Changing 30-06 to .243

[prcn]

As stated changing 30-06 to .243 for friend
It is an older savage 30-06
I need to make sure I order the right parts.
.243 go gauge and no go gauge

What bolt parts do I need?

Just the long action 243 bolt head from midway?
Anything else?

Thanks

[bootsmcguire]

30-06 is a .473" face and .243 is also a .473" face, so you are good to go. gauges and barrel and rock and roll.

[Blitzfike]

I converted a 270 to a 22-250. I was concerned about feeding the shorter cartridge from the existing longer magazine, but everything works well. Very simple, just changed the barrel and set headspace with a GO gauge. That was my first conversion, since then I have rebarreled 4 different Savage/Stevens rifles. The quality on the newest Stevens 200 (About 3 months old) is much less than the earlier 200's I have. So far, everything I have is small shank and I am getting a pretty good assortment of barrels for switch barrel projects. Good luck.. Blitzfike

[Handi204]

I just converted a 30-06 to a 22-250 no problems what so ever.
Handi204

[Mach2]

........................The quality on the newest Stevens 200 (About 3 months old) is much less than the earlier 200's I have. .................................................. ....

I was a huge fan of the older 200s but have not seen the newer ones. How has the newer 200s struck you as inferior?

[Blitzfike]

The fit and finish on this one is inferior to the others I have owned or do own. The trigger is awful, and was assembled incorrectly from the factory. When I took to original barrel off to put my custom barrel on, I ran into the 500 pound gorilla scenario that is often mentioned here. It turned out to be metal beads from bead blasting that were lodged in the threads between the barrel, nut, and receiver. I also found beads in the action as well. The stock on this one seems to be flimsier than the older one I have as well. This came as a 300 win mag from the factory and as that is what I was building, I thought to start with it until I can get a better stock and metal. I was able to disassemble the trigger, clean out the thread locker from the spring hole and thread the spring into the hole. Who ever assembled the trigger either cranked the trigger return spring completely through the trigger or assembled it against the spring. Once I got it back in place where it should be, the trigger breaks now at 6.5 pounds. That is the lightest I can get it without trimming the spring. I'm on the way out to the range now to see what it will do. I'll post follow up info as I can. Blitzfike

[Mach2]

Thanks Blitz, that's interesting. The last 200 I purchased was 5-6 yrs ago. I had my gun store order me a .223 and when it arrived I actually went "o-o-oh" when I saw it because the bluing was so nice.\
I took a look at new rifles at a Dicks Sporting Goods a while back and I noticed a decline in the quality of virtually every brand I saw. Very few deer rifles are blued anymore.