Question about Rechambering rifle

[Son35]

Hi!

I have a Savage 840 bolt-action chambered in .222 Rem. I was wondering if it was feasible to rechamber this rifle to .223 Rem?
Any idea what the cost of getting a rifle rechambered?
Any thoughts on why not to do such a conversion?

Thanks for your time.

Mark

[Right Side Up @ 1000 MPH]

I don't see where it would be a problem. Both cartridges have the same bolt face diameter. The chamber would just need to be deepend with a .223 reamer. The barrel would probably not need to come off for it.

[Deltaten]

Howdy Son:

I went thru the same questions 20+ yr ago w/a styock Rem 788.

All the local 'smith's that I queried about the work said to just sell it off and buy a .223, as the bill would be more than the diff.! SOme mentioned a problem w/reamer "chatter" due to the close specs???

On second blush, I found the .222 will do as well as, or better than the [factory] .223, if handloaded specifically for the rifle. Cheap surplus wasn't an option back then; I just wanted to go w/the std. mil-spec rd.

I ended up putting the $$ (and more! ) into bedding and optics and never looked back. Even w/it's lousy factory trigger, I could get .3" groups of three rd at 200m if I did my part.

SO tell me why ya wanna re-chamber....
Paul

[yovinny]

I've done that identical job on an old Rem 700 BDL.
It resides in a Hogue stock, wears a 4-12 Leupold and is a favorite "walk around" varmint rifle of mine.
While the chamber might of cleaned up without a ridge somewhere, I set the barrel back a turn first, just to be sure.
Be aware most tripple duces are usually more accurate than the 223, but older ones also have a slower twist barrel (1-14") than you'll usually find on a 223 (1-12" or faster) and are mostly designed for ammo up to 52gr.
The one I have prefers 52gr BTHP's, but will shoot 55gr bullets too, just not as accurately.
If you plan on using anything heavier, save yourself money and replace the barrel from the get go.

Savages seem to have all sorts of aftermarket barrels available very reasonably priced. I'd check on the Savage forum to see which ones preform the best for you'r dollar and go from there.
http://www.savageshooters.com/

Cheers, YOOO VINNY

[Son35]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm considering this because I have a M-4 clone and have tons of .223 ammo.

Gun parts corp has factory new .223 barrels that are rifled and chambered for this rifle for $67. I assume that then all I would have to do is have it head-spaced?

Anyone ever seen a savage barrel wrench for sale? due to the design of this rifle it appears getting the barrel off would not be to difficult..

Thanks again for your thoughts on this subject.

Mark

[MAG58]

You shouldn't have anyproblem with 'chatter' if you have a good sharp finish reamer and some machining oil.

[yovinny]

Check around for the barrel wrench, their available from a few sources,
Brownell's, Midway, etc.

All you need is a GO gauge and barrel vise to HS the Savage, since the aftermarket barrels are usually fully chambered already.