270 Fwts., now and a .30-06Fwt. and have had about 3 others, there are actions I prefer for these rounds, each to his own.

So, I would definitely go with the .308Norma, a fine round for "the Eastern Slopes" and one I wanted for years. A friend just gave me a minty FN sporter so chambered and I am going to have Martini's install a 3-pos. safety and a MPI or Lone Wolf syhthetic and hang one of my Leupy 3.5x10x50 scopes on it.

This will be an excellent Elk rifle as would yours built on your P-64, if you decide to go that route. I can't see using a P-64 action for a .350Rem., again, there are better options, IMHO. But, what makes you happy is what counts as you are the guy "paying the piper".

Jeffe, I have seen different P-64 actions and non-original factory installation barrels from other P-64 rifles mate many times, but, I ALWAYS have a pro 'smith check install mine correctly, we only get one pair of eyes, eh!

Several years ago I bought a late Pre64 in 300 H&H that had been rechambered to 300 Wthby. I bought an early pre 64 barrel (marked 300 Magnum) and had my gunsmith put it on. It needed to have a reamer to lengthen it a bit as it came up "short chambered".