Wilson Combat Starts Making Remington 700 Barrels
Barrel announcements are usually where one stops scrolling. But this one is worth a minute, because the details Wilson Combat chose to publish say something about how the barrels are made, and barrel making is one of those processes where the unglamorous steps decide everything.
These are button rifled, which means a carbide button is drawn through the bore under enormous force, cold-forming the rifling rather than cutting it. It is fast, it is repeatable, and it leaves a beautiful surface finish. It also leaves the steel full of internal stress. Ignore that stress and two things happen: the barrel walks as it heats up on a string of shots, and the moment you put it in a lathe to contour it, removing material releases the stress unevenly and the blank bends. Wilson Combat's answer is double stress relieving, once at the mill and again after rifling. That might be the step that separates a button barrel you would trust from one you would not, and it is why the best button makers have historically held their own against cut-rifled barrels in competition.
The blanks are honed 416R stainless. The honing is done before rifling and gives a more uniform bore diameter and a smoother surface for the button to work against, which is one of the quiet quality markers in a barrel blank. The R in 416R is not decoration either. It is a modified 416 developed specifically for rifle barrels, with better low-temperature impact toughness than standard 416, which can get brittle in genuinely cold weather. If you hunt in a Scandinavian or Rocky Mountain winter, that matters.
Every barrel follows the standard Remington factory contour from the shank forward. That means it drops into the stock or chassis your rifle already wears, and it also fits synthetic replacement stocks built to factory contour and walnut custom blanks, with no inletting.
The chamber is cut precisely and left ready for final headspacing. Remington 700 actions vary enough between examples that setting headspace to your specific action is a better outcome than a drop-in chamber cut to a nominal dimension. Gunsmith installation is required.
At the muzzle, the threads are 5/8x24 TPI with a precision recessed crown. Pair that with the 20- or 22-inch length on offer and the intent is obvious. This is a barrel designed to live behind a suppressor, but a compensator will do as well. The recessed crown is the other sensible touch, since the rifling exit is the single most accuracy-critical surface on a barrel and the one most easily ruined by a dropped rifle or a careless cleaning rod.
The launch lineup is tight: .308 Winchester with a 1:10 twist in 20 inches, and 6.5 Creedmoor with a 1:8 twist in 20 and 22 inches. .25 Creedmoor and .22 Creedmoor are listed as coming soon. The 1:8 on the 6.5 handles the heavy 140 to 147 grain match bullets properly. The 1:10 on the .308 is the conventional choice and will stabilize up to around 175 grains, though shooters running heavy 185 to 200 grain subsonics will want to check that before ordering.
Wilson Combat Remington 700 match grade barrels specifications:
- Calibers: .308 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor (.25 Creedmoor and .22 Creedmoor coming)
- Lengths: 20" (.308 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor), 22" (6.5 Creedmoor)
- Twist rates: 1:10 (.308 Win), 1:8 (6.5 Creedmoor)
- Material: honed 416R stainless steel, double stress relieved
- Rifling: button rifled
- Contour: standard Remington 700 factory contour, no inletting required
- Chamber: precisely cut, ready for final headspacing
- Muzzle: 5/8x24 TPI threads with precision recessed crown
- Finish: belt-polished satin, Armor-Tuff colors are +$41.95 and optional
- Engraving: caliber, twist rate and Wilson Combat eagle on the flared muzzle
Button-rifled or cut-rifled: does it change what you buy, or is the finished barrel all that counts?
If this post has you ready to hit the range, head over to gunranges.com - a free directory to help you find shooting ranges near you, wherever you are in the United States.
Ex-Arctic Ranger. Competitive practical shooter and hunter with a European focus. Always ready to increase my collection of modern semi-automatics, optics, thermals and suppressors. TCCC Certified. Occasionaly seen in a 6x6 Bug Out Vehicle, always with a big smile.
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Nice.
Meh, save your money. Wilson Combat is overpriced and underdelivers. I bought a match barrel for an S&w M&p. It promised the moon for accuracy with match ammo and when I shot groups it shot the same as the stock barrel. I asked Wilson for a refund because it didn't match their accuracy guarantee but they told me because I had already rounds down the barrel that I wasn't able to return the product. I took a risk and they refused to stand behind their product and help a customer. They didn't even ask me to send it back to check x, y, or z. With customer service like that it makes me a little satisfied that their current line of products are selling so poorly that they have to expand their market offering to keep the lights on. But don't make the same mistake I did.