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Opinions on a re-barrel

7K views 57 replies 40 participants last post by  mc2 
#1 ·
In 1967 I bought my first centerfire rifle ... a Winchester Model 70 Varmint grade in .243 Winchester. As many may know .243 is something of a barrel burner and I was seeing evidence of throat erosion so the other day I ran my borescope through it and the inside of the barrel looked like a country road after a bad winter. It's time for a new tube.

Currently I reload for .243, 30-06, and .308. Note that in 1967 Winchester didn't make short action M-70's - at least not in the Varmint grade - so my rifle is a long action and could handle any of those rounds. Also, the cartridge head is the same dimension for all of them. In my mind I could have it re-barreled in any of those calibers, and I have components for all three ... especially the 30-06.

So I'm trying to decide which one.

.243:
-Pros

-- Flat shooting

-- Mild recoil

-- Eats less powder than the others

-Cons

-- Another barrel burner

-- I have components but my brass is about at the end of it's life.

.308:
-Pros

-- Accurate

-- Recoil is not bad

-- Mid range for powder consumption

-- Got lots of .308 bullets and I have the equipment to cast my own if I run out

-Cons

-- Don't have that much brass

30-06:
-Pros

-- Got lots of brass and bullets, some surplus from an M1 Garand and some unfired Winchester brass - the good stuff that was made before Winchester replaced all the quality control personnel with orangutans who will pass any thing that looks like a banana

-- Also pretty accurate

-- Can use heavy bullets with H4831 powder which produces some very accurate loads with milder recoil

-Cons

-- More recoil than the other two

-- More powder consumption than the other two

So what's your opinion on those three and ONLY those three. Don't puff out you chest and insist that those calibers are all crap and I should re-chamber it for some super-duper whiz bang wildcat that shoots flatter and faster than light and will kill Godzilla all the way to the moon. Don't want to spend the money on a new barrel and die of old age before I can find ammo or reloading components and dies to shoot the frickin' thing. Ain't gonna do it.😉

Now to go make some popcorn.

Hector

p.s. I know replacing the barrel will cost more than a new rifle but it has sentimental value so I want to keep it running.
 
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#3 ·
06 can be loaded light with Trailboss or really heavy with 200+ grain bullets, and can do a lot really well. The 308 can do a lot with really good accuracy and less powder, but the two can share a lot of the same components. With your ability to cast bullets, I’d spend money on the ‘06 and have a rifle that go from a plunger to a freezer filler with a change in ammo. And rebarreling a rifle you like isn’t really any more expensive than a middle of the road new rifle. And you keep the stock that fits, the action you know, and a trigger with a pull you like. But that’s my 2 cents. And I have several of each of those calibers
 
#5 ·
It's hard to call it a "barrel burner" if you bought it in 1967, and now you need to replace the barrel. That's 54 years!
Amen. Ya'll need some bookends moved if the 243 bought 54 years ago qualify. My last barrel burner smoked in a long week at around 700 rounds... usually that cartridge goes 900 but the squeaks were thick...

54 year old rifle means your probably not a spring chicken. I'd make the new barrel decision solely based on the next segment of life ahead. Do you want a light recoiling mid tier cartridge? 243 is pretty good for varming and deer sized critters. Maybe twist this for longer bullets. 243 launching 105 to 110 grain pills is a pretty convincing idea in a long action, still less recoil than the others. Even if you smoke it at 2x the rate it will see 99% of folks to the end of life.

I'd go with what tickles your fancy over any concerns over barrel life.
 
#7 · (Edited)
If it were me, I'd go with the .308. A lot of people hate on it without what I'd consider a legitimate real-world reason, but it's a great round for a lot of applications. And likewise, if someone prefers the 30-06 to the .308, that's justification enough to go with the '06.

I have the same exact rifles (CZ 550s, not Winchester 70s) in .243 and .308 and I think I actually prefer shooting the .308 (but that's me, not you). Also, with a rifle the weight of a varmint gun, recoil from a .308 is very mild, IMO.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those three cartridges. As was pointed out above, you probably don't have to worry about burning out another .243 barrel, so if you like that round, I say go for it. :t
 
#9 ·
Re-fit it to 30-06 but with a 1:12 twist c/w a cast bullet throat/leade, bullet friendly for cast and softer than factory full loads, often more accurate and will still shoot jacketed just fine.
A bunch of us boyz over here have been shooting almost exclusively cast in the 'classic cartridges' with great success and pleasure. They are 'reduced velo' loads, easy shooting, easy on powder and accurate. Big Fun!
Of course, if you can find an inexpensive factory 30-06 barrel, nos or a take-off, put it on. Even with the factory twist (expect it would be 1:10?) it will do well with cast.
 
#11 ·
Mr. Fire, assuming you were 15 years old when you bought that rifle, that puts you around 69 years old. How much shooting do you do? Do you think you will outlast a brand new barrel? You obviously know how to load for all 3, but which one do you enjoy most? How will it feel shooting a familiar rifle with a different recoil? How will it feel shooting a familiar rifle with different ballistics if you change calibers?

I lean heavily towards .243. Brass isn't that difficult to get for such a popular caliber.
 
#12 ·
I'm in agreement that any of the 3 would be a good choice. So I guess your decision would come down to how the rifle is going to be used. Will it be a paper puncher, deer rifle, etc.? If you are already pretty well set up for 30-06 then that would be my choice based solely on the cost of ammo and reloading components right now.
 
#14 ·
Two big questions here: How does it shoot right now? Was is grouping poorly? Sometimes a borescope isn’t a good tool depending on how it’s used. I’ve had brand new guns with tooling chatter in the barrel that looked bad but the gun shot great. it’s a lot more common than you think. Perhaps you do need a new barrel, but just based on how it looks isn’t a requirement for replacing it. Another thought: if it’s a varmint gun, it’s hard to imagine putting a heavier kicker on the gun. Just stick with the .243. I’ve owned a half dozen of them over the years and it’s a pretty good all around caliber and hard to beat.
 
#37 · (Edited)
Two big questions here: How does it shoot right now? Was is grouping poorly? Sometimes a borescope isn't a good tool depending on how it's used. I've had brand new guns with tooling chatter in the barrel that looked bad but the gun shot great. it's a lot more common than you think. Perhaps you do need a new barrel, but just based on how it looks isn't a requirement for replacing it. Another thought: if it's a varmint gun, it's hard to imagine putting a heavier kicker on the gun. Just stick with the .243. I've owned a half dozen of them over the years and it's a pretty good all around caliber and hard to beat.
I agree. If there are no signs of problems with respect to accuracy then leave it alone and enjoy. I have a borescope and I bet you that most ppl (including myself) don't actually know and understand what they are looking at.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I was a huge tinkerer with bolt-action and falling-block centerfires long before RFC and have built/owned rifles in almost any chambering you can name, but my opinions have evolved with the geezerization of my mind and body. Except for much smaller varmint rifles, I now pretty much think, "Why own anything but a 30-06?" With today's premium bullets, especially, I see almost no need for anything bigger, and I use my Hornet-class rifles for the little guys.

I blame the out-of-scale trajectory charts in all the gun rags, as they are so misleading. If drawn to scale, on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, the trajectories of most any modern centerfire cartridge are indistinguishable: three inches at 300 yards cannot even be shown with a line visible to the naked eye.

Having said that, the most recent shortages forced me to make one important observation: When everything else was/is non-existent on the shelves at Bass Pro, Cabellas, Academy, Dicks's, et al, .308 components and ammunition were pretty much everywhere I looked, some stores more than others, but I could have had all I needed.

My most recently acquired centerfire, the Grisel/Green rifle, is a .300 WM. I really do wish it were an 06, or even a .308. More powder, more noise, more recoil, no real advantage.

JMO

TBR
 
#18 ·
Just to follow up, I'm leaning towards the 30-06.

Not just because of barrel life, and, yes the current .243 has lost accuracy. In fact the M 70 with a 24 inch heavy barrel should be able to outshoot a Model 670 with a 20 inch sporter barrel, but it does not.

Components for the .243 are dwindling. Not very many bullets and the brass has gone through quite a few cycles and a lot of it needs to be retired.

I'm also low on .308 brass but enough to keep me happy for my one rifle chambered in that caliber.

For the 30-06 I have 150 rounds of unfired Winchester brass, some fired Winchester brass, at least 500 of once fired surplus brass, and 100 to 200 rounds of unfired surplus ammo. Add to that my excellent supply of .308 bullets plus the ability to cast a bunch more, and a good supply of H4831 for which the 30-06 is the best option, it seems like the question kinda answers itself.

Hector
 
#44 ·
If your plan is to use the rifle for hunting anything larger than a coyote, and you reload, the 30-06 can be downloaded for less recoil, and still be effective on deer, and smaller animals. If you decide to hunt bigger stuff, premium bullets, and more powder. It really is a verstile caliber.
 
#21 ·
What are your two rifles in 06 and 308 currently and how would ANOTHER 06 help go in the right direction? You would now have 3 rifles that do the same job, vs the two you currently own.
Currently they are an 03A3 Springfield, and an M1 Garand and a Remington 700 AAC SD Tactical with a 20 inch heavy barrel. The surplus rifles are not suitable for optics but the M 70 is. Although I really like aperture sights, at 74 my eyes are not what they used to be, hence the desire for a something with a scope. The Remington is scoped of course but it's way to heavy to carry in the field comfortably.

Pretty much all my shooting nowadays is just casual target shooting, and the fun for me is seeing how much accuracy I can wring out of a rifle so all my rifles do the same thing. I'd also like to replace that heavy .243 varmint barrel with a sporter barrel to lighten it up a bit. Note than my .308 is a heavy S.O.B. as is the Garand and I don't need another gun that weighing in double digits without the scope. Probably stick with the 24 inch barrel to get the full benefit of the slow burning H4831, just a bit thinner profile.

I've used H4831 in the .308. Accuracy was astonishing though, as in 1/2 MOA at 200 yards, but due to the short barrel, velocity suffered.

Hope that clarifies where I'm coming from.

Hector
 
#23 ·
Like H.F, my 30-06's arent 'dupicates' either.
Sure wish Id bought a close friends vintage Win Mdl 70 Featherweight in 30-06 when he sold it some years ago. It would have been way different than my Springfield '03's that are way different than each other.
Variety doesnt have to be in caiber/cartridge.
 
#24 ·
for me

gcrank1
I get where you are coming from but sometimes it helps to start with a blank sheet of paper vs what we have accumulated for whatever reason. I personally have one to many big game hunting rifles owning only two. One is a Remington 700 lighter barrel in .308. My old Ruger 77 in 7mag with Canjar set trigger, Brown Precision stock that always puts 5 shots in less than one MOA is the favorite. Only bought the Rem because it was just too cheap! Both would take the same game most of us go after and I mostly hunt blackpowder anymore anyway. I should SELL the .308 and it too shoots great.

Not sure what the hunting purpose is of someone that owns 1/2 dozen rifles in the same caliber, but I guess it makes some sense to them. For me I would sell all of them and step up to a semi-custom rifle that sells for $3K and pocket the change if it was important enough.

Too many great options out there I don't have to be duplicating the purpose of multiples.
 
#25 ·
for me

Hector

It really sounds like you would like to have a nice lighter weight hunting rifle. You might not get there using your old long action, heavy wood stock etc. Now if you want to rebuild it on the cheap get a good used 06 barrel and go for it. But if you are buying something way over $300 for the barrel it might be better to part it out then go get one of the newly made light rifles for carry hunting. Yes it will be ugly but perfect!
 
#26 ·
Mine arent used for hunting, though they could be. Shooting reduced velo cast bullet loads for fun and friendly competition is where they shine for me :)
And when 22LR was unobtainium or outrageously priced I could still shoot cheap.
 
#27 ·
I don't have a dog in this hunt but I hunted with a Remington 700 BDL in .243 for decades and loved it but eventually replaced it with another Remington chambered in .270Win and never looked back; one shot one kill deer dropper with silver tips for sure.
 
#28 · (Edited)
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