I am sure that some of you people know the answer so I will make this short and sweet.

Will a barrel that I have laying around which was removed from a Remington 700 short action work in a Remington 700 long action?

The barrel is a varmint weight barrel in .243 Win. caliber and what I am debating on having it installed on is a 300 Win. Magnum long action.
What I am considering is having the barrel reamed out to a 6mm-300WSM and fit to my long action. Obviously, as part of the rechambering process the gunsmith would set up the headspace properly.

Right now this appears to be the least expensive way for me to check out this interesting wildcat and decide if I want to go the route of getting a full custom rifle presuming that the whole idea is not just a really stupid idea.

Yes they are the same thread and shank.

If you do have this done. The barrel will fit, but you'll have a single shot because of the short fat body of the WSM.

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JD

Sounds like a good way to use what you've got. I'll betcha you can make it feed with very little trouble.I once saw a fellow with a factory 22-250 barrel screwed into a long action 700 and it fed just fine.The large body of the WSM should feed fine with the magnum follower in your rifle.

[This message has been edited by rembo (edited 08-31-2001).]

Thanks for the helpful information. Now that I know it is a reasonable possibility, I will call my gunsmith and mention it to him.
I just hated to say anything and then have him think I am a real idiot.