Permanent barrel nut?

[spelunk]

I am wondering if anybody has found a way to permanently install a barrel nut. I am wanting it to act as a traditional shouldered barrel would. I am wondering if it could be epoxied in place? I have a Bighorn TL3 on the way and am wanting to get a cheaper 223 barrel to supplement my 6.5mm competition barrel. I'm thinking if I can install the nut permanently , I could then do barrel swaps with a barrel vice and the internal wrench that goes in the action on the bighorn. This way I could skip the headspacing process and maybe not have to take the rifle apart to change barrels. Just curious if anyone has tried something like this before or if it's a bad idea.


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[m12lrs]

Yep

Here is how to do it. Trick is to make sure your headspace is right when you glue the barrel nut on.

Headspace the rifle as you normally would with the go gauge in the chamber.

Put permanent index marks on the action to barrel nut and barrel nut to barrel. That way any time in the future you can easily check to see if anything has moved.

Check with the no go to be sure headspace is correct.

Put the go gauge back in and back the nut off as far as you can without moving the barrel. Keep it tight to ths go gauge.

Put a little blue locktite on the exposed threads. That way if sometime in the future you want to disassemble it you can.

Now tighten the barrel nut down till all the index marks line up.

Set it.aside for 24 hrs. Recheck headspace with go and no go and you should be good to go.

Repeat with as many barrels as you want to.

Which rear action wrench do you plan to use!

[m12lrs]

It is possible to remove the barrel without taking the action out of the stock.

First you must have the stock inletted enough for the barrel nut to clear as the barrel is unscrewed from the action. Probably at least another 2 inches. Most aren't.

Most scopes don't have enough clearance to just lift it out so you have to slide the barrel forward through the barrel channel. Will you have enough room to get that barrel nut by the objective end of the scope?

[FW Conch]

Unless the action is glued into the stock, I don't see the advantage of not removing the barreled action when switching barrels? No matter how precise the set up, I can't imagine the POI not changing, at least a little bit, but perhaps I'm wrong?

I have modified a barrel nut wrench that fits on the nut and under the scope, so that I can switch barrels without removing the scope. Setting headspace has never been a big deal for Me.

[Robinhood]

Unless the action is glued into the stock, I don't see the advantage of not removing the barreled action when switching barrels? No matter how precise the set up, I can't imagine the POI not changing, at least a little bit, but perhaps I'm wrong? I have modified a barrel nut wrench that fits on the nut and under the scope, so that I can switch barrels without removing the scope. Setting headspace has never been a big deal for Me.

A portable barrel vise with a "through the bolt raceway" action wrench setup has been used successfully.

[Sponxx]

There was an article posted on another forum - I have thought about it, but don't shoot enough to make a necessity of it. Indeed a .223 conversion would be fun for the kids when they get older though.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/arti...2-review-1.php

[gbflyer]

Never tried it but I'd imagine epoxy or even silver solder would work.

[FW Conch]

If you've ever gotten a drop of blue Locktite in the front scope base screw hole, down to the barrel threads, then you know that is sufficient also.

[spelunk]

It is possible to remove the barrel without taking the action out of the stock.

First you must have the stock inletted enough for the barrel nut to clear as the barrel is unscrewed from the action. Probably at least another 2 inches. Most aren't.

Most scopes don't have enough clearance to just lift it out so you have to slide the barrel forward through the barrel channel. Will you have enough room to get that barrel nut by the objective end of the scope?

You bring up an excellent point that I overlooked. There may not be enough clearance to pull barrels in and out once the nut is permanently attached. I will have to look at my chassis once it shows up and maybe a little bit taller rings to see if it is possible. Even if I have to remove the barreled action from the chassis, I still might pursue this idea so I can leave the scope mounted during barrel changes.

[spelunk]

If you've ever gotten a drop of blue Locktite in the front scope base screw hole, down to the barrel threads, then you know that is sufficient also.

Luckily I've never had that problem, but thanks for the feedback. If blue loctite is indeed up to the task, I would feel more comfortable using it since its not a permanent application like Devcon or something might be. If I screw something up with blue, I should be able to take it apart, clean it up, and start over.

[FW Conch]

True...a little heat and You can clean it right up.