A Question of Caliber

[RAMOS]

Suppose you had a Remington 700 in .270, purchased new in 1980. If you wanted to re-barrel to a different caliber for long range coyote sized targets, what would the catridge be? Who's barrel would you buy? Keep in mind the choice needs to compliment a .204, not replace it. I know the .270 is a winner but, curious to hear other ideas. Thanks

[Mike]

How much do you care about barrel life, how far do you want to shoot and do you require factory ammo?

I'd look really hard at a 6 x 284, 6.5 x 284 or 6 x 47 in either a Shilen or Krieger barrel. Plenty of good barrels out there, but those are the only two that I've had any first-hand experience with.

[Rick in Oregon]

That's a long action with the '06 boltface, so pick any diameter bore under .277" that uses the same case family, maybe something like the 6.5-06 or 25-06, and you'll be right in there.

If you want something like Mike is suggesting, then a short action would make a more ideal platform unless you needed to seat bullets very long to reach the lands, or like VLD's require. You may as well take advantage of the long action with a cartridge suited to that length.

For barrels, I'm very close to Pac-Nor, have theirs and about one from every other primary maker, and if I was rebarreling right now, I'd go with PN from good personal experience in every regard. But Lilja, Hart, Shilen, Krieger and the other primary makers are all good, I've just got more from PN than from an other maker based on my own findings. But that's just me.

Good luck with the project.

[RAMOS]

Sorry for being so vague, I did not want to influence any suggestions. Will definately hand load, and make use of the -06 length action. Do not need a big game oriented cartridge for this gun. Thought maybe there was something cool to think about that was not availeable from the factory.

[remy3424]

I like Rick's 25-06 idea (cause I shoot it!) Great for coyote and deer, I have mine in a Savage 12 BVSS for PDs with 75gr. Vmax and varget. Don't shoot it as much as the others due to the amount of powder and price of bullets, the dawgs are just as dead with 243, 223 or 204. You do notice a little recoil, but not much with the 75 grainers. Can reach just a little further.

[Hotshot]

I don't like shooting a 25-06 off the bench at prairie dogs. Kicks too much to see the bullet hit. A 220 Swift is about all I want for the pd towns. 6mm Rem maybe with not too heavy of bullets.
Unless you're going to build it very heavy or put a dang muzzle brake on, you won't enjoy shooting very many varmints without seeing them fly.

[Sidewinderwa]

I would suggest a 25-06 or a 6mmAI. You can shoot light bullets with good BCs without too much recoil. They can reach out there a ways and touch something. You will not need to change your bolt for the change. I recently got a Benchmark barrel very happy with it. It shot a .284 20 VarTarg group on a break in load!

[RAMOS]

I'm having a hard time finding a great enough difference in performance to justify removing a good shooting .270 barrel. So I might try splitting hairs in the opposite direction, small and explosive. I have a chance to get a used Cooper M21 in .17 Mach IV. Is this different enough from the .204 to justify purchase and set-up for reloading? I'm planning on ordering a Cooper .204 to replace my Savage .204. Are these two calibers too similar?

[broper]

I don't think I could force myself to rebarrel a perfectly good .270 (my favorite cartridge). I load 110 gr. v-max's in mine for varmints.

[Rick in Oregon]

I'm having a hard time finding a great enough difference in performance to justify removing a good shooting .270 barrel. So I might try splitting hairs in the opposite direction, small and explosive. I have a chance to get a used Cooper M21 in .17 Mach IV. Is this different enough from the .204 to justify purchase and set-up for reloading? I'm planning on ordering a Cooper .204 to replace my Savage .204. Are these two calibers too similar?

Purely subjective, but having both a .17M4 and multiple 204's, I'd answer that with an enthusiastic "YES" to having both calibers. I've already commented as to the rebarrel issue, but if you like the 204, you're gonna love the M4, I promise. Excellent performance from dinky amounts of powder, accuracy almost always, and different enough to be "interesting" to boot.

If you're just looking to expand your varmint caliber selection, you're heading in the right direction.

[RAMOS]

I'm in trouble now! These silly little centerfires can become quite consuming. Thanks for the information everyone.