Re-bore Questions: 30-06 to 338-06

[LaGriz]

Guys,

I have been following the threads on project builds and have questions on doing a possible re-bore on a Win. M70 pre-64 Classic. The rifle is a 30-06 complete with iron sights on a 22" barrel and I'm wanting to go the 338-06. I have read references to "J.E.S." as a potential shop to do this work. Are they located somewhere in Mt. or Idaho? Most of my questions are going to be directed to the folks doing the service. Such as, will my current 30 cal. bore be compatible for the project. Are you going to be limited by the number and twist of the present rifling while cutting the larger bore? What is the recommended twist for the 338-06? Have heard some reasonable prices batted around. What would the basic costs be? Would I be better off selling the 30-06 BBL and putting the cash towards a new barrel? (is there even a market for the factory barrel?)

Ultimately, I want to end up with a lighter weight rig. In addition to a rebore, would some fluting be possible (is their enough metal after the re-bore to do this). What could be done to the standard action in an effort to lighten the weapon. What about the bolt and the bottom metal that needs some love in any case? Are their some mods or light weight replacement parts that one might recommend for both a lighter weight, functional, without looking funky? Where do I look for these aftermarket parts? Thanks in advance.
LaGriz

LaGriz

 

[luke moffat]

I would say call JES directly and he will answer all your questions you might have. I personally just let JES rebore the twist rate and such to what he felt best. I mean he does this for a living so it only makes sense. Prices are listed on his website and I believe heresides in Oregon.

I believe he rebored my stainless barrel and cut it down to 21" for like $225 counting shipping back to me.

Good luck

 

[GKPrice]

I would say call JES directly and he will answer all your questions you might have. I personally just let JES rebore the twist rate and such to what he felt best. I mean he does this for a living so it only makes sense. Prices are listed on his website and I believe heresides in Oregon.

I believe he rebored my stainless barrel and cut it down to 21" for like $225 counting shipping back to me.

Good luck

Jess (J.E.S. reboring) lives and works in Cottage Grove, OR - I bump into him about every other week in a local gunshop in Eugene, OR either picking up or dropping off rifles to be picked up by their owner - He was taught by arguably the best in the business for many years and judging by the work he's done for me and others I know AND his reputation, he was a very good student - He cut rifles the newly bored barrel and will do it in whatever the accepted twist rates and land & groove choices are - 338 normally is a 1:10 twist and 4 groove is a very accepted one for the 338 also but he'll do a 3 or 5 groove if you ask - you will have change from 3 $100 bills when all is said and done - BTW, cut rifling is known as the best way to rifle a barrel due to the lack of stresses applied to the tube during the process - It's not easy to find a barrel maker who does "rebarreling" doing it that way as it is labor intensive, most of those guys, ie; HS Precision or Krieger and the like only do custom rifles - I know several guys hereabouts that have 338-06's or 338-06 AI's that Jess did and they all rave about the accuracy and easy cleaning of their rifles (not gossip)

 

[luke moffat]

As you know he did my 338-06 and I have zero complaints. Want to have a tikka to 9.3 at some point but we will see.....

 

[LaGriz]

Thank you Luke moffat and GKPrice,
My local smith had also heard good things about J.E.S. and was in total agreement on my plan to re-bore the factory barrel. Mike had spent some years in Alaska and is a big fan of the 338-06. He got in touch with the J.E.S. folks in Oregon yesterday afternoon. We got a quote on a re-bore and re-chamber service in the price range you have described. Bayou Teche Guns will be shipping the barreled action in the next few days. I'm stoked at the news that my project is finally getting off the ground!
The rifle presently weighs 7.9 lbs. un-scoped. My smith and I have discussed what steps to take concerning weight reduction and any refinements. Looking at some mods to the bolt, shortening the length of pull, installation of a recoil pad, removal of some wood from the stock (to be replaces with foam) and possible removal of some mass to this very robust action. Still looking at the bottom metal, and farther lightening of the walnut stock. Would love to hear from anyone who has any suggestions on the subject. Anyone ever do any skeletonizing of a "1957" era M70 action and have any recommendations, warnings, or regrets? Thanks to all in advance!

LaGriz

 

[GKPrice]

Thank you Luke moffat and GKPrice,
My local smith had also heard good things about J.E.S. and was in total agreement on my plan to re-bore the factory barrel. Mike had spent some years in Alaska and is a big fan of the 338-06. He got in touch with the J.E.S. folks in Oregon yesterday afternoon. We got a quote on a re-bore and re-chamber service in the price range you have described. Bayou Teche Guns will be shipping the barreled action in the next few days. I'm stoked at the news that my project is finally getting off the ground!
The rifle presently weighs 7.9 lbs. un-scoped. My smith and I have discussed what steps to take concerning weight reduction and any refinements. Looking at some mods to the bolt, shortening the length of pull, installation of a recoil pad, removal of some wood from the stock (to be replaces with foam) and possible removal of some mass to this very robust action. Still looking at the bottom metal, and farther lightening of the walnut stock. Would love to hear from anyone who has any suggestions on the subject. Anyone ever do any skeletonizing of a "1957" era M70 action and have any recommendations, warnings, or regrets? Thanks to all in advance!

LaGriz

Your biggest "bang for the buck" in weight reduction is going to be an ultralight stock done to your specifications - they're not cheap but you won't get too far at all trying to make a lightweight stock out of an original Model 70 stock - there will be other benefits to a stock by Manners, McMillan Edge, MPI (my favorite), and some others such as diminished FELT recoil and weatherproof qualities - You put an original Model 70 338-06 into an MPI ultralight (or the likes) and you will have a combo that is very hard to beat for Alaska or anywhere else - Cerakoting all metal might be a wise move too

 

[Dan Hermann]

Does anybody know J.E.S. backlog? 2 weeks? 6 months? I talked to him a few weeks ago and forgot to ask. Cannot get ahold of him since.

Jess (J.E.S. reboring) lives and works in Cottage Grove, OR - I bump into him about every other week in a local gunshop in Eugene, OR either picking up or dropping off rifles to be picked up by their owner - He was taught by arguably the best in the business for many years and judging by the work he's done for me and others I know AND his reputation, he was a very good student - He cut rifles the newly bored barrel and will do it in whatever the accepted twist rates and land & groove choices are - 338 normally is a 1:10 twist and 4 groove is a very accepted one for the 338 also but he'll do a 3 or 5 groove if you ask - you will have change from 3 $100 bills when all is said and done - BTW, cut rifling is known as the best way to rifle a barrel due to the lack of stresses applied to the tube during the process - It's not easy to find a barrel maker who does "rebarreling" doing it that way as it is labor intensive, most of those guys, ie; HS Precision or Krieger and the like only do custom rifles - I know several guys hereabouts that have 338-06's or 338-06 AI's that Jess did and they all rave about the accuracy and easy cleaning of their rifles (not gossip)

 

[luke moffat]

Does anybody know J.E.S. backlog? 2 weeks? 6 months? I talked to him a few weeks ago and forgot to ask. Cannot get ahold of him since.

I have never had him answer the phone...always leave a message and he will call you back.

Both times I used JES I sent a rifle from Alaska to him and it was back in less than 3 weeks.

 

[robtattoo]

Roughly 10 days + 2 days on each end for shipping! Sent my .243 in on the 6th, got it back on the 20th.

He also included some basic load data that he'd used to test fire

 

[GKPrice]

I've been dragging my feet on my own 338-06 project, not because I haven't decided, just busy, busy, busy ..... every time I see daylight at the end of the tunnel it winds up being another train coming at me - I WILL be doing it soon enough, I SWEAR, and I would not even consider anyone else but J.E.S. to do it

George

 

[Dan Hermann]

Thanks. I called again yesterday and he tried to call me while I was at work. Missed him again. I sent a barreled action to him a few weeks ago. Hopefully everything is ok. I will wait a while.

I have never had him answer the phone...always leave a message and he will call you back.

Both times I used JES I sent a rifle from Alaska to him and it was back in less than 3 weeks.

 

[elkduds]

Curious what effect on the value of that old M70 to rebore vs replacing barrel and keeping the original, reinstalling it if you ever want to sell it? '06 is the classic cartridge for the vintage M70, IMO.

 

[Dan Hermann]

Rifle barrel arrived today. Looks good. A dummy .338-06 round slid right in perfectly, will run test loads this weekend.

Thanks. I called again yesterday and he tried to call me while I was at work. Missed him again. I sent a barreled action to him a few weeks ago. Hopefully everything is ok. I will wait a while.

 

[luke moffat]

What rifle did you get rebored? What bullet do you plan on shooting?

 

[Keechi Kid]

I just read through this thread with a lot of interest. I am considering a very similar project. I have a pre-64 in 30-06 that has been cut down to 20". Considering a JES rebore to 338-06. Would also like to change out the wooden stock for a lightweight synthetic of some type.

Have also been considering some sort of refinish for it. Previous owner had the barrel and action parkerized. Bolt is still blued. Was thinking of having it all cerakoted or perhaps hard chromed.

 

[GKPrice]

I just read through this thread with a lot of interest. I am considering a very similar project. I have a pre-64 in 30-06 that has been cut down to 20". Considering a JES rebore to 338-06. Would also like to change out the wooden stock for a lightweight synthetic of some type.

Have also been considering some sort of refinish for it. Previous owner had the barrel and action parkerized. Bolt is still blued. Was thinking of having it all cerakoted or perhaps hard chromed.

Industrial hard chrome is a very good surface as is Nitrite but it's more difficult to find vendors I think - I personally think you'd have a great rifle rebored to 338/06 - A lot of good lightweight stocks out there, MPI & McMillan come to mind as tried and true companies that produce what they advertise - Parkerizing isn't pretty but it's a very good finish for a "hunting" rifle too

 

[Dan Hermann]

I have a fairly new Mossberg Patriot that was in 270. Bolt and trigger are very smooth. magazine holds 5 rounds.
I shot some test loads Sunday. One group was acceptable. Hornady 225 gr SST, 52.5 gr Reloader 15, Not the hottest load but gave 2,538 fps. group was around 1.5 inches. all other groups opened up a lot, especially the stronger loads. I will try a 200 gr bullet and other powders. Even on a Lead Sled rifle rest you can tell this thumps on both ends. Barrel may not be broken in yet. Didn't check the scope mounts. May be loose the way the groups started opening up. Does anybody know if these like heavier bullets better? Better accuracy?

What rifle did you get rebored? What bullet do you plan on shooting?

 

[Dan Hermann]

Oh, yes, and it has a 22 inch barrel.

I have a fairly new Mossberg Patriot that was in 270. Bolt and trigger are very smooth. magazine holds 5 rounds.
I shot some test loads Sunday. One group was acceptable. Hornady 225 gr SST, 52.5 gr Reloader 15, Not the hottest load but gave 2,538 fps. group was around 1.5 inches. all other groups opened up a lot, especially the stronger loads. I will try a 200 gr bullet and other powders. Even on a Lead Sled rifle rest you can tell this thumps on both ends. Barrel may not be broken in yet. Didn't check the scope mounts. May be loose the way the groups started opening up. Does anybody know if these like heavier bullets better? Better accuracy?

 

[gumbl3]

I've got a .338-06 AI project, it's a Marlin XL-7 that I bought a short chambered barrel and head spaced with a finish reamer, I started with 225gr Barnes and had similar groups, think I got it up around 2700 before I started getting nervous about flattened primers.

If I remember I dropped to 210 and was getting better results. I had some low quality brass and ended up wearing out the brass pretty fast and since I sized up some 30-06 and fire formed, I just never got around to starting that whole process again. When I work on it again I'm going to focus on the 210's. That is one fun gun!

 

[GKPrice]

210 Scirocco and 200 Accubond worked well in my 338 win mags - I sold one of my Montana '06's to a now deceased buddy who promptly took it to Jess at J.E.S. - He then shot nothing but 250 partitions (UGH) , although I never got the chance to shoot with him after that, he said they were very accurate - I personally would go the other way, 200 Accubonds did very well for me out slightly beyond 500 yards for elk (even though the BC isn't that good) 210 Scirocco has a bit better numbers and is a great bullet but I haven't used them on game in 338, Luke has I believe - Barnes makes good 338 bullets too