Hello all, I currently have a .223 R700 adl with a varmint profile barrel. I want to convert it to .308. I understand the bolt face is the wrong size for .308. Am I better off selling it and buying a barreled action or converting it. I am going for a rough m40a3/5 clone. Thoughts, comments, concerns, advice?
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R700 .223 to .308
- Thread starter houghtontaylor
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be aware - your offer of trade may just well breach the terms and conditions of this forum. sale/wanted/trade are restricted to the PX section, which is "paid for" access.
1/2 - 1 MOA depending on ammo. It doesn’t shoot the heavy stuff well.
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Find a short action bolt and build your own switch-barrel. Now you can shoot multiple cartridges and you don’t have to go through the atf’s bullshit
Save yourself the hassle.
I did similar (but the other way) and lucked into a nice 700 bolt with the .223 bolt face, gifted by a friend.
Had that not happened, woulda went Bighorn and just got prefits.
But, local smith is a top end guy and his barrels are lasers.
Either get that thing hammering with 53gr hornady’s or sell it.
I did similar (but the other way) and lucked into a nice 700 bolt with the .223 bolt face, gifted by a friend.
Had that not happened, woulda went Bighorn and just got prefits.
But, local smith is a top end guy and his barrels are lasers.
Either get that thing hammering with 53gr hornady’s or sell it.
Get 7 twist 223ai barrel nut prefit from NSS.
Run 88s. It'll smoke any 308, be cheaper and more fun to shoot, and kill anything you point it at.
After shooting a fast twist bolt action 223 with a good bullet, you'll never want to shoot a 308, trust me.
Run 88s. It'll smoke any 308, be cheaper and more fun to shoot, and kill anything you point it at.
After shooting a fast twist bolt action 223 with a good bullet, you'll never want to shoot a 308, trust me.
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I never knew that was an option. So let’s say I get a switch lug, drop it in to my .223 R700, I could use any caliber that matches that bolt face? I would just buy a r700 prefit in the caliber that fits?
A 24 or 26" straight 223, with a 75 or 80 grain ELD, etc will do really well even with a slight velocity disadvantage. I love 223AI but some don't reload or care to deal with fireforming.
Yes. The combinations are endless, especially if you have a long action
If you want a shouldered barrel like from the factory you’d need to send the action and both bolts to a gunsmith. The ‘smith would keep all your new measurements on file and just cut a new barrel when you ask, then you’d need the tools to swap barrels. Another advantage to sending everything to a ‘smith would be to have a thicker recoil lug pinned to the action. Otherwise it will require a few more tools to get everything aligned properly
You could most likely get away without sending everything to a ‘smith if you don’t mind the aesthetics of a savage style barrel nut. The term for this is “remage”. It would be a good idea to take some measurements from both bolts and compare them though
If you’re starting from scratch the custom action route is a better value, especially if you’re concerned about resale value. And it’s even more worth it to go this route if you inherit a rifle.
In my case, I’ve had my rifle for several years so it’s cheap enough to justify buying a spare bolt and building a remage setup. And, my father has a 7RM 700 that it makes even more sense to do this to. This rifle was purchased many years ago for probably $150.
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