NEW MEMBER W/ NEW RIFLE

[teddybaham]

hi guys,
i own a huge variety of brands of rifles. ive owned 2 savage products prior to this one. one was a stevens 200 in 7mm-08 which i loved the round but i never got that gun to shoot. second is a 17 hmr which i love that little rifle. i recently aquired a savage 110 tactical rifle in 7mm remington mag on trade for a small gun safe from a freind. he was in more need of the safe than i was of the gun. it has a bull barrel which i like. i have a 7mag in a 700 and love it. but this one id like to build a bench rifle or looking at some of these camoed up sniper rifles that may be what i decide to do. but i got lots of questions and im sure many have been answered a thousand times. my freind has been claiming it this gun was a tack driver for years (not certian of his definition of tack driver though) and he didnt hunt with it cause it was heavy (hes older). so any way, i took it apart to give it a good wipe down and first thing i noticed is the stock is garbage and has to go. all tupperware so ill be in the market for a synthetic with aluminum bedding ect. the trigger looks adjustable and i see where i can take the creep out by adjusting the screw under the sear. ill need to read up on trigger adjustments on here and a replacement may be on the list later on in my build. i put her back together and clamped her in my gun vise. and ran a brush and a few patches with my dewy gun cleaning rod and guide, the third patch came out pretty clean. my biggest concern at this point is the barrel. i shined a light in there @ the crown and the bore looks pretty smooth but the rifleing has tool marks on the lands the entire length. now i havent shot it yet and it may be a shooter but im afraid a rebarrel will be in order. id like to keep it a 7mag i like the round and already load for it so cost aint an issue, recoil is minimal in my 700 so i imagine it will be less on the bull barrel. plus the 7 mag has great ballistics and is a great long range flat shooter. upside is the trigger gaurd is steel!!! haha. any direction on this will be much appreciated.
i prolly wont hunt with this im really leaning toward a sniper rifle set up maybe a muzzle break for good measure.

[GaCop]

Weclome to the "Brotherhood of the Barrel Nut". Sounds like you have a plan. There are a number of companies that have good replacement stocks. If you consider going tactical, take a look at the Duramaxx on Brownell's web site it's cut for a heavy barrel and is already pillar bedded so all you'd have to do is glass the action. If you decide to replace the factory trigger, a number of aftermarket ones exist that would work well. I use the Rifle Basix and like it for the reasonable price and it is crisp and light for my applications. Sharp Shooter Supply (a site sponsor) has a great trigger and Timney also makes one for the Savage. Try the factory barrel before you decide to replace it. Many are good shooters. You could always fire lap the barrel to smooth it up.

[teddybaham]

well i gotta lay some lead down range 1st. i think a new stock will be my 1st purchase. depending on accuracy ill decide on a barrel or trigger next. but i caint say anything till i shoot it. any body know what the MIN. length for a 7mm mag would be, cut and recrown on the factory barrel would be a cool project if its not a shooter.

[farmboy]

I built a 280 A.I. couple years and put it in a B&C Duramax. Shoots great and it is a pleasure to shoot. Also have a B&C Medalist (alum bedding block) for another project. Got both from Shooters Discount at good prices. The medalist may be what you are looking for. Definately shoot it first, you may be surprised. Barrel length may be a compromise depending on your particular needs and wishes for the gun. Remember set this up for your particular needs.

good luck

[k80skeet]

Don't be in a big rush to replace anything. I bought a 110 heavy barrel tactical in 300 Win mag in that cheap Tupperware stock. After a little load development it shot 3/8" 5 shot groups at 100 yards and 4" 5 shot groups at 600 yards. Shoot it for a couple hundred rounds and see what you really have and there is plenty of time to throw money in it.

[GaCop]

+1, shoot it first. If you do decide to replace the barrel, I would go with at least 26" heavy tube. Factory Savage sporters are 24". My 7 mag is the factory sporter in the tupperware stock. Recoil was punishing to say the least even with 145gr handloads. I tried a walnut stock with better recoil pad and the recoil was still uncomfortable so I took a good look at the factory stock and decided to modify it. I first removed the expanded foam in the butt stock and filled that with sand. I then filled the voids in the forearm three forths full of sand and then glassed over that to seal it in. The stock is now heavy enough to fire multiple loads comfortably and the forearm is nicely stiffened.