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Barrel torque - switch barrel setup

I have set up my new rifle,6 Dasher) as a switch barrel rig, around a trued M700 action and pinned Holland's lug. I was wondering what y'all might recommend as a nominal torque value to use when installing a barrel. I normally put them on pretty tight in the shop, but I was wondering if they can perform OK with a lighter hand on the wrench, making field changes easier.

Thanks in advance for any input!

Cheers,
 
I have a swtich barrel Remington 700 repeater tube gun. I have been using a torque wrench set at 100 ft lbs to mount the barrels and it seems to work out well. How much lighter you can go without an issue I don't know, but I would rather err on the side of tight than loose. The original 100 ft lbs number came from Darrell Holland who sells Remington 700 action wrenches and barrel vices. That number seemed to work fine so I did not fiddle with it.

Robert Whitley
 
Robert:

That is very close to the torque I have been using on all my barrels, and I too have not had a problem with it. I use Holland's internal action wrench, A Brownell's barrel vise, and a Craftsman torque wrench with a 7/8" deep socket. Works great.

However, I am contemplating setting up a bumper hitch mounted barrel vise so I can do a quick barrel change out in the prairie dog towns. I can deal with the 100 lb-ft, but a lesser value makes the process a lot quicker, as I can go with a less stout barrel vise setup, and not bother with a torque wrench.

So, any information out there from anyone on using less torque would be much appreciated. I can try it, but I'm not sure that I can test it sufficiently over the range of temperatures and calibers I plan to shoot.
 
I have seen and heard of barrels being only hand tightened and not affecting accuracy very much at all. I would advise you to do some experimenting and see which is the best torque setting for your rifle and barrel to give the best accuracy.

I saw a guy one time that used a Mauser action and one barrel in a test. He would fire a five shot group and then remove the barrel and then reattach it by hand and then with a torque wrench. He went up to 125 ft/lbs and in all of his groups, he only had about 1/2" of variance in his groups at 100 yds. He showed that if you have the receiver and barrel tenon machined correctly, it doesn't take all that much torque to hold the barrel in place. Opinions will vary on the subject, so try it yourself and see what works best for you.
 
cntryboy1289:

Thanks for the input. You suggestion to just try it out is a good one. I can make the barrel vise support pretty simply, so it should not take too much time. I was going to mount my Brownells barrel vise to a square steel tube that fits in my trailer hitch receiver. Nice stout mounting point, and installs instantly.
 
I use 15 ft/lbs on my Nesika. If the shoulders on the barrel and action are square it doesn't need much to stay tight. The key is repeatability.

Use a good anti-seize.
 
I agree 100% with the last post. Your idea of mounting the barrel vise to the trailer hitch will work just fine. Best of luck with the project and report back what you find.
 
Thanks everyone! Will do on the report back. I've got a lot of load development to do. I am getting the bolt firing pin hole bushed to eliminate the cratering, then back to load workups.
 
I think that most of the Savage users don't use 50#. I, like many of them, don't use a torque wrench when changing bbls. Screw in by hand and give the bbl wrench a wack with a dead blow hammer. I can break them loose with an action wrench and the barrel nut wrench w/o too much effort. Never has been a problem. Savages are assembled at the factory with a 70# setting and it can be a real problem to break them loose at times. On the Savages, you increase the headspace when you overtighten the bbl nut. Probably not too much, but some times it doesn't take much to cause problems. JimDee
 
When I torque a barrel - Savage or Remington with lug - it always "creaks" or stutters before seating at final torque. Even with lube.

I did my last range test with about 30lb-ft on the 260AI TubeGun barrel, with wonderful results - no issues. I'm sold on light torque.

Cheers,

Chris
 
I use a Davidson barrel vice and action wrench. I clamp them to the bench at the range or my shooting table when in the field for changing barrels while doggin. I snug them up and would guess in the 40 ft/lb range. Always worked for me. I have even converted my gunsmith, who shoots dogs with me, into NOT locktighting his barrels in, no need for it.

Mike
 
Just another data point to this discussion:
I have a Stolle Panda 6PPC Switch Barrel Bench Gun that I regularly switch barrels at the range on without action tool or barrel vise. I use Lubriplate on threads and Shoulder and just snap it tight with my hands,I'm not especially strong and this represents about 5 ft/lbs torque) The gun shoots in the .1's at this torque and The two barrels print about 1" apart at 100yds but the point of impact is predictable and repeatable.

On my Blueprinted Rem 700 Actioned Live Varmint Rifles; I use 30ft/lbs of torque and not ever had any problems with accuracy or impact change.

In my opinion; If the If the Receiver/Barrel/Thread/Shoulder are True and Square you need very little torque since the bullet hitting the right hand rifling tends to tighten rather than loosen the Barrel.
 

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