What to do? Re-barrel or sell 'n buy another?

I have a Savage M-10 LE Precision Carbine in .223. It's a great rifle and shoots very tiny groups using Varget and 68gr. bullets.

What I'd like to do is "move up" to a 6mm cartridge. A .243 is fine and of course there is the new 6mm Needmore that I could go to. Both are short action and would install quite well on the M-10.

Now, Savage does not make my specific model any more but they do make one similar. My model has accutrigger, Accustock, and a threaded barrel as well as the digital camo stock.

I figure if I sold the .223 and then bought a new 6mm (whatever cartridge....pick your poison as I reload for everything so ammo cost really isn't an issue) the "net" cost to me would be anywhere from $200 to $300.

So...I could buy a new Shilen barrel for maybe $350 and have a better than factory barrel.....and I can assume (as I've rebarreled two other Savage's with Shilen's) great accuracy.

I don't know if I could sell the existing .223 factory barrel for all that much, but it does have a threaded muzzle which is worth something to those with suppressors.

Any thoughts on this?

I have a 243 varmint weight barrel if you are interested in trying something like that.

After purchasing two Shilen barrels in the past year and enjoying all that they offer, I probably won't be inclined to buy many more factory rifles. The exception to that would be if I wanted an accurate, low cost hunting rifle which wouldn't see a lot of rounds. Putting on a new barrel gives you the ability to specify the exact barrel length, twist, and contour that you want. It all boils down to what you want out of your new rifle and what you plan to do with it. With all of the quality factory rifles out there, neither of your two options is a bad one.

Since you want a 6mm cartridge, I will share with you that I recently assembled a 6BR Norma rifle with a Shilen bull barrel and am really enjoying it. It's stupid accurate with minimal load development and an easy shooter.

Not a huge cost, but you'd need a new bolthead as well...

I have the same rifle and like it. 55 grain sierra blitzkings and 25 grains of Varget raise heck on prairie dogs. I'd keep it and buy another rifle unless funds are an issue or you want to sell it to me so I can give it to my dad....

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Originally Posted by tobnpr

Not a huge cost, but you'd need a new bolthead as well...

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................Magazine

PDog.....Thank you but I'd only consider re-barreling with a quality after market barrel.

The bolthead cost is minimal.....but Robinhood raises a point about the magazine. My mag is detachable....but I was thinking the .243 cartridge would fit well into the .223 mag.....but then again I have nothing to base that thought on.

Orezona...Yeah it would make a great rifle for your Dad, but.......

I use this .223 for groundhog hunting and it's fine out to 350 yards. Beyond that I use my 6.5 Shilen barreled (varmint contour) single shot Savage. I shoot 140gr from the 6.5 (same velocities as the 6.5 Creedmore) and the 140gr bullets provide a one shot kill on the longer distances. The .243 would work well with a 90-95gr. bullets and provide better "whack" at the longer distances.

Actually now I use my Savage M-25 in .17 Hornet for 'hog's out to 300 yards and the 20gr Nosler's over Lil' Gun work very well with less report. So, what I really have is a .223 that is collecting dust as I'm preferring the .17 Hornet for those short fields, and I use the 6.5 for the long shots.

I guess I just need to mull it over a little longer.....must to keep my indecisiveness razor sharp!!

I watched a show yesterday they to the top 20 shooters in the country, $250,000 pot and all 20 had things in common, the top 9 exclusively shot 6mm dasher, and the rest used combos 0f 6mm dasher, 6mm br and 6mm creedmoor

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Originally Posted by Steeltrap

I have a Savage M-10 LE Precision Carbine in .223. It's a great rifle and shoots very tiny groups using Varget and 68gr. bullets.

What I'd like to do is "move up" to a 6mm cartridge.

Any thoughts on this?

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I would just keep what you have and get another gun. Later i would get another in yet a larger cartridge.
Otherwise its sorta like selling your 1/4 “ wrench in order to buy a 3/8” wrench.
Better to have all the different size wrenches you might use.

I dunno what happen to my earlier post.....but it didn't "stick."

Pdog....if I re-barreled I'd want to use a quality aftermarket barrel. Since I have two Savage's with Shilen barrels now and am very pleased with those.

Bolthead cost is minimal but for some reason I thought the .243 would work in my .223 magazine.....but I have nothing that says it will...and from what Ive researched....it won't. More $$ for that.

The issue (to me) is that I currently use my Savage M-25 .17 Hornet for groundhogs out to 300 yards....which is about the longest distance of most properties I hunt. If I visit some properties where I can go out to 800 yards, I take my Shilen bull barreled 6.5x55 and fling EXD's at 'em with great accuracy. So.....the .223 (that I purchased before I got the Hornet) now just sits in the safe.

So....I was thinking that a 6mm would be a fine caliber to fling 80-95gr. bullets at darn near anything and darn near any yardage. But then I suppose if I do obtain a 6mm cartridge, my 6.5 caliber rifle may end up sitting int the safe.

Gheee.....to have such things to worry about!!!:o:cool:

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Originally Posted by Steeltrap

I dunno what happen to my earlier post.....but it didn't "stick."

Pdog....if I re-barreled I'd want to use a quality aftermarket barrel. Since I have two Savage's with Shilen barrels now and am very pleased with those.

Bolthead cost is minimal but for some reason I thought the .243 would work in my .223 magazine.....but I have nothing that says it will...and from what Ive researched....it won't. More $$ for that.

The issue (to me) is that I currently use my Savage M-25 .17 Hornet for groundhogs out to 300 yards....which is about the longest distance of most properties I hunt. If I visit some properties where I can go out to 800 yards, I take my Shilen bull barreled 6.5x55 and fling EXD's at 'em with great accuracy. So.....the .223 (that I purchased before I got the Hornet) now just sits in the safe.

So....I was thinking that a 6mm would be a fine caliber to fling 80-95gr. bullets at darn near anything and darn near any yardage. But then I suppose if I do obtain a 6mm cartridge, my 6.5 caliber rifle may end up sitting int the safe.

Gheee.....to have such things to worry about!!!:o:cool:

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In at least the AR platform , you have to goto AR10 to go 243.

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Originally Posted by Steeltrap

Gheee.....to have such things to worry about!!!:o:cool:

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Ain't that the truth.

I am about to have the same conversation with myself. I shoot my .223 because it is so easy to shoot accurately with so little recoil. It is my 0-600yd 'fun' rifle. It 'only' has 3000 rounds through it. I am about to rebarrel my 12 to 6BR so will have a nice .308 barrel 'left over', which is what I use for cast bullets. So, do I put the .308 barrel on the Axis and procure a new magazine and bolt face? That is what makes sense to me.

But, what if I just got a 'donor' rifle for the .308 barrel (for cast) and have three rifles? I'd probably have to find one in a caliber I 'don't like' so it does not tempt me to shoot it. My luck it would shoot as good or better than the .308 and I'd have to find another donor.

But, I suspect that once I get the 6BR I won't shoot the .223 much, so keeping that combination doesn't make sense to me.

So, will probably still go with the first option. If I ever want another .223 I can always get a 'black' rifle :)

FYI, I do not keep guns I do not shoot (exceptions for 'inherited' firearms).

Donor rifle?

I kept watching Gun-Broke-Now for a "deal" on a Savage long action in order to wrench on a 6.5x55 Shilen hunter profile barrel that had been hanging out for several years. (I replaced that Shilen hunter profile with a 6.5x55 Shilen bull for long distance (1,000yds) shooting.) So....the hunter profile was just hangin out.

I found a donor for a tad less than $200 in 7mm-mag. This donor was built between '82 and '89. It was one of those that had (I think) a beechwood stock and Savage finished these in a "spray-on" brown color that was mixed into the clear finish. The problem was when you scratched or dented this finish, you got white wood to show. Plus....the stocks were far to wide, fat, and bulky.

I made it my winter project and rasped off a pretty good amount of wood, moved the comb point back, rasped\filed in grip flutes and contoured the pistol grip. Of course all of that brown "stuff" came off and I finished the stock using Aqua-fortis...applied heat...and then a light application of nutmeg brown with several coats of True-oil for the finish. It came out fine...not like a walnut stock....but I like it and it will be a great starter rifle for one of my grandson's. I've included pics below.

https://i.imgur.com/6rtgMSAh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/h8q6Y6Ph.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/eKO8rjrh.jpg

Great work.

Definitely looks good

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Attachment 7382

Very nice Steeltrap!

Here is one I redid for my granddaughter. The stain was a deep red clothing die giving the wood a pinkish hue before I went to work with 14 coats of "true oil".
This picture doesn't due it justice but these old "birch" stocks turn out real nice for what they started. I've did two others for grandsons but don't have pictures. Used walnut stain on those two.
The Savage she is using was a pre-66 7 mag when it started. Rebuilt the bolt with new body, firing pin, & bolt head. The wood stock is from a later model 110. It also is a single shot with a homemade aluminum fouler. Trigger was retrofitted to a Timney. Kyra shot her first deer at 10 when it was a 221 fireball. Later rebarreled it to the 243 in the picture. She has shot a 3 point buck with it also.

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Originally Posted by mnbogboy2

Attachment 7382

Very nice Steeltrap!

Here is one I redid for my granddaughter. The stain was a deep red clothing die giving the wood a pinkish hue before I went to work with 14 coats of "true oil".
This picture doesn't due it justice but these old "birch" stocks turn out real nice for what they started. I've did two others for grandsons but don't have pictures. Used walnut stain on those two.
The Savage she is using was a pre-66 7 mag when it started. Rebuilt the bolt with new body, firing pin, & bolt head. The wood stock is from a later model 110. It also is a single shot with a homemade aluminum fouler. Trigger was retrofitted to a Timney. Kyra shot her first deer at 10 when it was a 221 fireball. Later rebarreled it to the 243 in the picture. She has shot a 3 point buck with it also.

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Wow!! I love it when youngsters get involved into hunting. I have three granddaughters and three grandsons (and still "potential" for more!) and it's my hope that a few of 'em will see the joy involved in hunting! You did a nice job of checkering on that stock. I keep thinking of spending maybe $100 for the checkering tools and do some practice on scrap wood first.

But...back to your granddaughter and her rifle....Nice Job!!