Savage Rifle Build?

C

cordesr1

New member
After spending a few long hours at the range today i have come home very confused and upset.

For starters i have never built a rifle from the ground up. Currently i have a Stevens Model 200 in .300 Win Mag. I made a bad decision two years ago and am regretting it since, feels like i ****** away $175. I like to shoot ALOT and this is way to expensive and the recoil is getting old real fast.

I already have a Sako .30-06. I Shot my fathers .25-06 today and fell in love with it.

My thoughts are to take the .300 and turn it into a .25-06. From what i have read, it seems very simple if i can get the bolt face replaced. Both are on the long action platform and the overall shell length is close.

I have been wanting to try and build a rifle for a while and this could be a good donor action. I can get a new trigger for about $50 installed, a Boyd laminated stock for $60 and a Shaw Barrel for $205.

Has anyone done anything like this and if so what are your thoughts?

Thanks
 
I built a 308 on an older savage 110 30-06 rifle. Replaced everything but the bolt and action. Its real easy. All you need is a barrel nut wrench, a. 25-06 (30-06) headspace guage and a barrel. A vise with some pine wood blocks work great for holding the action, and a new bolt head for the bolt. Also easy to change out. Another consideration would be to trade or sell that rifle for a new 25-06. But then you can't say you built it. Either way, I think the 25-06 fits your bill better than the 300. Its cool to have a big banger, but I to like to shoot, and its just not economically possible to do it cheaply with the 300.
 
that rifle is the perfect rifle to customize. i only wish stevens made the 200 in left hand.

check out the savage shooters forum. lots of good info on there.
 
I've done a few and maybe I could offer some help.

First, is your rifle a stagger feed or center feed? Stagger feeds the magazine is attached to the receiver, center feed rifles the magazine stays in the stock. Because the first thing I would do is take either a .30-06 or .25-06 empty cartridge and see if your magazine will hold them, if they don't you will be looking for a new magazine and follower.

The center feeds are easier to change out if you need a new magazine. You'll have to modify that Boyd's stock for the newer center feed as well, which shouldn't be too hard if you take your time. You'll have to inlet a notch where the rear screw hole is for your magazine retainer clip. If you have a stagger feed the Boyd's stock pretty much bolts on.

Second, you'll have to buy a new bolt head which you all ready realize. Since yours is a magnum you'll have to go down to a .30-06/.308 .473 bolt head. You can find them at Midway or Sharp Shooter Supply (SSS). Or if you become a paid member of Savage Shooters Forum you can possibly trade as a lot of people are looking for these.

Third, you'll need a barrel nut wrench and go/no-go gages to remove and install your barrels. Some people don't use the gages but use a cartridge instead, I don't recommend that. If you don't want to buy the gages you can rent them for a few days from places like 4-D reamers. You'll need a vise of some sort a barrel vise, one like mentioned above with pine blocks, or an action wrench to make barrel removal easier.

Fourth, triggers which one are you going to get for $50 installed? I know you can get a Northland Shooter Supply (NSS) 3 screw for around $45. These are an improvement over the current Stevens trigger. Rifle Basix and Timney both sell versions of the 3 screw trigger for around $100 they aren't too hard to install if you follow the directions. Rifle Basix Savage 2 trigger as well as the SSS Competition trigger are nice but IMO too light for hunting triggers. The SSS is a simple bolt on application where as the Rifle Basix trigger requires a little more fitting to get it right.

Fifth, you will need to decide what kind of barrel you want? For a .25-06 I'd at least get a 24" but would prefer a 26". You can find factory take off barrels sometimes but they are 22" barrels which IMO are a waste if used in the .25-06 chamber. You need a longer barrel to squeeze the velocity out of this cartridge and the 22" just doesn't cut it.

McGowen, Shilen, Douglas, and E.R. Shaw make prefits to order as well as several other barrel makers. A&B, Shilen and E.R. Shaw are sold at Midway pretty reasonable but not always in stock. Over on Savage Shooters Forum in the sponsor classifieds NSS and Sin Arms can get you about any Savage barrel you want as well.

Lastly, since you are taking off the barrel I'd recommend getting a new recoil lug as well, SSS, Midway, Stockade Gunstocks, and NSS all sell better lugs than the factory one. They cost about $30 and are machined not stamped. This gives them a more uniform surface for engagement than the factory stamped lugs.

All in all I would still say put your Stevens up for sale. It will be cheaper in the long run just to find a new/used .25-06 especially if you go with a premium barrel maker. However you don't get the satisfaction of assembling an accurate rifle yourself.
 
Lets say that you get the wrench, and head-space gauge, etc. to swap barrels on a Savage 110 rifle. (I'm asking because I also have one). What do you do if your headspace gauge indicates that the headspace is not correct? How do you go about adjusting or correcting it?
 
Skans said:
What do you do if your headspace gauge indicates that the headspace is not correct?
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That's the beauty of the Savage system. They use a barrel nut to lock the barrel in place once the headspace is set. It you find that it's wrong, you loosen the nut, adjust the barrel and re-tighten it.
 
thread it in or out of the reciever,, run the recoil lug up to the reciever face and then tighten the nut down tight

ocharry
 
Taylorce1

Thanks, this is a great help, Thank you everyone.

I agree when you say it would be much cheaper to sell what i have and buy a factory rifle. Even cheaper becuase my dad has a FFL, but i like the idea of building one and i figured if i screwed up i wouldnt be out much.

From what i understand if i do things correct and don't go cheap on the barrel i should be able to get a very accurate rifle. I was thinking a 26" Bull or varmint contour barrel.

would i be able to get any better deals on parts with an ffl or does anyone know of a mailorder place with better prices than Midway?
 
Third, you'll need a barrel nut wrench and go/no-go gages to remove and install your barrels. Some people don't use the gages but use a cartridge instead, I don't recommend that. If you don't want to buy the gages you can rent them for a few days from places like 4-D reamers. You'll need a vise of some sort a barrel vise, one like mentioned above with pine blocks, or an action wrench to make barrel removal easier.
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I understand why anyone would be hesitant to recommend using a cartridge, but that's what I used and my shooter has been always been a .5moa rifle. Of course, I only shoot federal (what I headspaced it with), so that probably helps. You will want a piece of carbon paper to shim the bolt face if you headspace with a cartridge, though. I can't argue with someone that recommends using gauges, I can only say that I know a cartridge works well.

I agree when you say it would be much cheaper to sell what i have and buy a factory rifle. Even cheaper becuase my dad has a FFL, but i like the idea of building one and i figured if i screwed up i wouldnt be out much.
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I recommend you build the stevens action. I doubt you'll ever have a sense of accomplishment quite like your first gunsmith project. Plus you can bed the action, lap the bolt lugs, change out the recoil lug, and add in some more goodies.

Also, an ER Shaw barrel in the white can be shipped to your door for 180 bucks. You'll have to finish it, but that's more fun IMO. Hope you have fun with your project.
 
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