December 5, 2021
The barrel nut system allows for “Pre-Fit” barrel installations on Remington actions. CLICK photo for zoom.REMAGE Project report by Bill, Rifleshooter.com Editor
Although installing a new barrel on your Remington 700 may seem daunting, especially without a lathe, there are simpler alternatives thanks to companies such as Criterion Barrels and McGowen Precision Barrels. You can use a Savage-style barrel nuts on a 1-1/16″ barrel. Thread for a Remington 700 receiver. Pre-chambered (or “pre-fit”) barrels are easy to swap with a few tools. This system is sometimes called a REMAGE converter (for “REMington savAGE”) A “Pre-fit” 6mmBR-chambered barrel with no lathe-work or machining was installed on the Remington action of the author. I used a few Brownells tools: Remington 700 Action Wrench and Barrel Vise; Go and No-Go Gauges; Recoil Alignment Tool and a Savage Barrel Nut Wrench to swap the.308 Winchester bar from my Remington 700 short-action Remington 700 and install the McGowen pre-fit pre-chambered barrel. This converted it to a 6BR (aka 6mmBR Normal). The barrel can be removed from the action (normally, the hardest part), and the new barrel is attached with the Go Gauge. Once headspace has been verified using the Go Gauge the barrel nut can be tightened against the action. This takes out all the manual work involved in barreling. Some stocks may need minor inletting due to the barrel nut’s slightly larger diameter. If you are using fired brass from a rifle with the same chambering as your pre-fit barrel, FL-size the brass before you load it into your new pre-fit barrel. Before you go to the range, make sure to check your setup with a dummy cartridge loaded to normal cartridge length. Pre-Fits should have a freebore that is sufficient for your cartridge. However, you should always adjust your seating depth if necessary. My McGowen Remage barrel shoots and looks great. Two longer articles have been written about this project. Read this article to learn more about how the barrel was mounted: Rebarrel a Remington 700 with no lathe: McGowen’s Remage barrel conversion. McGowen Remage Barrel Review: Spoiler Alert! It Shoots! Bill has been a serious shooter since the early 1990s. He is a former Marine Corps Sergeant and has competed and placed in High Power Rifle and ISPC, USPSA and IDPA. Bill is a NRA-certified firearms instructor, range officer, and has hunted big game across North America, South America and Africa. His blog, Rifleshooter.com, is a wealth of information about gunsmithing, precision guns, and other shooting sports. Similar Posts: Tags: Barrel nut, McGowen Barrel, Remage, Rifleshooter.com, Savage Remington Barrel
