flags

I recently inherited and old Rem Model 700 in 7mm Mag that was owned by my late father. He bought it soon after the cartridge was released in the early 1960's and the barrel is pretty much shot out. I have a Rem Model 700 7mm Mag of my own that I have been carrying since I was 13 so I don't need another one but the rifle has a lot of sentimental value to me so I don't want to kust send it down the road.

I have a new unfired barrel for a Rem Model 700 in 30-06 that a friend gave me after he bought a rifle for the action to build a wildcat on. I'm thinking about removing the shot out 7mm barrel and replacing it with the 30-06 barrel since I don't have an 06 right now.

My question is two fold:

1) Do I also need to replace the bolt since the base dimensions for the 2 rounds are not the same. The 30-06 is slightly smaller in both base diameter and rim thickness but I don't know if it is enough to make a major difference.

2) Will I need to have any work done on the feed rails or will the 30-06 feed smoothly on the factory rails?

Any info that someone could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Flags

Ridge Runner

you could have the bolt reworked to the standard rifle casehead but kinda pricey a new bolt is pricier yet.
My belief is you could get a mid level custom barrel have it chambered 7mm stw for not much more, not what you asked but my experience in changing out calibers, cartridges and barrels its what I'd do.
could be done as the way you asked, the barrel will work (probably won't fit the barrel channel/stock quite right. I know once I took a B&C stock off a 270 R700, dropped a 7mm R700 barreled action in it and the screws weren't long enough.)
feeding should be ok but may need slight adjustment.
hope this helps.
RR

Big Uncle

The bolt is a problem, and there is a really good chance that feeding will also have issues.

If I had that situation I would find another take-off barrel in a cartridge that uses the same family of case. I changed a 7mm RM into a .338 WM with a barrel swap. No problems at all with bolt or feeding.

CDNN has take-off barrels, as do many other vendors, but I usually can find one locally for about $40 - $50. I remember being in the building of Douglas Barrels and seeing 55 gallon drums full of take-off barrels that they were sending out for scrap value.

You could probably get your take-off .30-06 rechambered in .300 WM for a good bit less than reworking the action to use the .30-06 barrel. A mild load for the .300 WM can turn it into a .30-06 equivalent.

Nomercy448

That's where I'd be looking.

A guy can go through all of the trouble to convert between case families, and it's probably easier in a 700 than any other action out there since parts are so prevalent, but the cost is going to be a lot higher than simply 'keeping it in the family'.

Ridge Runner

however a 300 WSM would be doable with the '06 barrel, would need to be shortened and rechambered.
RR

Superpig

Have the 06 barrel rechambered to 300 Win Mag if it's not under 24". This would be a safe bet for a usable rifle. You could also go 338 Win Mag with a new barrel.

redgreen

Another option would be a 308 Norma magnum. Great cartridge that should be much more popular.

jeepkid

Like they said already, stick with something with the same bolt face or bigger. Very very hard to go with a smaller cartridge. Feeding will also be an issue for sure.

Buy a chrome moly Shilen for $175, true up the action, chamber it in 7mm rem mag, blue it so it looks like factory and have a very good shooter that will look the same as it did when your Dad owned it.

ronlaughlin

... and this would be the simplest, easiest, most inexpensive option, would it not?

Ridge Runner

flags went thru my safe, I have a 700 takeoff barrel chambered 7mm RM prolly got 500 rounds thru it at the very most, you can have it for what it costs to ship it to ya.
RR