Do it all rifle

[Steve E]

I think Steyrs have a swaged-in barrel so probably almost impossible to rebarrel?

I believe Armalon do them, and possible some others. As I understand it, the old barrel is bored out from the receiver and the receiver is then threaded for a new barrel.

Surprisingly reasonably priced too, as I remember it.

Exactly and no more expensive than other rifles. Any gunsmith that tells you it is too difficult or cannot be done is not worthy of the name gunsmith and i would avoid at all costs.

[zanes]

Do you have a rough idea of that cost?

I vaguely remember around £600 or £700 from armalon but I'd have to enquire to be sure, that's probably a memory of secondhand info and without any info about threading etc.

<awaits someone chipping in that an unchambered barrel blank from Europe is 6d and a packet of crisps>

TBH, I think you'll be way ahead cost wise selling your current rifle and buying a dedicated "target" rifle. I've only looked into rebarreling mine when the time comes as it's a rather unusual Steyr that I'm rather fond of.

Don't the pro hunters have a reputation for flexible stocks? What's the barrel channel like?

Is (homeloaded) .308 massively cheaper than (homeloaded) 6.5(x55?) though?

Edit: Wait, it's a heavier rebarrel your after, not a calibre change to save money.

[JS569]

Great, thanks for the info. It the heavier barrel- I love the 6.5 swede, I think it's a great round and not too punchy. I doubt there is much difference in cost between the two rounds even at factory loaded rounds.

I looked into this fore-end thing quite a lot and I think i even started a thread on here which had a great response. The original p.h 1's did have a problem but this has been sorted in the 2's, however mine was also glass bedded.

[Steve E]

Re-barreling from most reputable gunsmiths should be in the region of £600-750, depending on the barrel (make, profile, bore, and twist rate). As you are up north I would suggest contacting Mik Mak at Dolphin. He probably has the blank with the profile you need on the shelf. His turn round rate is very good. Neil Mckillop, near Reading is also very good. There is also a very good chap in Barnsley but he is expensive compared to most others.

[Sim G]

Have you noticed your current rifle "wander" whilst in the range? I'd be very doubtful that normal club shooting would cause it to heat up enough to induce that condition.

[JS569]

Have you noticed your current rifle "wander" whilst in the range? I'd be very doubtful that normal club shooting would cause it to heat up enough to induce that condition.

A little bit, after 3-4 rounds the groups open up but I wouldn't say they wonder,nit did amaze me at he heat in the barrel after that few shots. The range we use is a field firing range which allows for a slightly higher round count than a typical lane range ( from my experience is 20 rds then let some one else shoot sort of thing). As I pretty much on,l shoot on those ranges I tend to get through some brass

[Sim G]

I'd rather have a second rifle than re barrel the Steyr. Range gun with a 1400 budget? Howa Varmint in .308, with a detachable mag system will leave enough money for some half decent S/H glass.

[JS569]

Think you're right Sim, I'm going to swap out the rifle to fund something else.