I wanted to check a see if rebarreling my Rem. 700 7mm mag to a 300 Win mag is easy as a friend has told me. Is there any other work other than a new barrel in 300 win mag that needs to be done?

You will learn that things that people tells you - and what is fact is two different things.

First off, changing a barrel on a rifle is not the same as changing a barrel on a shotgun.

Even after you buy the barrel, you will still need a gunsmith to change the barrel and set the proper head space.

By the time that you are done, you will be better off to just buy a new or used rifle in the caliber that you want.

The only time you could justify changing a barrel is if the rifle is collectable or if it is shot out or if it is a wildcat caliber that is not chambered in a factory gun.

Taking a Model 700 Remington and changing from 7mm Remington Magnum to 300 Winchester Magnum or .270 Winchester to 30 - 06 Springfield is just a waste of time.

They made those guns in those calibers in large numbers.

People also thing that just because there is a nut on the end of the barrel on a Savage Model 110 = that all you have to do is loosen the nut and change the barrel. Or that you can swap them back and forth when ever you want.

Well I found out after calling around that is kind of simple. If you have enough money things get easier I guess. $175.00 to $300.00 type of easy.

You will learn that things that people tells you - and what is fact is two different things.

First off, changing a barrel on a rifle is not the same as changing a barrel on a shotgun.

Even after you buy the barrel, you will still need a gunsmith to change the barrel and set the proper head space..........

People also thing that just because there is a nut on the end of the barrel on a Savage Model 110 = that all you have to do is loosen the nut and change the barrel. Or that you can swap them back and forth when ever you want.

The difficulty depends on what make your rifle is (http://www.switchbarrel.com). Changing barrels and boltheads on Savage 10/110 series bolt guns can be done very easily with simple tools. That's why most barrelmakers will make you a fully chambered barrel for the Savage action and outfits like MidwayUSA and Brownells will sell you the tools to make the change. On other makes, barrelmakers generally supply "short chambered" barrels that require machining and final reaming to fit them.

New barrel? It'll have to be threaded and chambered, headspace checked of course.

If you can find a take-off Rem barrel in .300 Win Mag, might be a simple proposition. Screw in the new barrel and check headspace. If it's OK then you are good to go. If not - it will still be less machine time than a custom barrel.

The rest of the gun should be fine. Bolt head size is correct, as is magazine. Might double-check by seeing if a .300 Win Mag dummy round will start out of the magazine and into the existing chamber. If it will go into the chamber past the shoulder, from both sides of the magazine, you are good to go. Don't force it in.

As far as rebarreling goes, you have picked one of the simpler jobs. Only thing simpler would be a Savage, as noted.

BTW.... if you happen to have a shot out 7 mag, I see a lot of take off Rem barrels in that caliber. Don't know why.... maybe just because they made a bunch of them. But that's another possibility, if you just need a barrel to get up and running.

Oh and any of the other standard-length belted mags should be straightforward, too. .338 Win Mag comes to mind.

Best of luck and let us know how it turns out.

Check with your local gunsmith - he may have a take-off barrel already chambered in the .300WM and a simple swap-out and headspacing is all that's needed. Costs will be minimal in this case. Also, check the auction sites for one. Then have your local gunsmith install it for you.

Deuce22,
Your friend is correct from a mechanical standpoint; rebarreling from 7 Rem Mag to 300 Win Mag is relatively simple. The bolt face is the same size, as is the mag box. Case size and taper are close enough so that there should be no great feeding problem. All it takes is money and a gunsmith who knows what he is doing.

Well I found out after calling around that is kind of simple. If you have enough money things get easier I guess. $175.00 to $300.00 type of easy.

Money makes everything easy :D While we're spending your money, why not take it to the next level? Have the action trued and get a quality barrel. A good bedding job along with a decent trigger will give you a rifle that only a full custom will beat. The cost may be less than you think and it is well worth it in the long run.