barrel swappin

[airaddict]

ok all....help a newbie out. ive been reading and soaking up all i can in here. im in the middle of my first customization and have a question regarding barrel swapping.

do yall remove the scope to get the barrel nut wrench over the nut or does it slip underneath the scope bell so you dont have to remove it. or is it better to have detachable rings so you can remove the scope and be within a very small amount of rezeroing for the new caliber? thanks.

brian b

[Blue Avenger]

well, it depends on the scope and/or wrench. either it works or it don't. most of the time it don't!

[airaddict]

yeah thats what im trying to keep in mind on my next ground up build.

i considered shaving the thickness off the end of the wrench to give myself a little more clearance but i have a feeling i may need high mounts. or suck it up and buy the quick release ones on a one piece picatinny mount.

[geargrinder]

If you are using an action wrench you'll have to take the scope and bases off.

[22 Mag]

I picked up a larger spanner wrench which works great on an action the factory barrel has been removed by the standard method. This way I need to take the action out of the stock, place the barrel in my barrel blocks, hook the spanner on around the bottom of the action and pop the spanner wrench with a deadblow hammer and try not to hit the scope with the hammer. I do this all the time with my Savage actions. It works great and you don't have to remove the scope that you spent so much time leveling the first time.

P.S. I have not hit any scopes yet ( your not that close).

22 Mag

[skamaniac]

Bear with me, i have not yet attempted a barrel change. So you're turning the action but not the barrel nut?

[dwm]

There are several long threads on this, try a little searching, lots of good techniques have been presented ...

[airaddict]

ive searched through majority of the topics in hre and havent seen anything. my phone dosnt allow me to search. ill have to find time to jump on the computer or the wifes iphone and search.

ive only taken one barrel off. but i think the barrel wrench from wheeler may fit under my scope bell (leupold 40mm) so i wont have to remove the scope to loosen the barrel nut and swap barrels. ill prob just vise the barrel in blocks and see how that goes. ive seen other posts that say they have had problems keeping the action still while snugging up the nut. i considered getting a set of high mounts (DNZ mounts) just in case to compare the clearance.

i also considered modifying the wrench to work like a spanner wrench by cutting out a section of it kind of the same way most ar barrel wrenches look nut i prob would be able to torque it on, but most people in here just give it a good rap on it and they r done. or shave down the outside edge to make it thinner to clear the scope bell.

hopefully my barrel from savage barrels will be in soon. ill be waiting 6 weeks this week i think.

brian

[jonbearman]

If you cut the wrench,you can throw it away.Acircle is strong and a semi circle is weak. Period

[bluealtered]

For me i simply pull the scope and rings from the base as one piece, pull the base and swap out the barrel then when i remount the scope and rings it has always been on the paper at 100yd. blue

[barrel-nut]

or suck it up and buy the quick release ones on a one piece picatinny mount.

+1.
You can then remove the scope without removing it from the rings. If you need to remove the rail, such as to use an action wrench (I always do), it's just four screws. When you replace the rail afterwards, and reinstall the scope, be aware that the point of impact may be off horizontally, due to tolerances or lack thereof in the screw holes in the rail. If so, just loosen them slightly, move the rail in the appropriate direction slightly, and retighten (this could happen with any style of base). I have found this to be much more convenient than Leupold-type rings, plus if you shoot at longer distances, you can get a rail with 20 MOA of elevation built in, and better utilize the elevation in your scope.
Also, using the rail allows you to swap scopes at the range very easily, if you have them both mounted in Picatinny-style rings.

[tammons]

A good reason to buy a picatinny base, IE you can pull the scope and rings and they usually go back on within 1" for me. Use a good base and good rings. I use extreme rings.

With a 1-4x or 2-7x or other short scope you can leave it on. At least I can with an EGW base.

I only use a barrel Vise, IE no action wrench, but only for the initial break.
It can be tricky to get the nut off the first time as they are gorrilla tight from the factory.

I have had good luck with this.
Alum barrel blocks.
Tooling leather. Had it laying around. Stiff and about 1/4" thick
Confectioners sugar to keep it from spinning.

Wrap the barrel with scotch tape where you will clamp it prior to clamping down on it and that prevents marring if it does slip.
Don't use tape on a painted barrel.

Whack the **** out of the wrench with a heavy hammer


Once its off it is easier from then on.

I dont even use a vise for swapping. I just hold on to the action and give the wrench a few solid hits with a hammer
to tighten. Reverse to loosen.

[Carvera]

Some front base screws actually dig into the barrel threads. If you try removing a barrel without taking the front base off, you run the risk of ruining threads on your barrel.

I would take the bases off before removing any barrel.

[airaddict]

great perspectives!

i cant remove the base with the scope attached cuz i use DNZ mounts and my current savage and 2 of the 4 screws are right below the rings so i wold need to remove the scope to get to them. but a good idea for my next hot rod build!

for the next one i build from the ground up, i will use the one piece picatinny rail and either removeable rings or place the scope in certain position so i can get to the base screws to remove it as a whole.

brian

[Cycler]

You do understand that if and when you change any barrel, even if you just reinstall the same one, you will have to rezero the gun afterward. So avoiding removing and replacing the scope won't avoid rezeroing.

[airaddict]

cycler,

i understand that. even if i didnt have to remove the scope i know i would have to rezero for the diff ballistics of diff calibers. it wold be nice if i could find a setup that would allow that so i could loctite the ring and base screws in and not have to mess w them. then i would need maybe 3 shots to zero and ide be good to go with the diff caliber. but my military experience has taught me to plan for the worse and hope for the best.

curse that murphy and his stinkin law!!