Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: caliber change

  1. #1
    New Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    12

    caliber change


    If you change your barrel to change the caliber say from 308 to 243 or vice versa can it be done by say the average person without a great impact on the accuracy given that you were using good barrels? Questions been bugging me and I couldn't figure out how to phrase it for a good search. Thanks

  2. #2
    Werewolf
    Guest
    LOL that is the main point of our little club! Welcome to the madness. Search for switching barrels. Using a good aftermarket barrel and setting the headspace just right yourself has the potential to increase accuracy, but each action barrel combo is different. It is part of the fun.

  3. #3
    Basic Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Macon, GA
    Posts
    1,078
    Absolutely! Savage is the tinkerer's rifle!
    They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

  4. #4
    Team Savage BobT's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Missouri Ozarks
    Age
    65
    Posts
    707
    Welcome Dogman,

    I have actually experienced accuracy increases removing and re-installing barrels, never had one shoot worse though!

    Bob
    It's better to shoot for the moon and hit the fencepost than to shoot for the fencepost and hit the ground!

  5. #5
    Basic Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    SC, 20min from coast & 20min from SAV
    Age
    36
    Posts
    175
    Just incase you were wondering, even if you kept the scope on(I doubt you can, during a swap) your point of impact would change going from one cartridge/barrel to a new cartridge/barrel. Someone with more experience may be able to chime in. But it would be considered almost necessary to sight in the rifle again after swap. There has been some discussion about the change of the point of impact and whether or not barrels can be swapped without removal of the scope in the past.

    Good luck and have fun! welcome to the site!
    Couple rf's, couple cf's, and 1 12g.

    Everything I once held dear
    I count it all as lost

  6. #6
    ellobo
    Guest
    There are a lot of little nuances you have to pay attention to when swspping barrels, like proper setting of headspace, possible magazine changes (what magazine do you have/ Stagger feed, center feed, DBm?) Bolt head may have toi be changed out. You should get a good aftermarket recoil lug. Will the new barrel be free floated in the stock as well as the tang? All depends on what you are changing from-to. None of this is hard to do and how-to is available here.
    Welcome to the brotherhood of the barrel nut. You are now officialy a "NUT".

    El obo

  7. #7
    Super Moderator Blue Avenger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Minnesota
    Age
    65
    Posts
    2,965
    If your willing to try you have half the battle won. The rest involves time and tools!
    .223 Rem AI, .22-250 AI, .220 Swift AI .243 Win AI, .6mm Rem AI, .257 Rob AI, .25-06 AI, 6.5x300wsm .30-06 AI, .270 STW, 7mm STW, 28 nosler, .416 Taylor

  8. #8
    Cycler
    Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by ellobo View Post
    There are a lot of little nuances you have to pay attention to when swspping barrels, like proper setting of headspace, possible magazine changes (what magazine do you have/ Stagger feed, center feed, DBm?) Bolt head may have toi be changed out. You should get a good aftermarket recoil lug. Will the new barrel be free floated in the stock as well as the tang? All depends on what you are changing from-to. None of this is hard to do and how-to is available here.
    Welcome to the brotherhood of the barrel nut. You are now officialy a "NUT".

    El obo
    The OP sounds like he is thinking about the most straight-forward caliber change imaginable, a .308W to a .243W. Both use the same action length, same magazine, same bolt head and even the same headspace gauge. About the only problem might be if he chooses a barrel with a significantly different contour and has to modify the stock's barrel channel.

  9. #9
    New Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    12
    Well that was kind of the point to me. I currently shoot 223 and 308 however after reading some articles 243 interested me. Then I found out from the forum that 243 could use the 308 mag. I might think of a 223 barrel in the future as well. Might stick with the varmint contour to keep things simple. I like easy. On another note is this configuration doable in 338 or is that a whole new setup? Ordered a varmint action today from Jim at Northland. Lots and lots of possibilities popping into my head. I love all the support being given so far! This is one great forum!

  10. #10
    Cycler
    Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by dogman View Post
    Well that was kind of the point to me. I currently shoot 223 and 308 however after reading some articles 243 interested me. Then I found out from the forum that 243 could use the 308 mag. I might think of a 223 barrel in the future as well. Might stick with the varmint contour to keep things simple. I like easy. On another note is this configuration doable in 338 or is that a whole new setup? Ordered a varmint action today from Jim at Northland. Lots and lots of possibilities popping into my head. I love all the support being given so far! This is one great forum!
    The .243 Win is just the .308 Win case necked down to 6 mm so it's a very easy change. As to a .338, which one? A .338Win magnum reqiuires a long action and a magnum bolt head and won't work in your action. A .338 Federal is just the .308 Win necked up to .338 and is also an easy change.

    BTW, the ".308 Family", all based on the same case, includes these standard factory rounds:

    .243 Win
    .260 Rem
    7mm-08 Rem
    .308 Win.
    .338 Federal
    .358 Win.

    There are also dozens and dozens of Wildcats based on this case in standard or modified form so you could be busy for a long time.

Similar Threads

  1. 30-06 caliber change
    By Chief80 in forum Axis Series Rifles
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-15-2018, 06:04 PM
  2. Barrel change/Caliber change?
    By doclouie in forum 110-Series Rifles
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 03-09-2014, 04:27 PM
  3. caliber change
    By pahermit in forum 110-Series Rifles
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 06-02-2013, 06:33 PM
  4. Caliber change
    By N1YDP22 in forum 110-Series Rifles
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 03-20-2013, 10:55 PM
  5. Caliber change?
    By johnnyracer in forum 110-Series Rifles
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 07-15-2010, 09:27 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •