New to me Remimgton 660 in a .243

[remington600]

The Remington 660 in the 243 was first introduced in 1968. There were 50,536 660s produced between 1967-1972 with 14,089 being 243s. The Remington 660 was introduced to replace the model 600. People thought the 600 was to ugly and the barrel was to short. Compared to some of the stuff today its a work of art. Stating the obvious the 660 has a 20" barrel 1.5 inches longer then the 600. The S shaped bolt handle was made so it would tuck against the stock tighter to make the rifle easier to work in a sadle scabbered without hanging up and the forward curve kept it clear from your hand during recoil that the 600 and 660s were known for. Because of the recoil issue a barrel shim was placed between the action and the barrel called a barrel bracket first introduced on the 600. The barrel bracket provided a recoil shoulder for a scope. Your 660 in the 243 weights a wopping 6.5 pounds and has a 9 1/8 to 1 rife twist. The 600s and the 660s were way ahead of there time and are now collectable. The 600 and 660s rifles were also the first rifles to be chambered in a short magnum caliber 350 Rem Mag and the 6.5 Rem Mag.

[remington600]

Is there a reason why you think you need to replace the barrel? If nothing is wrong with it leave it alone. You ca n replace the stock and tuck it away for later if you decide to put it back to factory. I will add though if removing the stock the box magazines are a little tricky to pit back together.

[Wulfman]

No reason to replace the bbl at all. From what I have learned so far, the caliber is common so its not quite so collectable. Hunting with it doesnt seem to be a problem but I will put a new stock on it and have it bedded so I can keep the original stock in good condition. Thanks for your help and look forward to learning more about my favorite rifles.

In my opinion, that would be unnecessary. The stock should have the RK-W finish on it, which is extremely durable......it was called the "bowling ball" finish back in those days.
The barrel is probably free-floating. I have three Mohawk 600s (.222, .243 and 6mm.) and the barrels are all free-floating (came that way). They all exhibit excellent accuracy. I believe that "glass bedding" a Remington action is totally unnecessary (to put it mildly).

If you haven't actually shot the rifle, any modifications would be premature.

Personally, I don't consider them all that "collectible". They bring somewhat higher prices now because our dollar has been devalued so much in the last 40+ years. And, the Remington Model 7 is basically a cosmetically improved reincarnation of the 600/660/600 Mohawk rifles.


Den