Converting from .243 to .308

[snipershark]

I think the replacement kit comes with a barrel nut wrench and go/no go guages, which you will need. If you do not already own or have access to an action wrench, I would recommend investing in one. I and alot of other folks have tried to remove a factory Savage barrel with out the action wrench, only to have to eventually break down and buy one later. It sure does make the process much easier. Good luck with your swap.


Can you tell me what all I might need to change my Model 11 from .243 to .308 ? AND i am wanting to put the heavy barrel .308 on when I do

[RC20]

Should be a different thread, not add onto another's.

And hopefully this does not come across as too grouch, but a bit of self research is beneficial to you as you understand what you are doing better.

So, look up the 243 on Wikipedia, that will tell you what its parent case is. then you know if it works or does not with minimum mods.

Do you need a list of all the tools?

As noted per Teebird, get the action wrench, NSS has by far the best one (IMNSOO) as its is setup as good as you want for a vice and worst case if you don't have that and can clamp the barrel it has a handle.

Other tools needed so how detailed do we need to get?

[J.Baker]

Split this into it's own separate post since the other was over 4 years old.

As to your question...

New Barrel
New Stock (since you're going from a sporter to heavy contour)
Barrel Nut Wrench
A GOOD barrel vise or an Action Wrench

The bolt head and magazine are the same for both cartridges so no need to mess with either.

[Rob01]

Depending on the stock you can also open up the barrel channel and keep the stock you have now.

Why the caliber switch? With a fast twist the .243 can be a very good long range round with 105+ weight bullets.

[Robinhood]

Unless you are shooting F/TR or elk, listen to Rob.

[earl39]

Snipershark you build whatever your little heart desires. As Jim said Barrel and stock or if you can open your stock up enough just the barrel and tools.

Robinhood maybe he wants his next hog to have a bigger hole on both sides so it can drain better. Thats why i have a 338fed and a 338-06. I like big holes and there is no such thing as overkill. Excess force maybe but overkill never.

[6.5savageguy]

I'm with earl39 build what you want.

[Benmuncie]

When I switched barrels, the only tools I purchased were a barrel nut wrench and headspace gauges. I made my own barrel vice by placing two blocks of wood together in a vice and drilling a hole through the seam of the blocks. The hole needs to be just a little smaller than the diameter of the barrel. If you have done this correctly, when you take the blocks out of the vice you will have half of a hole all the way through each block. You can place the barrel in between the two blocks where the hole is and tighten it down in the vice. Now you have a barrel vice. Headspace gauges are a requirement. Don't try to make your own gauges out of trimmed brass because you and I don't have enough experience to do that correctly. It is very easy to smash the trimmed case when setting the barrel. Ask me how I know. :-) When you buy another barrel, make sure you buy a barrel with the same nut size as your action.
Hope this helps.

[Robinhood]

Earl, I agree with build what you want. However with one post he may or may not have a lot of experience and his friends may be telling him that a 243 is a sissy cartridge. If that is the case some reinforcement of there is nothing wrong with what you have was given by rob. So I qualified my statement with some support for rob and why. I like the 308 and 3006 family of cartridges. Having to prove your a man is not the job of a cartridge. If he wants to bang steel or make small groups at a longer range then the 243 trumps all of the cartridges you mentioned. For a beginner, if Mr. Snipershark is one, he may be grateful for the advice rob passed on.

[GaCop]

The one advantage the 308 has over the 243 is barrel life, 3000 plus rounds with the 308 and around 1500 with the 243. I have nothing against the 243 having recently built one with a McGowan 8 twist barrel but I don't shoot it as much as I do my varmint weight 308, 22-250, 223, bolt action bull barrel 444 Marlin or sporter weight 7X57.

[mikgarus]

The one advantage the 308 has over the 243 is barrel life, 3000 plus rounds with the 308 and around 1500 with the 243.
I have three 243s. Two with over 2300 rounds fired through them, and still MOA at 200 yards. Is this 1500 number for Benchrest accuracy?

[squirrel_slayer]

when I bought my barrel wrench (wheeler engineering) it came with two wrenches, one for smooth and one for slotted, my barrel was slotted so I looked closely and noticed the smooth one was about the same diameter as the action so I put some masking tape on the action, but the brass shim stock around then put the smooth barrel wrench on the action with the slot pointing down and I used the little nub of the recoil lug(that centers it to the action) as extra purchase then tightened it down and put the smooth wrench in the vice and viola after some four letter words and a wack from a dead blow the barrel nut came loose and didn't hurt a thing.

[earl39]

The one advantage the 308 has over the 243 is barrel life, 3000 plus rounds with the 308 and around 1500 with the 243.
I have three 243s. Two with over 2300 rounds fired through them, and still MOA at 200 yards. Is this 1500 number for Benchrest accuracy?

Those are the accepted numbers for average barrel life of a target rifle so yes give or take a little. Really depends on what your definition of accuracy is.

If you look at the OP you notice it does not give a reason for the change other than wants to and has the barrel.

[scuzzy]

i switched from a 308 to a 243. just requires a different barrel, nut wrench, and a barrel vise or action wrench. that and the proper head spacing stuff. easy peazy.

[GaCop]

The one advantage the 308 has over the 243 is barrel life, 3000 plus rounds with the 308 and around 1500 with the 243.
I have three 243s. Two with over 2300 rounds fired through them, and still MOA at 200 yards. Is this 1500 number for Benchrest accuracy? Correct. Nice to know I will be able to get a bit more life out of my barrel in the long run than I thought. I can live with MOA accuracy. :thumb:

[yukondog]

Changed my 110 270 to a 308, easy to do just needed wrench, barrel, headspace gauges and vice. Good luck.

[Rob01]

Earl, I agree with build what you want. However with one post he may or may not have a lot of experience and his friends may be telling him that a 243 is a sissy cartridge. If that is the case some reinforcement of there is nothing wrong with what you have was given by rob. So I qualified my statement with some support for rob and why. I like the 308 and 3006 family of cartridges. Having to prove your a man is not the job of a cartridge. If he wants to bang steel or make small groups at a longer range then the 243 trumps all of the cartridges you mentioned. For a beginner, if Mr. Snipershark is one, he may be grateful for the advice rob passed on.

I agree too. Robinhood hit my intentions perfectly. His money and he can build a .22-50BMG if he wants but I was just throwing out some experience with the .243 as a long range cartridge he might not have known in that it works very well with the 105+ weight bullets and shoots flatter and better in the wind than the .308. The .308 will have a longer barrel life but not knowing what the OP is looking for it's tough to say if that is enough to keep him moving that way if he already has .243 components and reloading gear.

[earl39]

If he wants to bang steel or make small groups at a longer range then the 243 trumps all of the cartridges you mentioned.

Just to set the record straight. The two cartridges i mentioned were not recommendations just simply 2 that i have. I have 223's and 308's i shoot in F/TR. I like my 6.5's which i like better than the 243. personal choice. I have 260's and 6.5 Grendel's. IMHO both are better choices tor large game and target shooting than the 243. Once again this is opinion only. The only proof that can be offered is the fact that the 243 as such is not holding as many records in the different target shooting areas as the 6.5's and a number of other 6mm's such as the dasher, br and ppc. Everyone has an opinion and mine is worth exactly what anyone else's is worth.

[Rob01]

Those other 6mms are made for short range BR accuracy with light bullets and used as such. Nothing wrong with that. The .243 can be used very well at long range with the heavier bullets and push the 105s at 3150fps easily, which is the max FPS at most PRS matches, and even send the 115s out at 3100fps. The .243 is used in different competitions and does quite well. I also use the 6.5 Creedmoor in matches. Works great as well. Just personal preference as mentioned.

Here's a couple groups I shot at matches. The .243 can be plenty accurate.

100 yard group in rain
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/Rob01/P2240123.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/Rob01/media/P2240123.jpg.html)
3 500 yard head shots
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/Rob01/norcal_tbrc08_09.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/Rob01/media/norcal_tbrc08_09.jpg.html)

[Robinhood]

Nice shooting Rob. You wont see too many 500 yd 308 groups like that.