Rechamber Barrel

There's going to be a few questions in this thread.


First off I have a 1:9 26" bull barrel off a model 12 Savage chambered in .223 that is threaded for a brake/can. The barrel one holes 69 SMK's "all day long" It's been a while since I had it on a rifle and I don't have my notes handy so I can't say what my load, FPS, etc. were.

Question 1, Can anyone with experience recommend a smith to rechamber this barrel to 22-250 or 22-250 AI for a reasonable fee?

Question 2, Pros & Cons to 22-250 AI in a 9 twist besides more speed, less barrel life?

Question 3, I would like to go ahead and shorten it up and make it a dedicated suppressor barrel so how short could I go with a can and not loose too much velocity?

Question 4, My youngest son is in the first year of a 2 year precision machining program. Is there a good reason this is not something he could handle with the guidance of his instructor? If he FUBARs it it won't be the end of the world I'll just buy a prefit like a lot of you are going to recommend I do anyway. It's more about giving him a project for the experience and having something he machined on a rifle I put together.

I know it would probably be cheaper to call James @ NSS like I've done several other times and buy a barrel but that's not really the point here.

Thanks-Dave

Since you're willing to sacrifice the barrel (if he messes it up) I think it's a great idea to have your son try to do the work... Isn't that what he's going thru the program for? I can't imagine it being any more rewarding to both of you, when it's done and shooting "lights out"...

I don't think the 22-250 AI is going to be much improvement for the loss of barrel life you will get. I shoot the 55 gr V-Max out of my 22-250 at 3300-3400 FPS... And that is not a max load... If you want to shoot heavier bullets maybe go with an 8 twist however.

Just my .02

Looking to shoot the 69-75 g bullets, this tube shoots the 69s into one small hole and the 75s a little looser. If I were getting a new tube it would be an 8 twist.

I did some measuring on the barrel and there is not enough meat on the shank to cut the threads off and start from there. At best I could do a small set back and hope the 22-250 reamer reaches far enough to clean up any throat damage. Any shortening would have to come off the muzzle end. Wasn't wanting to do that because it's already threaded.

if your going to shorten it I'd shy away from the 22-250 as your velocity gains are going to diminish.

as for letting your son do it I think that would be a great idea. nothing like hands on experience that he too can enjoy shooting after he finishes. you could rent the reamer from 4d reamer rentals which doesn't cost much. a 22-250 will completely clean up the old chamber and you'll have a new throat to work with so it would be a win win.

but like I mentioned earlier if you shorten it yes it would likely be faster than a .223 in a equal length barrel but the gains will be much less than a 26" .223 vs a 26" 22-250.
another potential bonus of running it full length is you could possibly run 75gr bullets as the velocity of the 22-250 might stabilize the bullet where as the .223 couldn't due to the higher velocities.

A few years ago, I built my son a 223 using a factory stainless/fluted varmint weight, 1/9 twist barrel. It shoots 75 grain A-Max like a laser all the way out to 550 yards. Surprised me that a bullet that heavy would shoot so well in that twist. It knocks the hell out of a steel turkey at that range.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 6.5savageguy

Looking to shoot the 69-75 g bullets, this tube shoots the 69s into one small hole and the 75s a little looser. If I were getting a new tube it would be an 8 twist.

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If this was my barrel I'd save it, replacing it with a new pre-fit in the caliber, length, and configuration you want. A "bughole" barrel is a good thing to have on the shelf and even if you are limited to 69 gr how is that all bad? Have you tried the Berger 73gr? In my 1:9 .223 barrels they shot fantastic.

On another rifle I went with a .223 3-groove, 1:7 twist from Benchmark. Now shoot 80.5 Berger's and 90gr VLD's with great results.

When you get into the heavier .224" bullets you pretty much have to build for them and that often eliminates the performance capabilities for lighter bullets. The break point seems to be around 70gr.

Just a thought,

Rechambering the barrel from 223 Rem to 22-250 is certainly doable. The length of the 22-250 being 1.912" vs. 1.760" for the 223 Rem, so you will make a little over 1/8th of an inch of the existing throat disappear just in the rechamber. If more is needed, then set the barrel back a little and keep chambering until the erosion is gone. Only issue being getting the 22-250 reamer centered on the bore. The reamer is going to start cutting a new side and shoulder before the pilot engages the bore. If I were going to try it, I would start with the reamer held in the tail stock of the lathe first, until the reamer pilot is in the bore, then switch to a floating reamer holder to finish the chamber.

But, by the same token, I would just shorten the barrel to the desired length and leave it as a 223 Rem. It is pretty easy to create a new muzzle thread & crown, using the lopped off length of the barrel as the example of what to recreate. Since your son (with instructor guidance) can do the work, then I would suggest shortening the barrel two inches at a time. That gives him multiple practice runs locating the bore centerline, cutting concentric threads to it, and then crowning barrels. All of this is good practice for an aspiring machinist... so if you are going to offer up the barrel as a sacrifice, then let it be for a good cause. :)

(Just make sure he stops before the barrel falls below 16" overall.)

Let you son take a shot at it. We can use another Savage smith! Think of the pride you will have.

However, if it is a shooter, do you want to mess with it. Pick up a used barrel and let your son have at it. And start looking for a lathe of your own.

Bill