Rebarreling a Savage 110

[Markbo]

I want to rebarrel a Savage rifle and realized I have a TON of questions. :confused:

Without getting into a caliber debate, I have a deer gun - a Savage 110 in .270 that is pretty darned accurate. I am just not a .270 fan. Just not. I AM however a huge .25-06 fan.

Everything else is OK for a just a barrel swap right? Meaning no bolt or other changes? Who would you guys recommend for a replacement barrel? I am thinking a medium weight longer barrel to take full advantage of the round - is 24" long enough? Also what twist rate? I will shoot only 115-117gr bullets.

I have never had a custom barrel except for .22LR. I might get it fluted... it sin't going to be a varmint gun, so I am going to have to lug it around. Are there any other considerations? Short throat, long throat, tight chamber, etc, etc??? Can I put a stainless barrel into a blued receiver without any other considerations than looks? Anything else I am not mentioning here?

FWIW I am a handloader - only about 2 years, but I have put together some good rifle loads and am confident I can do it for a new gun.

I would appreciate ANY input... this is a completely new area for me. I would imagine within a few weeks/month my next question will be "How do I install and headspace a Savage barrel?". :D

Thanks!
Mark

[CTKen]

At the risk of offending Mike or John, I'd make my first stop at savageshooters.com . Don't bother paying, just read.

Nearly all your questions are answered, probably in the FAQ sections of the various boards. They are Savage wh*res over there. Pretty good guys for the most part.

But I will offer the following: first make sure whether you have a standard shank or a large shank barrel; you'll see a definite step just ahead of the barrel nut if its a large shank. You will not have to change the bolt head for 270/25-06 conversion; you will even use the same magazine. Stainless into blue OK, but I do use an anti-seize or anti-galling goop on all barrel threads, especially stainless. You can do it yourself if your good with tools. If you're the type that always hits their thumb with the hammer, let someone else handle it.

It isn't rocket science; after all I did it......

Hit me with a PM if you have more questions. I'm a wh*re about them, too! Ken

[gonzo gunner]

trust me you are about to get hooked in the savage world of barrel swapping:D !! brownells has the go/no go gauges that you'll need to head space the barrel. they are about $25 each i think. the thing with savageshooters.com is there is a company call sss(sharp shooters supply). don't get hooked into them. if you have to send it off to anybody send it to kevin rayhill at stockade gun works. they are a sponcer here on this sight and about 100x's better than sss. kevin has been repairing thier screw ups for a long long time. like i said if you have to send it off send it to kevin and he'll get it right the first time for sure. have fun with the barrel swap.

[Dwayne TX]

Just be prepared to talk for a few minutes, he will answer anything & everything. Also look at Shilen, they've got Savage replacement barrels, are in Texas, & a board sponsor. Have your gunsmith order the stuff from Shilen, though, they give a discount to them.

[gonzo gunner]

kevin is a great guy to do business with. he will answer everything you ask because he wants to get it right and has pride in his worksmanship. you simply can't go wrong with stockade.

[BillPa]

I want to rebarrel a Savage rifle and realized I have a TON of questions. :confused:

Mark

Well, this might be a start except for pulling the factory barrel.
http://user.pa.net/~wcmpa/MyFiles/Savage%20Tech/Barrel%20Swap/Swap.html

[Markbo]

Thanks guys... and Kevin sells his own barrels or other manufacturers?

Man, I had no idea there were so many barrel makers for Savage rifles! I will learn everything I can about wrenches, gauges, etc, etc in due course. Of all the makers, which brand(s) do you favor? They seem to run from $169 to over 4 figures! Surely there is a happy medium for a hunting (not varmint) gun, huh?

[gonzo gunner]

kevin sales other makers barrels. he'll get what ever brand you want.i've put a shilens barrel on one of my old savages and a lilja on another one. they each shot great. i messed up and sold them. i won't make that mistake again. when i get shooters like those again i'll keep them.

[Samson]

I agree with above , Kevin Rayhill is a great smith and builder , does great work and does it pretty fast. He likes Benchmark barrels and they are top quality. Sharp Shooters Supply uses Douglas barrels , though I have never had any trouble with SSS products I kinda got an attitude the couple times I called

[Onehole]

Can you give us some more detail on the "modified spanner wrench"?
I assume that a factory installed barrel will require a barrel vise and more muscle.
Any suggestions for a good less expensive barrel vise?

[Markbo]

I know the group as a whole here have swapped 100's.. probably 1000's of barrels. For a hunting gun - not a competition shooter... is there a 'favorite' barrel brand that is a good medium of price and performance?

I mean from what little I know I cannot imagine I would get a bad rifle from Shilen, Lilja, Pac-Nor, Douglas, Benchmark, Broughton, Kreiger, Hart, Lothar Walther, etc, etc, etc... How the heck do I choose???

And secondarily... is there any real benefit to going with .25-06 AI or some other .25 hot rod? Don't really want to go Weatherby and I would like to keep the same bolt.

[Bigrock]

The Adams & Bennett barrels are available from Midway for the Savage 110 for 129.99 I have a buddy that builds rifles and he has used them and says they are great shooters. I have a 25/06 Encore barrel and I have got stuck on the sierra 90 HPBT you can zip it along at 3300 to 3400 fps with H4831 and they are devastating on coyotes or Texas whitetail:cool:

[glenn asher]

I even hear nice things about E.R. Shaw's barrels now, but not before they upgraded their equipment. Just about any of the custom barrels available now are pretty good, just pick one that fits your budget (which is what you'll have to do, anyway, right?) I DO hear nice things about those Lothar Walther pipes, and they are priced nice, too. I'd probably go PacNor, because of my buddy's experience with them, though.
Barrel swapping isn't hard, I do it the easy way, I go over to Steve Southwood's(ricochet, here) place and let him do it for me, he's got the headspace gauges, vise and wrench, all the good stuff, and I get to watch videos and BS with him while he's slaving over my old stuff.

[BillPa]

Can you give us some more detail on the "modified spanner wrench"?
I assume that a factory installed barrel will require a barrel vise and more muscle.
Any suggestions for a good less expensive barrel vise?

Actually, I don't use a barrel vise on Savages at all, factory installed barrels or otherwise. For the "snug" factory installed barrels I use a clamp on action wrench and a full spanner. If I don't have a bench vise avaliable, I use this...
http://user.pa.net/~wcmpa/MyFiles/image/obj8geo8pg1p13.jpg

If I have a vise, I'll install the wrench, clamp it in the vise sideways and use the spanner and a 18" breaker bar if need be.

After the factory installed barrels, I only use a rear entry wrench and the open ended spanner. It allows me to change barrel wherever I want with removing the scope and mounts. At times I may have two or more barrels to work a load up for. At the range I can do the workup for one, swap on a new one and workup the load for that one. I've done as many as four at one range session.

Bill

[Markbo]

Now I gotta add a wrench to the equation! :D

What would be the best twist rate for the 115-120gr bullets?

[Coyote Duster]

take a look at the 6.5-284 if your rebarreling anyway. I'm not trying to start a debate, just one you should consider if you haven't already. Brass is available and they have bullets with a better B.C. than the25-06.
Just a thought.

[panhandlepr]

I just finished putting on a Shilen barrel about an hour ago. Changed bolt head size from the 204 Ruger to 6mm BR Rem. A barrel vise and wrench are cheaper than most gunsmiths will charge for doing a barrel on a regular action. Savages do have some advantages.

[Markbo]

Thanks Duster... I am open to any and all caliber suggestions! :D

panhandlepr... do you change just the bolt head to fit the cartridge head or the entire bolt? :confused:

[BillPa]

Thanks Duster... I am open to any and all caliber suggestions! :D

... do you change just the bolt head to fit the cartridge head or the entire bolt? :confused:

I change the bolt heads, its about a 5 minute job if your slow. What you need watch is what you buy. There is a difference between the LAs and SAs. The lugs (front to back) measure .435" +/-, on a SA, .500" on a LA, so when you buy them make sure its for the action length you have.

Adjust the firing pin protrusion to .040"-.045" and the cocking piece pin stop position at .005" and your good to go with either bolthead.

Bill

Oh, by the way...how I swap barrels without removing the scope-mounts or a vise, blocks, etc ..anywhere!
http://user.pa.net/~wcmpa/MyFiles/Savage%20Tech/Barrel%20Swap/Swap.html

[bcp]

Whole bolts are not too expensive from Midway.

http://www.midwayusa.com/esearch.exe/search?search_keywords=savage+bolt+push&category_selector=all_products&Click+to+Begin+Search.x=0&Click+to+Begin+Search.y=0&Click+to+Begin+Search=Search_Button


But long action small (223) bolts or bolt heads are scarce. I think you can get one here:
http://www.sharpshootersupply.com/

Bruce

[BillPa]

Whole bolts are not too expensive from Midway.

http://www.midwayusa.com/esearch.exe/search?search_keywords=savage+bolt+push&category_selector=all_products&Click+to+Begin+Search.x=0&Click+to+Begin+Search.y=0&Click+to+Begin+Search=Search_Button


But long action small (223) bolts or bolt heads are scarce. I think you can get one here:
http://www.sharpshootersupply.com/

Bruce


What you need to watch there is....

The bolt assemblies are mated to receivers at the factory before the rest of the gun is assembled. If a particular bolt will not operate within parameters in an action, that bolt is set aside until an action comes along that it will work in. If it doesn't work in a number of receivers, it is disassembled to find what the culprit part is. If a particular receiver refuses to work after trying several bolts, then the receiver is set aside to determine what is wrong with it.

So, a complete bolt may or may not work 100% in a given action, same as any other production action made to +/- tolerances. One place it shows up quite often is with the primary extraction, too much or too little. Conversely, bolt heads are generally pretty good except for the face being dished some what from the polishing process, the larger .532" being the worst.

Thats why swapping bolt heads beyond the cost and time may be a better choice. $35 bucks or so, a 1/4" allen wrench and 5 minutes compared to $100 and possible other problems.

Bill