I got even more excited when I found that Ed Shilen – one of the most famous barrel makers on the planet – had played a large part in setting up the Bergara barrel-manufacturing process. And it shows! Have a look inside a Bergara with a borescope and you’ll see what I mean. The finish is second to none. Yes, I know, there’s more to making an accurate barrel than the internal finish but, experience has borne out my initial enthusiasm and, the Bergaras I’ve fitted have shot exceedingly well.
Unfortunately, Bergara don’t currently offer a really heavy profile that would suit a competitive benchgun or F Class rifle but, if they ever do, I’ll be the first to try one. However, a wide choice of profiles, lengths, twists and calibres are offered to suit most other applications and they are very competitively priced and available – Fox Firearms always have a good selection.
A choice of 416 stainless-steel or 4140 chrome-moly, fluted, bead-blasted etc. is available plus ‘specials’ for the AR carbines etc. and now, Bergara are the first manufacturer to offer a ‘no-gunsmithing’ replacement barrel for the Remington 700 series.
The Bergara system is similar to the Savage system and in fact Bergara also offer Savage barrels using the same principle. Several manufacturers offer pre-fit barrels but most require final head-spacing in the lathe – a skilled job. With Bergara, instead of the gunsmith ‘fitting’ the barrel using a lathe to headspace, Bergara use a lock-nut – like the Savage – so all we need now is a ‘go’ gauge and a barrel-vice.
OK – don’t get too excited. I can already see one or two drawbacks for the DIY shooter who thinks he can save a bob or two here. Firstly, proofing. The Bergara barrel comes ready proofed and your Remington action will also be proofed but, when you screw the two together, is further proofing required? Certainly, if you eventually sell on the rifle, it should really be proofed and, for your own safety and peace of mind, proofing is, in my opinion, a good idea.
Secondly, although most shooters who are capable of handloading should have the skill and common sense to do the work, removing a Remington factory barrel is no easy task and a proper barrel-vice and wrench are required. Even then, you could struggle! Then,
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Bergara & their new... No Gunsmithing Barrels...
you need to screw-on the replacement Bergara to the required torque and headspace it. Again, not really a job for the novice.
A decent barrel-vice (this one was supplied by Fox Firearms) is essential – even then we may have to resort to more drastic measures to get the factory barrel off
It may be better therefore to get your favourite gunsmith to do the job, for which he will of course make a small charge, plus the cost of proof but, well worth it for peace of mind alone. However, it should almost be a ‘while you wait’ job – no excuse for being without your rifle for six months!
With that out of the way, let’s get on with the job of replacing our shot-out 308 Remmy barrel with a new Bergara in 6.5x47 Lapua.
My 6.5x47 Bergara is a stainless-steel un-fluted example with a heavy-ish profile very similar to the factory barrel on the Remmy. Overall length is 24 inches, tapering from 1.25 inches at the breech to 0.875 inches at the muzzle - which is already threaded for a moderator/muzzle-brake.
Removing the Remmy barrel was a bit of a pain but eventually - by using a technique well known to most gunsmiths - it freed-off. Warning – be sure to make a small ‘witness’ mark on the action and recoil-lug so that you can position the lug in exactly the right place when we come to fit the new barrel.
There were traces of rust and glue on the Remington barrel-tenon – and therefore in the action-threads, so the first job is a good clean up. This is a tedious process but needs to be done – with a dental pick or similar. When we are happy that all the threads are clean, make sure there are no burrs where the scope- mount screw-holes are drilled through the front action-ring. A small burr could cause our new barrel- threads to gall or even seize when we are screwing it into the action – maybe with catastrophic results!
Now we must apply grease to the action and barrel- threads. This joint is of course subjected to quite high temperatures so make sure you use a suitable grease.
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