Varmint rifle help please

[wildcat284]

Now that I have a buyer for my 6mm/284 barrel, its time to get my next project underway. I am of course going with the 6mm BR! Should have done so in the first place.

I have a trued Remington 700 short action, Rifle Basix 6oz trigger and a Leupold 8.5 - 25 x 50 LRT, all I need is the barrel and stock. Stock is the least of my worries, but I need some help with the chambering.

Looking at the Douglas Barrel option, since they do a prefit & chambered barrel for an excellent price. I am going for 26 inch in length.

What I would like some help with is twist rate and freebore. This rifle will be used for targets & varmints so I'm thinking 1:8 twist as the most appropriate. Reading the rifle of the week article on the Savage & Pac Nor 6mm BR, Dave Kiff designed a reamer with a 0.73 freebore so the author could shoot 70gr and 105 / 107 gr projectiles and everything in between.

Sounds great, I would like to shoot the 55 and 58gr projectiles as well. How do those stubbier projectiles shoot with a bit of a jump to the lands and also being spun in a 1:8 twist barrel.

Or, should I look at a switch barrel rifle with one set up for 1:8 twist and another barrel with a 1:12 twist for the lighter projectiles.

What is involved in building a switch barrel rifle on a Remington 700 action.

I would Appreciate all comments.

Regards,

Michael.

 

[PJ]

WILDCAT,
I would think the 1in8 twist would be to much twist for the lighter bullets. If you tried to boost velocity on them that is. As for switch barrels it should be easy to do. If you know the smith that did the original work contact him about doing this switch barrel work. Put a witness mark on both barrels to headspace properly.

 

[vmthtr]

Michael,
Am pretty sure the prefit and chambered barrel from Douglass is a long chmbered barrel so it can be properly headspaced for the action. If your Rem ation was trued, the threads were possibly recut and the prefitted barrel from douglass looks even less likely to fit the oversized threads. Once the barrel is fitted correctly, there is no need for witness marks, the barrel will lock up and that is where it will be. You will need the recoil lug pinned or a fixture to locate it properly, mine are all pinned. The .073 freebore is a good comprmise, I have this in my 6 BR and shoot the 58Vmax, 70 Bking and the 107 SMK on prairie dogs with great sucess. With the 8 twist the 58 Vmax really comes unglued on the close dogs and as I shoot further out I increase bullet weight for less drift. Good luck and keep us up to date on what you decide.

Mike

 

[wildcat284]

Mike,

My gunsmith lapped the lugs and trued up the boltface, but didn't recut the receiver threads. Rifle in its 6mm/284 guise could shoot consistently between .25 & .5 moa.

Recoil lug is a Hollands and has the hole drilled for pinning it.

Gotta chat to my gunsmith today about the job, so I'll talk to him about the switch barrel work.

Cheers,

Michael.

 

[gdragon34]

Just vurious about why you didn't like the 6-284? I'm thinking of building one down the road.

 

[wildcat284]

Nothing wrong with the 6/284, but seeing guys at the range I shoot at with 6mm BR's and the tiny groups they shoot, plus the long barrel life and small powder charges and of course this website have got me really excited.

Cheers, Michael.

 

[wildcat284]

I'm going to use a New Zealand made True Flite barrel for my 6mm BR, and it will be a 1:8 twist. They have an outstanding reputation for accuracy & the price to get the chambering work done and barrel fitted / crowned is less than $500.00 NZ, which means that I can organise the funds for the project sooner than I thought. If I send the action off tomorrow, I can expect it back in 2 months which I'm quite happy to wait for.

Michael.