40-year-AZ-hunter

Looking for knowledgeable opinions on a project. I have a pre-64 M70 Featherweight .243 with throat erosion. I'd like to replace the barrel with another factory barrel. I see them from time to time on ebay. Might be .308 or .243. The question is - if I unscrew the old barrel and screw in another factory barrel so the extractor lines up and the sights are on the top, how likely am I to have acceptable headspace? I know that if a go gauge does not go, it could be fixed with a reamer, but if a no-go gauge goes it would seem to be a hassle to make the rifle "original". So I guess the real question is how likely is it to "fit" without modification? Thanks

Thanks again! I'll check his website.

Recovered in S. Phx.😁

The rig was recovered in S. Phx overnight. Thanks to those of you who had a bit of empathy for a fellow hunter.

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WOW, that is encouraging. Perhaps I'll buy a used barrel on eBay and take a chance on it. I assume you mean it worked fine by just screwing it in and lining up the extractor slot? Thanks for your input!

Well, that may be funny to you, but I assure you that my 75 year old buddy who was born in Prescott and hunted Arizona all his life has made a lot of great memories in that vehicle. He hoped to make a few more before he leaves this earth. How many guys could build such a rig from Scout, Mercedes, and Volkswagens rather than today buy a quad, side-by-side, or ??? and barely know how to put fuel in it. What were you hunting in in 1972... Thanks for your help tho....

Original wood stocks are very valuable. Good luck..

Rather than stealing, it could be considered picking up abandoned property and turning it in to the proper authority. If it's not supposed to be there, it is likely abandoned or lost. Then the "owner" can claim it from the authorities and explain what it was doing out there. I hope that becomes the norm. Ban the dang things and let folks get back to the true heritage of hunting.

I have a custom built .257Wby that looks like that with factory loads but they look fine in a Weatherby rifle. I believe it is because the custom gun is not freebored like the Weatherby rifle so it develops higher pressures with the same loads. I quit shooting factory ammo in it and only reload and carefully work up loads looking for signs of pressure. I don''t know about Remington factory (assuming yours is) barrels in terms of whether they are freebored or not. Just a wild thought and it would not explain why chambering a new factory round would be harder than you would expect. Has the problem just recently developed? By the way, the custom rifle I referred to is built on a Remington 700 titanium action.

4 Full boxes and one box with 17 rounds. One box is SuperX, the rest is PMC. All 130g soft point. $125. Pick up near Shea and the Squaw Peak FWY (the 51 for the politically correct😃) in Phoenix.

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Nice older Remington Wingmaster 12 GA. 2 3/4" chamber 28" Vent Rib modified fixed choke barrel. Wood is quite nice. Blueing very nice with minor age flaking on receiver. Shiny bore. Includes 2 boxes of dove/quail loads. FTF near Shea and the 51 FWY in Phx. Must be AZ resident and not a prohibited possessor.

If you have other caliber RCBS dies and are in a hurry to load .223, you may be able to substitute the rod and pin from another die by changing the expander ball.

Call RCBS, they are really good about replacing parts like that - usually at no cost. Just curious, were you trying to punch out crimped in primers from military cases?

I reload .222 so I don't need this factory ammunition. 9 Boxes of 50g sp. 7 are Lellier& Bellot and 2 are PMC. $22.50/box. Pick up near Shea and the Squaw Peak FWY (the 51 for the politically correct😁) in Phoenix.

SPF

Thank you for the input guys. I figured it would not be just a screw-in deal. The rifle still shoots OK, it's just that I thought I might be able to "restore" it to it's former self - sort of like repainting a classic car that still runs good but the paint has faded.

Changed price to per box for those who don't want or need 9 boxes.

I have 50 rounds of Remington/Peters .357 Mag jacketed hollow point ammo I don't need. Not sure the bullet weight but I think it's 158g. Thought somebody might need it. IF Midway had any, and they don't, it's at least $50 plus shipping and tax. I'm asking $50. Please let me know if it is available cheaper here in the Valley and I'll adjust the price. FTF near Shea and the 51 fwy. Be well and safe.

Have another 50 rounds available now.

Five boxes of 30-30 ammunition. All are 150g. 3 Boxes Winchester, 2 boxes PNC. $125. Pick up in Phoenix near Shea and the 51 FWY. Thanks.

I know this is not the normal current thinking, but I am old enough to remember when Hodgdon started out in business by buying surplus WWII military powder like 4895 and 4831 and selling it in bulk. heck, I still have and use some WWII surplus 4831 that works the same way it did when I first bought it 50 years ago from Jensen's in Tucson. I don't load near as much anymore, but I still have some quite old metal cans of IMR powders like 4064, 4320, 4350 etc. that were first used a decade or more ago and closed with the metal cap screwed back on tight and it still works just fine. Just to let you get an idea of how old some of this powder is, the surplus 4831 was about 50 cents per pound. Some of the old IMR cans still have price tags of $2-$3 on them.

All the factory barrels have a slot for the rear sight, not holes like Remington. Also the barrels are slotted at the receiver for the extractor on a controlled round feed action like the pre-64s. Then there is the "writing" on the barrel that needs to be in the correct position on the left side. Hence the question about how likely is headspace to be correct by just screwing the barrel in to the original factory rotation when it is going into a different action than it came from the factory in. Thanks.

Geez, give him a break and let him make a bit.