Stevens .25-06 Barrel Change...options/ideas

I have a Stevens 200 in .25-06 with a 22" sporter barrel, that I'd like to change to a 24" or 26" varmint or tactical weight barrel.

After looking at Midway USA, it appears that it's going to cost me around $90 for the Go & No Go gauges and a Barrel Nut Wrench. I'm attempting to find the type of barrel that I want and the prices vary from $250 to $450. I'd like to stay in the $300 to $350 price range, but I don't know if that's possible at this point. (I'm open to suggestions on a barrel.) Pac-Nor? McGowen? Shilen? Douglas?
I'm still undecided on what type of "soft jaw" barrel vice to use/purchase. I don't know if a large shop vice with wood contour blocks would be adequate or not.

While watching a few videos on YouTube, the barrel swap doesn't look that difficult.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANK9KbXmMr4

Just the same, would it cost less, to purchase the barrel and take it to a gunsmith for installation?
I'm guessing that $100 would cover labor costs, which would be about what I'd have in tools. Not to mention the "peace of mind" with the experience of a gunsmith, in getting it done correctly.

Thank you, Bowhunter57

My thoughts (free, and worth every penny you paid):

What is it really worth to you?

From a strictly financial viewpoint, if you are only ever going to swap one barrel, probably not worth purchasing the tooling.
If you do more than one, it's probably worth it, again, from a strictly financial perspective

However, there is another factor that cannot really be measured, and that is your own gratification. The satisfaction of successfully doing it yourself and building yourself a safe and effective accurate firearm for whatever your intended purpose is can not be underestimated. Even if you only do it once, you can likely sell the tools (presuming they are in good condition) later and not lose a whole lot of money.

If you get bitten by the "Savage bug" after doing this once...all bets are off.
(Can you say, "Hello, my name is [your name here] and I am a Savage addict?")

There are a lot of folks in Ohio who belong to this forum....perhaps one of them would be generous enough to offer their time and the use of their tooling to help you do your first barrel swap. Then you could a) have the DIY experience and satisfaction, and b) make the decision about purchasing your own tooling when you figured out if this is someting you would repeat.

By the way. I would search on the forum for some of the posts on changing barrels. Most folks agree that usually a barrel vise is not needed. Although I have one (bought it for a recalcitrant Mauser that ultimately, would not shed its barrel at all - but that's another story for another time), I generally have used an action wrench and a barrel nut wrench to do my barrel changes. Do a bit more reading before you invest in tools to keep you from buying stuff you may not need.

If you pay your $15.00 for a year's paid membership, you would have access to the classifieds. There, one can often find good barrels for less money, and sometimes the tools needed. If you are not in a hurry, what you want will eventually show up.

If you were near me, I'd be happy to come over with my tools and help you with your first barrel swap.

thomae,
Thank you, for the information, sir.

I know what you mean about the "satisfaction" of doing it yourself, as I've been there done that on several projects and it is a priceless feeling...despite the cost. I live a just few miles from Fred Moreo, of Sharp Shooter Supply and he has been a great help in answering what questions that I've had in the past. Not to mention, I've had him install of couple of his custom triggers that have made all the difference in the rifles that I own.

One concern of mine was getting/building a barrel vice that will hold and not damage the barrel, while making the install. Another question for Fred, perhaps.

Edit/Addition: I've seen videos of the action being put in a vice, instead of the barrel. Is this a pure preference or are there reasons for one vs. the other?

Bowhunter57

My vote would be do it yourself.

I have action wrenches and a barrel vise both along with a recoil lug wrench. My preference is the action wrench and barrel nut wrench for changing Savage barrels. I have never had any problem at all even with factory installed barrels getting them loose on the first try. If you do a search you should find several barrel changing threads, look through them until you find one by BillPa, it details his method of barrel removal, follow the instructions and you won't have any trouble. If you find after swapping your barrel out yourself that it isn't something you care for you can get most of your tool investment back by selling the tools in the classifieds and still be money ahead vs paying a gunsmith to do it for you.

Bob

I have picked up two different used Savage 25-06 varmint barrels in the classifieds over time. Both shot better than I can. I would vote action wrench and barrel nut wrench to change your barrels.