Cut my barrel or re-barrel and sell the old one?

[AirborneA$$hole]

What's up guys?

So I have a dilemma… I have a Seekins Precision Havak PH2 chambered in 7 PRC that is my main hunting gun. It has a 26 inch barrel And I would like to shoot suppressed, but obviously a 26 inch barrel plus a 6 inch suppressor is going to be a pain in the ass in a hunting blind, so obviously I need a shorter barrel. I'm thinking of either cutting it to around 22 inches, or re-barreling it and selling the old barrel.
The reason I'm contemplating re-barreling instead of cutting it down is because I've read a few posts saying that after they cut the barrel they had accuracy issues. Now, I know different barrel/chamber/rifle/whatever combinations shoot different ammo better or worse, so idk, I'm kind of stuck. Anyone have any input/experiences to share?

Thanks!

 

[Leaf Litter]

One man's opinion here, but with the deep fluting in that factory barrel, I doubt it would cut down well. You're probably better off swapping barrels. Not financially better off, of course, but that's part of the game.

 

[AirborneA$$hole]

One man's opinion here, but with the deep fluting in that factory barrel, I doubt it would cut down well. You're probably better off swapping barrels. Not financially better off, of course, but that's part of the game.

Not gonna lie, I didn't even think about that. That's a really good point. Any recommended barrel manufacturers?

 

[Leaf Litter]

I don't know anything about the Seekins action, but word is that their customer service department is easy to work with for gunsmithing needs. Try contacting them directly, they might make a barrel or tell you who could.

 

[MTTJ]

I contacted Seekins a week or so ago and they were very helpful. Indicated they were out for the holidays until 1/2 though, so likely won’t get an answer until then from them if you reach out.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Seekins can apparently put a barrel of any length on it for you for ~ 550.00. My havak element has a 21” barrel (6.5 creedmoor). Im thinking of having them swap it out for an 18”.

 

[NevadaMike]

Let Seekins do the swap for you.

 

[Oregonhuntrboi]

Let Seekins do the swap for you.

Seekins won’t just do a swap. They said they could only get me a shorter barrel if I ordered a complete custom gun. Doesn’t really make sense to me..

 

[NevadaMike]

Seekins won’t just do a swap. They said they could only get me a shorter barrel if I ordered a complete custom gun. Doesn’t really make sense to me..

That sounds like some sort of a communications error. Several people here on RS have done it and the rep at the Sheep Show told me about it. For what its worth I have not had one swapped but you might contact them again.

 

[Sandstrom]

I would cut it down and see how it shoots, what do you have to lose for around $100? If it doesn’t shoot to your standards, or is to long you have a better idea of exactly what you want. Also, the 7PRC is old news, everyone knows the 7PRCW is hot right now
Ryan

 

[bmart2622]

I talked to Unknown Munitions about cutting down a PH2 and was told it was no problem to cut and re-thread

 

[Oregonhuntrboi]

I talked to Unknown Munitions about cutting down a PH2 and was told it was no problem to cut and re-thread

That’s good news. Been trying to find someone who is willing to cut down my seekins element. I’ve sent unkown an email.thanks!

 

[Oregonhuntrboi]

That sounds like some sort of a communications error. Several people here on RS have done it and the rep at the Sheep Show told me about it. For what its worth I have not had one swapped but you might contact them again.

Interesting. I just spoke with a guy there for quite awhile. I explained that I was just looking to get a shorter barrel for my element and he said unfortunately that I could not just order a barrel and that I would have to order a completely new gun. He said they have been wanting to get to a point where they could sell barrels but they are so backlogged on full rifles as it is that they don’t see that coming anytime soon..

 

[Ikmclean]

Before you re barrel, run the numbers on just ordering a new shorter one and selling the current rifle,

 

[bmart2622]

If you go through Seekins they will rebarrel it for $550ish but only with another production length barrel. So you could re-barrel a Ph2 with an Element length barrel but if you want a custom length you have to go through the custom shop

 

[AirborneA$$hole]

I talked to Unknown Munitions about cutting down a PH2 and was told it was no problem to cut and re-thread

Somewhat unrelated, sorry about that, but have you ever used Unknown Munitions' hand loaded ammo? I currently do not reload so I'm looking at their 7 PRC ammo because they load Hammer bullets. This last year I hunted with Hendershots' 169 gr. Hammer hunter load and it shot well and anchored the deer I shot, but Unknown Munitions has a far greater selection of Hammer bullets and they load a couple Cutting Edge bullets which I want to try.

 

[Oregonhuntrboi]

I count my find any 7mm prc ammo on unknown munitions?

 

[AirborneA$$hole]

I count my find any 7mm prc ammo on unknown munitions?

My bad, I was thinking of Aria Ballistic Engineering.

 

[bmart2622]

Somewhat unrelated, sorry about that, but have you ever used Unknown Munitions' hand loaded ammo? I currently do not reload so I'm looking at their 7 PRC ammo because they load Hammer bullets. This last year I hunted with Hendershots' 169 gr. Hammer hunter load and it shot well and anchored the deer I shot, but Unknown Munitions has a far greater selection of Hammer bullets and they load a couple Cutting Edge bullets which I want to try.

I havent, I reload my own stuff but have bought stuff from them. Is there a reason you are wanting to use a copper bullet?

 

[AirborneA$$hole]

I havent, I reload my own stuff but have bought stuff from them. Is there a reason you are wanting to use a copper bullet?

Honestly it's not so much about using a copper bullet… It has more to do with the performance on game that I've experienced with hammer bullets. They dump a ton of energy into the target and cause a ton of damage. I haven't had an animal take more than a few steps, and most of them drop on the spot. I've also heard similar things about Cutting Edge bullets