[twpbaseball10]

I am going to make a custom rem 700. I was going to start with a used gun and strip the barrel and action apart and get a new barrel and so on. I found many cheap used rem 700 in 7mm rem mag but i am going to make mine in a .308. Do I need to get a new bolt for it, and also would that action work for it as well or do i need an original .308 gun?

 

[ah-ha]

I am not certain on the breechface diameter, but I believe that it is different. I know that the 7mm is a lot longer rd than the 308, so you will probably need a different action. makers sometimes try to make one size fit all, tho, so it's possible that you can get by with the same one. Sounds like a big waste, tho. Why not just get an action, if you are going to scrap all the other parts? Check out the gunsmith mecca, Brownell's supply, google for it. Their smiths are a huge help, usually.

 

[MikeG]

The 7 mag has a larger head size and would probably be less trouble if you started with something that matched the .308 (.243 et al).

 

[BKeith]

You would not want a 7mm mag to build a 308. Yes, the bolt face is too large but it's also a long action. You will want to stick with a short action to build any rifle based on the 308 cartridge.

If you want to build and extremely accurate 700, a lot of work needs to be done to the bolt. I usually just order the .703 bolt from here http://www.pacifictoolandgauge.com/products/parts/remington.htm and have the smith like Rosco at http://www.louisianaprecisionrifles.com/ ream the receiver to .705. Doing this, you will not use you're bolt anyway. There are a number of other things done with the bolt also to get the most from you're rifle. When they ream the receiver, they will true and square the threads using the ream as a center so everything is perfectly square. When things a done right by a good smith and install a quality barrel, you have the major portion of a tack driver. A quality pillar post bedding and good stock and you will have one great shooting rifle.

Another option is you can order David Tubb's bolt http://www.davidtubb.com/700_bolt.html and have the smith install it. I've also used these in a couple of rifles with great succes but I've heard some say they had minor timing problems with them, I didn't. They mainly do not look no where near as nice as the PT&G bolts and with the PT&G, you can get it snugged up to a perfect .002" clearance.

I might also suggest finding the older 700, mid - late 60's etc, they have the better trigger. I'm not sure what year those go up but I pick up the 60's models in the lenght action I want anytime I want to build another.

If you're not sure, you can go here for year models. http://www.remingtonsociety.com/rsa/questions/barrelcodes

 

[langenc]

As Bob Dole would say "DEPENDS".

 

[BigBob3006]

If I were starting such a project, I would start with a .30-06 action for several reasons. The first being is that the case head of both cartridges are identical and the bolt would not require work. The Magazine could be replaced with a .308 length magazine and follower. I would prefer to have the original magazine and follower reworked to shortened, but left longer than the .308 standard to be able to seat the 150gr, 165gr and 180gr bullets with the base of the seated bullets to be located at the junction of the neck and shoulder of the case. The main reason the .308 falls so far behind the '06 with the heavier than 150gr bullets is because so much of the bullet takes up room that the powder should. In fact I'd look long and hard at eliminating the 180gr bullets and staying just with the 150gr and 165gr bullets. I'd stick with the Nosler Accubond bullets. if you furnish the gunsmith with about five dummy rounds, the gunsmith should be able to throat the barrel to those dimensions. With a 1/12 twist in a match grade barrel, I like a Douglas, you should get a tack driver. As the final step, I'd question the gunsmith on his views on cryogenics and have the barrel and action plus bolt sent off to have it done. What ever you do, be sure you get exactly what you want. You're the guy paying for it and you're the one who should be happy with it.