Barrel Question

[7.3stroker]

Hey guys first post although I have spent alot of time reading here but I havent't found a anwser to to a question I have. I have a remington 700 it's a sps model I belive it's got a hogue stock its a long action rifle in 280 remington. But what I want to know is if I can change to a 308 rifle I got the gun for almost nothing with leupold scope already on it. So i've been wondering if I can just buy a barrel and have a gunsmith change it over or if i should just buy a new rifle

[dstocum]

Well you can get it rebarreled, there are long action 308s out there, but for as much as it would cost I'd just buy another rifle if I were you. Putting a new quality barrel on it will cost you from $450 at the low end to $600+, not including any shipping charges. At least you have the right bolt already.

What do you want the rifle to be, when it's done? Is it just a hunting rifle, a target rifle, something to shoot cheap ammo through at the range? Because depending on your goal, chambering a long action 700 in 308 could have some downsides.

[7.3stroker]

thank you for your response I want it for a target rifle. 280 is not found hardley anywhere around me. If I was a reloader it would be different But i'm not. Ive got a buddy who said I could have the factory barrel off his 700 308 if I wanted it. I dont know what a gun smith around here would charge to change. What else goes into besides a barrel change?. I've looked at buying another rifle I still haven't ruled that out as option anyway lol another rifle never hurts anyone. Ive just got this one that i never shoot because of the ammo supply around here. If I do decide to go with just rebarreling it with the barrel he gives me what else would need to be done besides checking the head space?

[dstocum]

Well, you can just have a smith install the barrel until headspace is good to go and nothing more, assuming the barrel you have and the barrel you're replacing it with are the same contour. If not, you will have to have the stock inletted, or possibly replaced if the contours are radically different. It is probably worth going this route if you can get the barrel for cheap or free, just to get shooting.

[7.3stroker]

yeah the barrels look the same to me. both factory sps models just the 308 barrel is a 20 inch instead of a 22 inch like my 280 but i dont see where that should effect anything im gonna go to the local smith here tommorow and see what he says. I do thank you for your help though