Barrels and Triggers on a 700

[Desert_Spectre]

I have what is slowly becoming only just barely a remington SPS, and there are two parts I still want to change on it, and I need some advice. For the record and perspective, this is a 0-1000m tactical rifle in purpose.

Barrel: it is the 26" SPS varmint, at the moment, but I would like a shorter barrel when I go custom. what make would you recommend, and how short can I take it while maintaining supersonic velocity and MOA at 1000?

Trigger: Ive used jewell triggers in the past on friends rifles, and I loved them, i am just worried that they are too fragile/sensitive for my tactical get-dirty system that im building... any thoughts/experiences?

 

[Chadwick122689]

Re: Barrels and Triggers on a 700

There are people here with infinitely more knowledge than myself, but I installed Timney triggers on a few different 700's and I like the wide trigger shoe on them... As for the durability of trigger components I do not know because the guns I put triggers in are "range rifles" and honestly never get dirty... I know, blasphemy around here ha..

 

[mastermason6]

Re: Barrels and Triggers on a 700

Look for an old style remington trigger and have Neil Jones adjust it for you.

 

[FPO]

Re: Barrels and Triggers on a 700

Go with the Timney.

 

[Adam B]

Re: Barrels and Triggers on a 700

timney or old style 700 factory trigger

 

[Desert_Spectre]

Re: Barrels and Triggers on a 700

Timney seems to be unanimous, lol... ill definitely look into that then! Thanks!

Anyone have any insight on the barrel half of my question?

 

[jpspeeddemon]

Re: Barrels and Triggers on a 700

18"-20" will make it to 1000yds if u do your part, ammunition is more of a factor, 168smk wont make it that far in a 308.
Have a look around the forum and see what other guys are using as far as brand, you'll find a handfull of names that keep poppin up

 

[msting22]

Re: Barrels and Triggers on a 700

I keep the original trigger and had my Gun smith adjust it. Now it's set at 2lbs and I couldn't be happier.

 

[cactusbrew]

Re: Barrels and Triggers on a 700

I agree with the other posters, go with a Timney for a trigger at 2.5 lbs. I would also look at starting load development with 175 grain or heavier bullets.

For length of barrel, there has been a lot of research done on this (google it). You could get away with a 20 inch barrel if you wanted.

 

[bowhunter_0311]

Re: Barrels and Triggers on a 700

Timney 510... good way to go...

 

[TonyAngel]

Re: Barrels and Triggers on a 700

I'm partial to Kriger barrels. I've used six or seven of them for AR and 700 builds and all of them were good solid shooters. Of course there are the likes of Rock, Hart and Broughton and people have good things to say about them. I've just never had a reason to stray from Krieger.

As for length, I'd stick to 20" at the shortest. I know that a lot of guys have 18" barrels and are doing well with them, but that two extra inches usually means that you can get away with burning a grain less powder to get the same velocity. To me that means I'll get longer brass life and a longer throat life. My last shortish build had a 22" barrel. For me that was the way to go. It was short enough to be really manageable, but long enough to get me to 2600 fps with a 175gr bullet easily.

For the trigger, I like the Timney and Shilen. The Timney's trigger is wide. Really wide, but it breaks pretty cleanly and the wide trigger makes heavier pull weights feel subjectively lighter. I do, however, prefer the Shilen trigger, which has a much narrower shoe. I found them to have a cleaner break. On paper, the Shilen trigger proved to be more forgiving than the Timney. I prefer to have the trigger on a field rifle set at around 3lbs. For me, I had to reduce the pull of the Timney to 2lbs to get the same results that I was getting with the Shilen at 3lbs. It might have something to do with the width of the Timney and my short fingers.

If you do get a new barrel, be sure to ask your smith what reamer it is that he's going to use. My smith is a builder and when I gave him my barrel, I told him that I wanted to shoot 175gr SMKs out of it. He cut my chamber so that I am .020" into the lands with a COAL of 2.8. It's also pretty tight. I full length size at every loading and the brass needs almost no sizing. All I'm doing is bumping the shoulder back a couple of thousandths.

All I'm saying is that if you're going to go through the expense of getting a barrel put on, you should make sure that you're going to be getting all of the benefits available that are associated with getting a custom barrel.