Upgrades for Remington 700 & 770?

[MrBear13]

Where can I find new barrels for my 700 & 770? I'm looking for a 700 Heavy Barrel in 30-06 and a 770 Heavy Barrel in .308. Where would I find them, a google search just brings up complete weapons systems. I'm also concerned that if I find and get these heavy barrels, will my current stock and trigger mechanism work with it?

I'm also interested in free floating my barrels for better resonation, how do I go about this?

[red dog]

sounds like to me you need a good smith that deals in accuracy builds. try extreme accuracy gunworks in mt. holly springs. i know it,s not close but the work is spot on. call terry shoemaker at 717-712-5181. tell him ken sent ya, won,t save you any bucks just lets him know i,m sending stuff his way. btw the rem is one of his favorite platforms.

[harold63]

The 770 is what it is. I'll only speak on this one as I have one that I refused to sell because I am super obstinate and hard headed. It was my son's in the beginning, and it would shoot well until it got warm, then the accuracy went south. To my knowledge, there are no barrels for this rifle, and it cannot be rebarreled. I floated the barrel on the one we have (it was a pain to do) and bedded the receiver (also a pain because not much sticks to the plasic stock; think of JB welding an intake manifold on a '97 to '07 Crown Vic and you'll get an idea of this). It took a lot of work. I also cut the barrel to 20.5 inches and recrowned it. The trigger was fairly easy to polish up, but honestly, it was already good in my opinion. There are places in the stock that need to be shaved, as well, (around the take down screws) so that the bolt will function like it is supposed to, or at least on mine, it did, and I have read a ton of others having the same trouble. It is a project rifle that, to my knowlege, are no parts for upgrading. The upgrades will be what you can have done to what is already there. I will say that after a lot of hard work on mine, it does shoot good, now. Remember, though, that this is a throw away rifle. If you start getting throat or barrel erosion, there will nothing you can do to it. I would invest in the 700 as there are a number of things you can do with it. JMHO

[animalmother85]

OP,
your best bet would be finding a barrel blank made by someone like Bartlien and having it cut for your rifle. I recommend an M24/M40 contour. CS Tactical usually has some in stock, but I just checked and their all out of .30 cal barrels.

[Tomcat088]

Where can I find new barrels for my 700 & 770? I'm looking for a 700 Heavy Barrel in 30-06 and a 770 Heavy Barrel in .308. Where would I find them, a google search just brings up complete weapons systems. I'm also concerned that if I find and get these heavy barrels, will my current stock and trigger mechanism work with it?

I'm also interested in free floating my barrels for better resonation, how do I go about this?

It doesn't sound like you're not familiar with what occurs when swapping out barrels on a Remington rifle. My post in the thread I'm going to link will cover what all usually goes into rebarrling a Remington 700. It's not a cheap endeavor, and definitely not something worth doing on a Remington 770. If you want some changes to the Remington 770, you'd be better off selling that rifle, and going with something else. You could either invest in a different Remington 700, or go with something like a Savage rifle. IF you did have them rebarreled, the stocks would need to be opened up to accomodate the thicker barrels, and they might look pretty funny. So then you may be in for the price of a new stock as well. The action and triggers typically are fine. Either way, it's probably not quite as simple of a process as you think.

http://forum.pafoa.org/rifles-42/150...ngton-mag.html

[MrBear13]

I figured that this wasn't going to be cheap or easy. I just picked up the 700 yesterday for $400 with a 6-24x44 for the old lady in 30-06 and want the heavy barrel to help her with with recoil. Also, I'll be taking that for some precision long range shooting eventually. I was looking at 700 with the 26" heavy barrel and had a hard time finding one under $1,500, so I figured my $400 investment was a good start to building up to that. If I can go to the range today maybe I'll find out if the trigger is one of the defective ones, I know it's not an X-Mark (or whatever they're called) or if I'm good to go.

The 770 I'm not so concerned about. It bothers me that I paid $50 more for the 700 than I did the 770 (which came with a cheap Bushnell's 3x9) but, hindsight is 20/20.

All said, baby steps.

ETA: Where are my manners. Thank you fellas for the information. Maybe I'll just free float the barrel and glass bed it or something.

[Tomcat088]

I figured that this wasn't going to be cheap or easy. I just picked up the 700 yesterday for $400 with a 6-24x44 for the old lady in 30-06 and want the heavy barrel to help her with with recoil. Also, I'll be taking that for some precision long range shooting eventually. I was looking at 700 with the 26" heavy barrel and had a hard time finding one under $1,500, so I figured my $400 investment was a good start to building up to that. If I can go to the range today maybe I'll find out if the trigger is one of the defective ones, I know it's not an X-Mark (or whatever they're called) or if I'm good to go.

The 770 I'm not so concerned about. It bothers me that I paid $50 more for the 700 than I did the 770 (which came with a cheap Bushnell's 3x9) but, hindsight is 20/20.

All said, baby steps.

ETA: Where are my manners. Thank you fellas for the information. Maybe I'll just free float the barrel and glass bed it or something.

Well, at least you didn't think it was going to be cheap or easy. Lots of think it's no big deal and that it's real easy to toss one on. It doesn't sound like you did bad at all on the price of that Remington 700. I wouldn't be upset at all if I got a Remington 700 for only $50 more than a 770, that's a heck of an investment. The Remington 770 isn't all that much like the Remington 700. Remington came out with it so that people would think it was just a cheaper Remington 700, and that they'd associate it and bank off of the Remington name and a model number close to the 700; it definitely does work. Just so you know, there's plenty of 26" long barreled Remington 700's that cost less than $1,500. There are several that cost less than $1,000, and plenty of nice rifles that are in the $1,100 mark.

Just so you know, the triggers aren't "defective" on the Remington rifles. The chances are that your rifle will be just fine, and function the way it was designed too. The other instances have happened because of people's stupidity, and imporperly trying to DIY triggers, and adjusting them improperly. If you search the forum, there is tons of information and debate about this very subject. I don't know your wife, but most women (not all), don't typically enjoy .30-06 rifles even if they have a heavier barrel. Some don't mind them, but the majority don't like to fire very many shots out of the bigger boomers, even in heavy rifles. The recoil can get to lots of people, especially when trying to learn to shoot long range. That particular caliber will also kind of be a limiting thing on finding the type of Remington 700 you are looking for. Best of luck.

[harold63]

and definitely not something worth doing on a Remington 770. If you want some changes to the Remington 770, you'd be better off selling that rifle, and going with something else.

Sound advice. Although I got mine working, if I had known what it was going to take, I would have done the same. It was not a fun endeavor, and it was frustrating. Definitely don't spend any money on it unless it is for some cheap fiberglass to bed the receiver.

[animalmother85]

I like Devcon plastic steel putty over any fiber glass. It bonds well and hold up much better over time.

[harold63]

but most women (not all), don't typically enjoy .30-06 rifles even if they have a heavier barrel. Some don't mind them, but the majority don't like to fire very many shots out of the bigger boomers, even in heavy rifles. The recoil can get to lots of people, especially when trying to learn to shoot long range. That particular caliber will also kind of be a limiting thing on finding the type of Remington 700 you are looking for. Best of luck.

Along with recoil, my wife hates the percussion, even from our 270.