Barrel change

D

D.Dascher

Guest
Hello all,I am new to Benchrest and have been reading about changeing barrels at the range for different conditions and distance etc. I always thought this was a Gunsmith/Lathe operation.Any infromation on this will be appericated,thanks for your time and help.Dee.
 
Dee,
If you have a rifle that has no recoil lug like a Remington or where the headspace is not adjustable like a Savage, it is a matter of screwing one off and another on. This is supposing that all the barrels were properly headspaced to the receiver previously. It normally takes an action wrench and a barrel vise. Now that being said, you can do the Remington also if you have a barrel that has been headspaced to it and have a tool to index the recoil properly, you can do it also. You can also do a Savage if you have the above tools, a Savage wrench for the barrel nut and the proper headspace guage for each caliber barrel. Hope that isn't confusing.
Butch
 
D,

Benchrest Rifles, (or any fine custom for that matter), are built to exact tolerances. Many brands of custom actions are manufactured with such exacting tolerances that the Gunsmith does not even have to have the action in order to furnish a complete, ready to install barrel.

Many shooters have the Gunsmith record the criticle measurements when he does a barrel, so he can simply duplicate them lateronsubsequent barrels.

Sure, the headspace may vary a few thousanths from one to the next,(lot of variables involved), but since Benchrest Shooters usually fireform cases for each application, it is of no consequence.

This is a very common practice. And, as I said, it is a product of very well machined parts combined with the skill of our Gunsmiths......jackie
 
Jackie, What about removing a barrel from and action that is glued in.
 
Dee, almost the same exact question was posed in the General Forum above and I posted the following--



Properly done with proper equipment, you could swap barrels 6-8 times per day with no ill effect on any of the components,

Proper equipment-a firmly secured barrel vise like the 4-bolt type sold by Kelblys, Sinclair, Bruno. etc.
-A well fitted rear entry action wrench. Get one made specifically for your action.
-A good quality grease for the barrel threads, and don't spare the application. You don't need a cup full on the tenon but you need enough to make sure ever square cc will have a film of grease.

Proper method-If you have an action and scope bases that will allow easily removing the scope remove the scope. Rifle scopes are not made to withstand much side shock. Actions that dovetail like the Stolle Panda or round actions that have that similar dovetail. Removing a scope by unbolting the ring caps is a pain.
-Firmly clamp the barrel, just ahead of the stock forend. If the barrel is polished or blued, use a wrap of target paper between the barrel and vise.
-Make sure the rear-entry action wrench is seated to where it was designed to operate.
-Use something thick and firm like 2 old leather boot tongues to protect the stock comb where the wrench will operate.
-Break the barrel loose, remove the action wrench and unscrew the barrel. Some folks feel more secure by taking the assembly out of the vise and unscrew the barrel by hand instead of leaving the barrel in the vise and unscrewing the action and stock.

Once apart, wipe the action lugs and inside the action threads of all powder residue and other gunk.

Apply grease to the to be installed barrel and reverse the above process.

As to how much torque, like Jackie I do not believe 65 ft/lb is enough to firmly secure the joint. Torque to at least, at least, 100 ft/lb.

If your barrels were properly chambered and you could simply slide the scope off and back on, you should be within +/- 6" at 100 yards.



It's not as common now as a few years ago but still some shooters will install a heavier barrel and/or stock weights when changing from the Light Varmint to the Heavy Varmint class. Why? If you just have one gun and you can handle a 13.5# gun better than a 10.5# is mostly why. Some few recoil sensitive shooters only shoot the HV class.
 
jackie and others

i find this facinating stuff but you still have to have quite a lot of equipment and a fair amount of knowledge to do it right.

except for you smiths does this work successfully?

thanks

bob
 
Bob

As with many things, a good dose of common sense goes a long way.

There really isn't much of a mystery about all of this. Once you see it done, it is a simple matter of following some set standards.

Of course, all of this is dependent on the fact that everything is machined correctly. Nothing worse than starting a new barrel into an action, and it suddenly stops, and won't move one way or the other.........jackie
 
Critical measurements

jackie schmidt said:
Many shooters have the Gunsmith record the criticle measurements when he does a barrel, so he can simply duplicate them lateronsubsequent barrels.

Sure, the headspace may vary a few thousanths from one to the next,(lot of variables involved), but since Benchrest Shooters usually fireform cases for each application, it is of no consequence.

This is a very common practice. And, as I said, it is a product of very well machined parts combined with the skill of our Gunsmiths......jackie
Click to expand...


Jackie,
The last couple of barrels I had chambered and set up were done this way, i.e. the gunsmith taking all dimensions for future duplications. He used his reamers for my barrels.

If I had my own reamer made and gave it to him, would he be able to work from my reamer dimensions to chamber a new barrel or would I have to give him the action so he could record these new dimensions? The reason I'm asking is it would be easier, for me, to just send him the reamer via UPS as opposed to a visit to drop off the receiver.

Lou Baccino
 
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