Remington 700 conversion idea?

[HeavyMetal]

Years ago I help my BIL pick up a remington 700 in 7mm Mag.

He never was happy with the caliber, failed to kill a deer but I think it was a bullet problem not a cartridge problem.

Be that as it maybe my BIL passed away in a quad accident 3 years ago and the 7 mm mag has "languished" in the nephews gun safe collecting dust.


This morning I am reviewing auction sites and stumble across a 375 H&H barrel for a rem 700!!


Nephew has a mild interest if this can be done inexpensively, question I got is this actually doable?? with a simple barrel swap or am I missing something?

Figured I can't possibly be the only guy to think this up and some one on site has got to have tried it so checking it out for feasibility!


Thanks in advance for any input.

HM

[dh2]

the catch would be the 7mm Rem. Mag. and the .300 Win. Mag. are built on standard actions with the bolt face opened by Rem. The .375 H&H Mag. needs a Mag. length action .375 Gibbs which is the .338 Win. Mag. necked to .375 will fit a standard action. There is more lathe work involved and a reamer.

[HeavyMetal]

That was my fear, the action being to short.

Really wanted a barrel swap deal not interested in lots of machine work it just costs to much money.

Not that I would have attempted the swap, I know about head space gauges and such, but a barrel swap is a lot less time and money.

Experience has shown me that by the time I get done "making" one I could have bought it new cheaper, LOL!

[BK7saum]

I was under the impression that all of the remington long actions would accommodate all of the magnum cartridges based on the h&h case. A buddy had a 375 and I believe it was same standard long action that houses '06, 7mm REM mag, 300 win mag, 7 rum, 300 rum and other long cartridges. Just checked and wiki said I'm incorrect about this. Will do more research for my own edification.

That said, if headspace doesn't work out you are going to have to pay for a setback or opening up the chamber. Also, if headspace is okay, it is very, ver6 likely that the barrel won't be clocked correctly, thereby requiring said lathe work to clock barrel and rechamber.

Brad

[Guido4198]

That is precisely how I was able to acquire my left-hand bolt action .458 win mag.
Very simple conversion vs trying to find a factory production LH big bore for elephant and buff.

[HeavyMetal]

I don't know a ton about the Remington 700 actions but I do know the use the bedding lug as part of the barrel set up, sort of a huge washer that then beds the rifle.


Some small adjustment to clocking and or headspace can be made with aftermarket lugs. so if it didn't clock right I could go thinner and then run a reamer in it if needed.

Still a working idea and nothing more and it won't be until I get a final idea of how this barrel auction is going need to do some more reasearch myself on 700 actions and make sure I am not backing myself into a corner.

[pietro]

.

Remington only ever made two diferrent length Model 700 actions/receivers (short/long), so installing the .375H&H barrel would allow converting the 7mm Mag Model 700 with a barrel change and at least a headspace check by a qualified gunsmith.

Since the .375H&H barrel might exhibit excessive headspace on any M700 receiver/bolt other than the action the barrel was originally headspaced on, and would then might also require a one-thread bbl setback & rechambering.

I've never before heard of replacement Remington 700 bolt lugs - link ?

IDK how much the .375H&H take-off bbl will cost you, but it may be more cost-effective to just have the 7mm bbl bored & re-rifled to .375" .
( www.35caliber.com )


.

[HeavyMetal]

Wiki does say three actions, not including the Model seven which is very short.

Barrel is at 31 bucks currently but considering what I've learned I think I'll pass on this particular barrel until I learn more about remington actions

Looks like I'll have a few books on the old Christmas list, LOL!

Thanks guys.

[bstone5]

I have used the long action to make 7mm Shooting Times Western and 300 Weatherby rifles several times. The original guns were 7mm Rem Mag.

The rifles were shot a lot and needed a new barrel.

Perchased original rifle at pawn shops.

[fouronesix]

The Rem 700 long action IS the long action. It is the same used for the long mags like the 375 HH. The case head and belt are the same specs for the 7mm Mag and the 375 HH, so there should't be any bolt issues. There is really no issue as far as the action length. But going to a long standard mag like the 375 HH may require the longer mag box. You can get the 700 long mag action mag boxes from places like Brownells.

Fitting the barrel to the action and headspacing is relatively simple and would be like any other standard belted cartridge in the M700. Clocking the barrel, if using a take off that already had stamping or barrel sights, may slow the process but would be no issue if using a new 375 cal contoured barrel blank. The recoil lug is separate so requires no special treatment during the fitting and headspacing. It simply needs to be in the 6 o'clock position when the barrel is tightened down for the last time after fitting and headspacing.

Now, whether or not the final product feeds as smoothly as when in the slightly shorter 7mm Mag config is unknown. My experience with the 375 HH in the Rem 700 is that if set up correctly, it feeds as smoothly if not more smoothly and reliably than other more bottlenecked cartridges- belted or non-belted.

[725]

A 7 mag fail to kill deer !!!!! ???. OMG! They must be armor plated critters out there. I love it when somebody changes a caliber and gets what they want. Usually ends up with a higher quality gun that they really love. But really -- 7 mag is a fine choice for most living things on the continent.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Here`s a real radical suggestion. Call Remington and speak to a rep about this proposed barrel job? Call a gunshop that does barrel work about what else is needed to be done besides the barrel. A barrel going for that cheap is a find.Robert

[Nrut]

Wiki does say three actions, not including the Model seven which is very short.

Barrel is at 31 bucks currently but considering what I've learned I think I'll pass on this particular barrel until I learn more about remington actions

Looks like I'll have a few books on the old Christmas list, LOL!

Thanks guys.
Simply put wiki is wrong!
There are only two as in 2 Rem. 700 action lengths..
How ever the like others have stated you would have to change out or modify your mag. box and follower going from a 7mm to a .375 H&H..
You may have to modify or change out your bolt stop..
I don't know if your rails would need a slight mod or not..
Any gunsmith worth his salt could tell you what is needed..

[pietro]

.

FWIW, Wikipedia is subject to "garbage in / garbage out", since AFAIK just about anyone can contribute to it (qualified or not).


.

[fouronesix]

Simply put wiki is wrong!
There are only two as in 2 Rem. 700 action lengths..
How ever the like others have stated you would have to change out or modify your mag. box and follower going from a 7mm to a .375 H&H..
You may have to modify or change out your bolt stop..
I don't know if your rails would need a slight mod or not..
Any gunsmith worth his salt could tell you what is needed..

Exactly.
What may be going on with whomever posted that stuff on wiki could be in reference to listing different "action lengths" based on basic groups of different cartridge lengths. That is not the same as action lengths. Having done the conversion that the OP is asking about- I'll guarantee it is as I posted and fairly straight forward. I did not have to do any modification to the rails. If the mag box insert is lengthened it would require the bolt stop to be shortened by the same amount- a very easy job. The follower may or may not have to be changed out- but easy enough to try as is then simply get a longer one if required for best feed.

Given the current state of affairs at Remington- who knows what kind of litigiously guarded response you'd get. Best thing for the OP to do is take it to a competent gunsmith.

[Three44s]

I am the same here ........ deer immune to seven mags? OMG!!

But there is no doubt that a LA 700 can be turned into a .375 H&H and yes, feeding would be a concern but should not be much trouble. I would get that barrel ...... 31$ in this climate ain't much!

You won't see that often.

I researched this issue a while back because I have some low mile 300 RUM barrels for same and the action is the same but in the case of the fat rounds the feed rails are different. I have two of those deer resistant guns .... 7 mags ...... and I was thinking of switching one up to the fat rounds. Well, I found a ready to go 300 RUM instead.

Three 44s

[HeavyMetal]

Still waiting on the auction to settle in, closing in about 2 hours and it's up to 40 bucks. we'll see.

As for the "failure" of the 7mm Mag to drop a deer: I believe the BIL was way to close ( 30 feet) and had bullet that was constructed for heavier game (Elk) when the buck popped up on him.

I wasn't there but he claimed he heard the bullet hit and saw tufts of hair move just behind the shoulder.

My guess, then and now, was the bullet failed to expand. No blood trail was found and I have no idea what factory round he was using at the time.

I do know the 7 mm Mag remington 700 went in the safe and a fair condition 243 Remington 722 got purchased for Northern California deer.

If I bid on the barrel I'll let you guys know the results.

[runfiverun]

the air moving on the deer was from the muzzle blast.
and unless he was using brass solids he missed.

[HeavyMetal]

RFR: of that I didn't want to say ( guy thing ya know), LOL!

But it was sighted at 100 so midrange would shoot high who knows at 30 feet, LOL! To many shooters think boolits travel in a straight line.

AS to the 375 H&H barrel it went for 100 with shipping I was tempted but looked at pic's enlarged and wasn't impressed with a change in color ( stainless steel barrel) about 4 inch up from the chamber end of the barrel, looked like the kind of line ya get after you remove masking tape!

So I passed until I know more

[triggerhappy243]

If my opinion matters.... 375 H&H is over kill for deer. 7MM Mag is over kill for deer. WHY? too fast in velocity for bullet cal.

the 7 MM is a difficult round to get reliable groups if you shoot too many rounds between cleanings(copper fouling build up). this is maybe why he was not happy with it. To me.... I would not spend the money mounting a take off barrel from 1 to another.

[fouronesix]

IMO the 7 Mag is plenty for deer and sometimes maybe a little too much as it can destroy huge amounts of tissue.

As to the 30 ft shot being off? If the rifle was scoped and zeroed at about 100 yds, the bullet impact would be about 1" below the point of aim at 30 ft.