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Changing rifle barrels

countershaft
Hello, I am new to this board and I dont know alot about guns. However, my brother in law recently purchased a Howa 30-06. He accidently damaged the barrel and he wants to just buy a new barrel instead of a whole new rifle. Can you purchase a barrel sperately ? How difficult is it to change the barrel yourself ?
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Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • countershaft
    when you change a rifle barrel from one action to another , what all is involved and is it possible without much gunsmithing ??? which has open sights, incidentally
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  • 336marlin
    There's a 99.99% chance that the headspace is different and a 359.8 Deg. chance that the sights won't line up. Nothing a little lathe and reamer work won't fix.
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  • Ned Fall
    If you are thinking of swapping barrels at a shooting range, forget it! If the rifle if a basic bolt action or anything else, you are going to need a barrel vise bolted to a heavy duty work bench to hold the barrel, an action wrench with extension to unscrew the barrel from the action, head space gauges to check for the proper head space.
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  • Nwcid
    Depends on the gun. For most it will require some degree of gun smithing.
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  • beantownshootah
    In a typical bolt action gun, its quite involved (as described above).

    But some gun systems are modular making caliber changes easy.

    For example, with AR-15s you can swap out an entire upper in a matter of seconds. That's more than just the barrel, but it does effectively translate calibers.
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  • iwannausername
    TC Contender, TC Encore, and TCR all change barrels. As mentioned above, AR series. H&R/NEF will add extra barrels for their single shots for you. Various 22 conversion kits for various guns (rifles and pistols). Factory caliber conversions for pistols.

    Lots can do it.

    If you are speaking of a one time move, like moving a barrel from a donor gun to replace a damaged one, it starts depending on how the barrels were put on to begin with. You will also most likely need to change/set headspace once the move is done. Pay a gunsmith.
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  • countershaft
    This is a one time switch . From one Mauser action to another. I bought a new barrel (26")to use on an action but now want to use it on the other action which already has a barrel (24") on it .Switch them in other words or if the cost is too much to do so , just buy another 26" and take the 24" off and replace it .
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  • sandwarrior
    quote:Originally posted by countershaft
    This is a one time switch . From one Mauser action to another. I bought a new barrel (26")to use on an action but now want to use it on the other action which already has a barrel (24") on it .Switch them in other words or if the cost is too much to do so , just buy another 26" and take the 24" off and replace it .


    You will need a gunsmith with the tools to pull the barrel torque it in the new action and set the headspace and timing
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  • nononsense
    countershaft,

    "when you change a rifle barrel from one action to another , what all is involved..."

    "From one Mauser action to another."

    I have a substantial collection of twisted receivers (all ruined) gathered from a large number of amateurs and cobblers who thought they knew more than they really did...

    The primary problem is getting the barrels off without twisting the action or galling the threads. A proper receiver/barrel vise and the proper receiver/barrel wrench is mandatory. These fixtures are usually attached to heavy steel supports and bolted to the concrete floor.

    Once the old barrel is off, the new barrel has to be threaded into the receiver to check the headspace. This also involves the vises mentioned above since the barrel has to be tightened into the receiver. The possibilities are slim to none that the new barrel will either be correctly headspaced or timed.

    To correct the timing you need a lathe and the tools used to cut the barrel to set the spacing back. You also need to have the indicators necessary to get the barrel properly aligned in the lathe in the first place.

    To correct the headspace you will need the appropriate chamber reamer and bushings along with the gauges to check the headspace. This process also requires some more tooling needed to hold and control the reamer correctly while cutting. Cutting oils helps with this part.

    This is a very abbreviated explanation but I think it makes the point about using a gunsmith to handle this problem.

    Best.
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