Goodbye to Savage

Would heating the action while freezing the barrel help loosen the threads? Packing the barrel in ice and very lightly heating the action, maybe with a blow dryer. I read on another forum, in one post, thread penetrating solvent was allowed to soak in overnight. The poster said his barrel came out easily. All of these ideas are great if it's some other guys gun. It seems dicey to me, trying to save a few bucks and risking ruining an action.
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I tried the temperature difference thing as well as soaking in Kroil--still no budge. It wasn't my gun and I didn't want to damage the receiver so I told he owner he needed to consider sending it to the Howa outfit and get a new barrel--or I could try to fire-lap and polish the bore to see if the consistency would improve. It's purely a hunting gun--so it really isn't important that it printed MOA "all day long"--what is important is that first 2 or three shots consistently went to the same generally area. Something was causing the first shots to vary wildly in POI, the lapping I did did seem to help since that first shot POI variance dropped to a max of about 2.5" at 100, which seems reasonable for a 30 year old well-used gun. Of course, that improvement could be just temporary.
 
stagpanther said:
I have zero experience with gunsmithing lathes--but if I understand correctly--he says he's cutting from the outside of the barrel in? 
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He's not cutting in, he's removing material where the barrel shouders against the face of the reciever. Once the material is removed that contacts the face of the receiver, the barrel should screw out easily. You only have to remove enough material to be slightly smaller than the OD of the threads.

That's why I suggested VERY careful use of a hacksaw could probably do the job. The saw blade width is all the relief you'll probably need to release the tension. Just be careful you don't cut into the reciever face
 
He's not cutting in, he's removing material where the barrel shouders against the face of the reciever. Once the material is removed that contacts the face of the receiver, the barrel should screw out easily. You only have to remove enough material to be slightly smaller than the OD of the threads.
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Ah--yes, I've read of that before. I've read that is still hit or miss with older howa/vanguards. If for any reason that doesn't work, my guess is that the tennon is going to be left behind in the receiver if the barrel fails at that cut. I probably would try that as a last resort--the howa certified guy said he can get them off for around $100 which is pretty reasonable (unless they need to escalate to the "piranha").
 
I took a closer look at all my recent production savages--including a pile of barrels that I yanked from donor rifles. Whether it was a $300 axis or a $1000 110--they had pretty much the same bore finish with the exception of this particular one. The tool chatter pretty much goes up and down the entire bore length, but the last couple of inches to the muzzle usually includes a bit of extra damage--just where it can have the most effect on the bullet. Most commonly I find a "splatter pitting" (even on unfired barrels) similar to the first photo on this thread--I can't tell for sure whether that is a result of the rifling process or some chemical reaction, though it usually has fouling from what I assume is the factory's proof firing so I'm guessing it's from the manufacturing process.
 
It's a $350 rifle. Shoot it. Odds are it ain't going to any worst or better.
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I actually started fire-lapping it to see if I can wear down the trenches somewhat--that's definitely had a positive effect as there are far fewer 8" flyers.
 
My brothe curses me for forcing him to buy a boro scope (well I offered to lend him mine but no, he guys it)

You actually put a borescope down a Savage barrel? !
What were you thinking you'd find?
It's not a Shilen, or Critereon, or any other number of top match grade barrel makers.
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All those barrels are awful he tells me, just awful.

No, look at a hammer forged, they are smooth! they don't shoot for diddly but smooth yes. And that 1903 with the bull shoots lights out, nothign has changed has it?

Dang, just shoot it and see what happens. Its not how it looks its how it shoots.

Or, you ordered a barrel for it, clearly you are just using the base as a donor - you knew it would be bad.

Still bet if you shoot it the thing will smooth out and shoot decent.

Shoot it, clean it with Bore Tech eliminator and Carbon killer 2000 and life will be good!
 
I have a Savage 11 in 260Rem and it's been wonderful.
That said, I did replace the stock for a Hogue b/c I liked the grippy texture.

Stagpanther, you should send that rifle back for a replacement.
 
You know how those relief cuts are done? AFAIK you have to come in from inside the barrel and cut up just shy of the lug and stopping before contacting the threads on the receiver
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It's done with a plunge cut on a lathe, typically a grooving bit. I have removed a good number of barrels and never had to do this (never did a Howa) but a classmate of mine did have to do this in gunsmithing school on an Enfield M1917.

Those barrels were put on with incredible torque and it's possible the thread fit was tighter - closer to a Class 3 than 2. Grooving the outside diameter of the barrel gives relief area for the the steel to expand some and release stress so the threads don't hold so tightly.

It's my understanding that magnetic particle inspection is typically done on these receivers because the stress of the original installation can damage the metal.

Another user suggested the very front of the receiver is cut but you typically wouldn't do that because it's going to change the parallelism of the receiver face. If you were going to do that you'd do it on a jig that was running true to the bolt raceway/receiver threads which would typically require the barrel be removed.

For what it's worth, I've barreled a pretty good number of Remington 700 clones and never had issues removing or installing barrels. I'm a fan of Kelbly myself but there are many great actions. If you want a Switch barrel one, look at what West Texas Ordnance is doing with their Switchlug - allows you to change barrels back to consistent headspace without going to the Remake/barrel nut system. Very cool stuff.
 
I own/have owned dozens of savage rifles, barrels and builds based on their receivers--I'm quite familiar with their performance expectations.;)
 
If Savage had stuck with the Stevens 200 as their bargain rifle instead of the Axis I'd be using them still.
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Isnt this the truth?! I've never been so disappointed in a firearms company. I guess its worked out for them or they'd go back , but it still seems like a horrible decision. Building off of those rifles turned into the norm. Now with the non-slotted barrel nut, I really have no use for a new Savage rifle. I've bought a few used ones, but I'm thinking next time I might try a 700 action with remage conversion for the much better aftermarket support. Problem is itll cost a little more though.. decisions, decisions.
 
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