Help Me Decide on Rifle Trade

[DJ Fergus]

I can't justify the cost of a rebarrel right now. I just got into reloading, have two kids and a third on the way. I'm just trying to get some performance out of a factory 700 with a stock, Timney, and some hand loads. I was leaning towards the trade since a 26" barrel is what I wanted, but I also wanted stainless. The poll is confirming my choice, thanks for helping!

Go with the 26". Give the 208 ELD with H1000, RL25 or RL 26 a try. If you decide on bullets less than 200gr, give one of the 4350 powders a try.

 

[338weatherby]

Stainless over the 2". Just my .02.
26" stainless is what you wanted. Everytime you pick it up, you'll wish it were stainless more then 26".

 

[Iron Worker]

The barrel makers that make both Chrom Moly and Stainless barrels won't tell you the SS are more accurate . What it comes down to is corrosion resistance . Also they wear out differently ,don't believe me check out Bartlein barrels web site website and read their FAQ page. Most of my rifles have SS barrels ,but my CZ527 204 Ruger and W-W 1885 in 220 Swift are Chrom Molly and they both are no less accurate then my match SS barrels .

 

[Gravel Road]

The 24" stainless sounds good to me. I have a 24" 300 Weatherby and wouldn't want a 26. It's a 300 WM and unless you need to make a specific FPS I wouldn't worry about it. You could always shoot it and see how it does. If it's a shooter, it's a keeper.

 

[David Emerson]

Injected molded stocks are good for one thing in my eyes. Take it off the rifle and then they make good fire starter. lol. But being you have another stock to put it in it doesn,t matter. The 300 win lives ok with a 24 inch. If it was a 300 roy I would definitely say trade.

 

[Backcountry sports]

I recently bought a 700 SPS stainless 300WM off GunBroker, and the barrel was falsely advertised as being 26". To my disappointment when I picked it up from my FFL, I noticed it had a 24" barrel.

I have an opportunity this weekend to trade my buddy for his 700 BDL 300WM with a 26" barrel straight up. Both are early to mid 90s, mine is stainless his is not. The stock is not a consideration because I have a Stockys fiberglass sporter that it is going in. I am loading 215gr bullets for it.

What would you do, trade or no?

26 will be better for the heavy bullets

 

[RAGGED EDGE]

Injected molded stocks are good for one thing in my eyes. Take it off the rifle and then they make good fire starter. lol. But being you have another stock to put it in it doesn,t matter. The 300 win lives ok with a 24 inch. If it was a 300 roy I would definitely say trade.

And you don't care about air pollution?!

 

[GTN]

I say yes with the 215s

 

[LVJ76]

I preffer longer barrels so I'd go for it. Stay safe

 

[Moose Whacker]

I have a x-bolt that had 26" barrel and couldn't get it to group better than 2" at 100 yd.
The 26" barrel was always getting in the way, wouldn't fit in my rifle scabard so I had 2 1/2" hacked off and now it is a tack driver, accuracy greatly improved. I now love my x-bolt I was going to divorce 'er but gonna keep 'er.

 

[1snowcat]

Nothing wrong with either rifle, a critter shot with either isn't going to know the difference if it was shot with a 26" barrel or 24"or BDL vs SPS, it's like another post said above, maybe 60fps difference, if you like BDL go for it, I've had both I would keep stainless ONLY because you could easily find a factory REM 300WM STAINLESS take-off barrel, and make it 26" barreled action using a factory chambered Remington barrel (way cheaper than a custom barrel) if trying to save money. But, ultimately save for a STAINLESS cut rifled barrel (Krieger, Bartlein, Rock Creek, KP, or Mullerworks, Brux etc) down the road, and you will have a GREAT rifle when you are done.... along with being all STAINLESS only reason I say that is, if you hunt much it's going to get wet eventually and stainless is a BIT more rust resistant all things being equal.... I doubt the stainless 700 is any more or less accurate than the BDL if so the military would use all stainless for all their SNIPER rifles... UNCLE SAM tests more than any guy off the street... BDL blued rifles are a thing of beauty no doubt about it,
Get which you like BEST and don't look back, or get BOTH go shoot the crap out of both and tell us which one shoots best!
It's a REM 700 can't say I've ever seen one that doesn't shoot!

 

[P7M13]

Do it like a three year old would:
Beat-up your friend, take his rifle, now both are "yours".
As stated, the BDL is prolly a better made rifle. How does the action feel on his??
A blued rifle looks better. If you care for it, rust is no issue.
That aside, both sporter profiles? The 24" will likely be more accurate overall, but a tad slower.

 

[25WSM]

If the bdl has a nice stock, meaning it's not banged up then you can get a decent amount for it on ebay. Do you have a borescope? I've seen some real nice blued rifles that were spotless on the outside but we're pitted inside. The speed difference would be a non factor to me. If the stainless has a faster barrel and the 26 has a slower barrel then they are the same and no matter what won't be 100 fps between them. Either way just do what makes you feel better about it. But do check the barrel first.
Shep

 

[P7M13]

IF IT FEELS GOOD....DO IT!!

Lol, this train of thought gets a lot of people in trouble.

Especially if it involves a "train".