remington 700 counterbore

[handler]

can you rebarrel a remington 700 with out the counterbore in the barrel?

 

[Taildrag15X]

Think it would also change the bolt head.......would need to be like a Savage, with the lugs forward.

 

[handler]

ok thanks

 

[RandyB]

Yes, it "can" be done. the counterbore is not a function of headspace. It is part of Remington's 3 rings of steel as it surrounds the boltnose without touching it to give some support to the boltnose in case of failure. Also acts somewhat as a barrier to pieces of boltnose,extractor and brass during failure however there is a small gap between the boltnose and counterbore that is going to allow gas to flow rearward. So my question is why would you set up a barrel without it?

 

[Preacher]

If the counterbore is not on the end of the barrel you'll only have about a 1/2 inch of barrel threads holding onto the receiver...........

 

[Cheechako]

. . .surrounds the boltnose without touching it . . .

What is wrong with the bolt nose touching the barrel??

Ray

 

[gamma]

If the bolt nose is touching the end of the barrel you'll have all sorts of accuracy problems, ask me how I know.

 

[Cheechako]

OK, I'm asking. How do you know?

I build my own rifles. I've built several benchrest rifles with Remington actions, both point blank and long range. I fit the bolt nose to the barrel counterbore and sleeve the back of the bolt. They lock up slicker than buzzard snot and shoot a lot better than I can. I know other good shooters who do the same. We've taken home more than a fair share of fake wood trophies over the years.

The old "don't let the bolt touch the barrel" warning is nothing more than an Internet myth. Show me the proof and I'll concede the arguement. No anecdotal evidence, please.

JMHO

Ray

 

[RandyB]

I don't know how slick Buzzard Snot is but it has to run a close second to Owl Sh*t on a brass door knob. That may be anecdotal evidence.

 

[RandyB]

I edited my post as I did not finish it to convey the message I wanted. Cheech, I do not wish to argue with you. If you think it is OK for the boltnose to contact the counterbore that is fine with me as you are building your own rifles. I too build my own rifles and if it is OK with you I will build mine to not contact. I was told many years ago by a man I respect and admire who builds bolt action rifles for a living that the bolt should not contact the counterbore. What he says is good enough for me as I am not seeking "Fake Wood". I would be concerned that boltnose might gall if your measurement allows too much contact so I advise you to put a little extra "Buzzard Snot" on it. Best wishes, RandyB.

 

[Cheechako]

Randy - I agree that we disagree. Nothing wrong with that.

It was a long time ago that i used to think that it was not a good thing to have the bolt nose contact the counterbore. One day i was talking with a shooter/gunsmith, a guy whose name you will recognize immediately, and I happened to make the comment that it wasn't good that they touched. He immediately asked, "Says who?" I could not think of an answer. He them explained his method, which is carefully fitting the two together, and it made sense so I tried it myself. It worked for me and I've done it that way ever since. I'm not saying that it's something for the casual gun tinkerer to do because we're talking about very close fits and everything has to be perfectly aligned.

But, bottom line is, whatever works best is what a guy should do.

Ray

 

[RandyB]

Well said! Bend your elbow as I just bought your drink at the internet bar. RandyB.

 

[HiredGun]

I have often wondered why not let them but up and the only logical reason I can come up with is if any debris at all get's in there it's game over on a hunting rifle. Would probably be distracting to the competition shooter if the bolt suddenly got real hard to close due to unburned powder or flecks of brass hanging him up. Another thought is if the bolt was fitted with an aftermarket extractor and it was fitted up tight, 100% of a ruptured cases gas would be coming back through that extractor slot full force.