confused on ordering a barrel

[Robb]

I'm looking at ordering a Rem 700 barrel.
It appears the barrels are not complete, they are not chambered, threaded, cut to length or crowned. Is this typical? And after purchase I take this to my local smith and he does the chamber, threads, cuts to length and crowns the barrel? I just find that really weird.

I've never done this and I'm surprised this is how it works, I've been looking at Douglas, Hart, Kreiger barrels etc.

Someone enlighten me on what I need to know please.

[ray1970]

Pretty normal.

You might be able to find an almost ?drop in? barrel. They are usually ?short chambered? and after installation the chamber will need to be reamed to achieve the proper headspace.

[Delfuego]

R700's are not all the same from the factory. They need to be specifically head-spaced to the action+ recoil lug. The only barrel you can do it yourself is a "Remage" with a barrel-nut and a set of go-nogo gauges.

A gunsmith will clock/time the barrel & run-out, cut the ends off, chamber it, thread it, then verify headspace. I would buy a barrel blank and have a good gunsmith do it for you, it will be safer, more accurate and probably cheaper in the long run. Take it to a gunsmith that primarily builds precision bolt rifles not just the corner shop. There is a lot that goes into the reamers, clocking/timing the barrel and little things that will show up on target and with reliability.

Hit me up if you want any recommendations.

[DFBrews]

The ruger PR platform might be more what you are looking for they behave like an AR

I have swapped a few barrels out and go and no go to confirm.

They shoot well

[Robb]

I definitely wan't planning on doing the barrel install myself, headspace issues and all.
I planned on taking it to someone who knew what they were doing. I was just surprised to find out I was buying an incomplete barrel that still needed so much attention.

Delfuego, I'll send you a PM here in a few.

[Oscar77]

Robb:
You didn't ask but up in Erie is Westwind Rifles (Dave Sullivan).
He's rebarreled a few of my rifles, does great work.
He knows what he is doing.

[earplug]

Talk to your gunsmith about your project and they should be able to answer your questions. Many have favorite barrel makers and some barrel steel is more difficult to machine. Order what the gunsmith likes.

[BPTactical]

Robb-
Go talk to Fritz at Black Canyon Customs
https://www.blackcanyoncustoms.com/

[Linkless]

What is your end goal with the rifle you are building? If you are going to go through the expense, you are probably better off spending a little more to get a custom action.

[Robb]

I now have a basic understanding of how a bolt action barrel purchase and install works. I ordered a Kreiger last night, basically the same price as a Hart and a few others.
Thanks for the smith recommendations, I'll be collecting parts for awhile but at least the barrel confusion has been taken care of.

Thanks everyone.

Hey... I'm officially "Ryobi Robb" now???