I've been thinking about re-barreling my .270 win, which currently has an 18" barrel to a 22" barrel. How hard would it be to re-chamber it to say a .280 rem? Is it possible at all? I have a qoute from Hart barrels for a re-barrel soup to nuts $550. I looked at Shilen's web-site and it looks like they would be around $600+. Should I buy the barrel blank myself and have a gunsmith do it or have the barrel manufacturer do it? Any perference in barrels, Shilen vs. Hart vs. Lilja vs. Douglass etc. Thanks in advance.

I have went both ways. You won't be dissatisfied with hart or Shilen. but too much for my blood. I now buy barrel blanks and have a local gunsmith do it. Mine will rebarrel for 195 dollars and usually laps my lugs and beds it in the process. So thats 450 dollars.

I highly suggest looking at Dan liljas barrels also. I had a krieger on my last 300RUM. It shot good but copper fouled bad.Not as bad as factory barrels but not like you expect from a maker like Krieger.Might have been a rough throat, but who knows.

If you are interested in another caliber altogether, I think it may be best to decide what you like and want,talk to the gun dealer of your choice, and trade your current rifle. Probably gonna cost a good bit less in the long run. Perhaps some of the others around here who do this for a livelyhood can give you a ballpark cost for a rebarrel job. I just had a 7 Mag done with a Shilen tube, and it's not that cheap. New bedding involved, also. JMHO----

if you rebarrel, the 280 is as simple as running a 280 reamer in a 7mm barrel blank when they chamber it... same parent cartridge as the 270 so the rim is the same diameter and the bolt face will not need to be modified... the magazine will work just fine with the 280 round also...

local gunsmiths here rebarrel for 500 - 550 by the time they disassemble, buy the blank, chamber, thread, cut and crown it, assemble it and blue it...

don't rule out douglas barrels either. I have a Shilen and a Douglas and both are quality barrels.. the Douglas is actually better than the Shilen as far as copper fouling but then again the Douglas is hand lapped...

If you want just a good hunting barrel, contact E.R. Shaw they will put a good barrel on it for you at about one third the price of most. I have had them rebarrel several rifles for me. All were well done and shot very well. I have another one that I am thinking about doing now. If I do, Shaw will get the job.

They found out in the first days of the 270 win birth that the 22" barrel was the barrel length that the cartridge liked the best for standard accuracy in a hunting rifle.I personally like douglas barrels and there prices arent bad. What type action is your rifle? vangunsmith

IF you wanted to convert your rifle to .280, it would require a rebore job as well as a rechambering job. The .207 shoots .277"-.278" bullets, and a .280 shoots .284" bullets. I don't know if your barrel would permit such a rebore job, because its' present groove diameter is about the same as the land diameter of a .280 barrel. It probably would NOT clean up enough for this work. So you are probably going to have to buy a barrel. There is no problem, however, of merely rebarreling your rifle from .270 to .280, since except for the neck and bullet diameters, these two rounds are almost identical in all other dimensions. So you current action will handle the .280 just as well as it handles the .270.All you need is a barrel. personally, I'd have the barrel maker do the whole job, (if they offer this service), so you don't have to fool with more than one source.

All the barrel makers you named furnish good barrels, including Douglas.

This group was shot with a Douglas Premium Gradebarrel.

Thanks for all the help. The action is a Ruger M77 (tang safety). I have another quick question, I bought this rifle used back in '91 and never messed with the trigger (I doubt the previous owner ever did) but are there instructions on the web for adjusting the trigger? I see a small allen screw on the underside of the trigger but have no clue what that screw actually adjusts, i.e. weight, creep? Thanks again.

I would not complain about a Hart barrel as anyone that has ever been to his shop will tell you they are some of the best people to deal with. I have a gun sitting out there now that they are working on. that said, I would give serious thought to ER Shaw. They are great people to work with and I had a .338 WM rebarrel and rechambered fora .416 taylor. All SS and custom to my contour and length. The price was less than most others and I get many compliments. If it is for precision shooting I would contact Hart though since they tailor the barrel's inner diameter to your specific case necks andloads.My first trip to Hart's shop turned into a tour and about a two hour visit. They definately like to talk but you will feel the personalized attention.

Hart and you will never look back!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They are a class act,