rebarreling a 110

[cooker900]

Hello folks

I'm new here and have a few questions

I have a older 110 LA chambered in 223 rem i am wanting to re-barrel and chamber it to a 260 rem.

i am looking to do this on a budget and I'm looking at a ER Shaw barrel 24" SS with a 1n9 twist. i know i need a 308 family bolt head and blind mag well.

is there anything else that i need. i have read that i can do this whole thing myself but i have never done anything like this before. looking for any and all thoughts on my project.

and yes it will look different with a blue receiver and a SS barrel. but that is ok with me.

[thirty06]

You'll need a new front bolt baffle, yours should have a dog leg on it to limit bolt throw.
A new mag box and follower if you want to make it a repeater.
Yours may also be a large firing pin and have an alignment slot on the bolt head.

[BoilerUP]

If you want to sell your long action .378 (223) bolt head once you get the new .473 (308) bolt head installed, I'd be interested in buying it.

[cooker900]

just asking why would i need a new baffle? i looked at them and they did not look caliber specific or am i missing something.


the bolt head might be up for sale as well as the old barrel.

[jglover_81]

Typically a .223 has a longer baffle to shorten the cycle of the bolt. You will more than likely need a standard baffle to have enough throw.

[cooker900]

Ok thanks i understand now

[wbm]

The 260 does a bit better on a long action if you are shooting 140g bullets. You may also find that there is a baffle in the magazine of your rifle. The bolt baffle for the 223 on long action Savages kept the bolt throw shorter but they also put a baffle in the magazine so that the shorter 223 rounds fed better. If it has one, it can be taken out.

[bluealtered]

You may want to consider what bullet weight you plan to shoot before decicing on what twist you get as well. blue

[cooker900]

im looking at the 125 or 130 gr

also i have seen the spacer in the mag but mine has a pretty long bolt throw now.

[bluealtered]

Then the 1:9 is considered ok. I have two .260's in 1:8 and both do well with lighter or heavier bullets. blue

[davemuzz]

When I ordered my Shilen 6.5 Swede I ordered it with a 1-9 twist. I can't recall why...but that's what I did. It shoots 129 Hornady's and 120gr. Barnes like they are on a lazer. The same with the 140gr. Berger's. But the 140gr. Noslers.....not so much.

If I could have a "do over" I would go with a 1-8.

Dave

[MNbogboy]

Cooker900,
I have two 260s a Shilen 26" varmint wt 1:8 and a Shaw 24" ss sporter 1:9.....both shoot 123 scenars and 120, 123 Amax real well and both like Berger 130 VLDs...The Shilen usually posts in the .3s or .4s at 100 and the less expensive Shaw shoots .6s to .8s but if I really concentrate with the lighter gun it has shot down in the .3s and .4s...both are on flat back 110s...both feed well out of 30-06 magazines and both suck at extraction/ejection like my other Savages and stevens....With new parts they eject pretty well for 50 rounds or so that is why I replace them right before every hunting trip.....
Good luck on your project,
Randy

[cooker900]

guys thanks for all the advise.
I would like to ask is this project really worth the effort? I'm being told so many different things that i just want to stop now and for get about it.
a member here told me it was made in 1989 its a flat back round front receiver

1.i have been told the gun is a long action and it looks like a long action.
2 then the guy at brownells says that it is a short action because they never made a 223 on a LA platform because it would not work
3. a local gunsmith told me that the bolt head was restriced for sale but he might have one laying around. i then find them for sale at brownells for 21.00 part # 855-000-283
4. then I'm told it could have 2 different sizes of firing pin
5. the cocking button would have to be changed to a different one so it would work.
6 have i been told that er Shaw barrel are the worst on the market by one person and someelse says there pretty good for the money.
7. something about the cocking button

now I'm wondering if the barrel i found on midway's web site will work because of different thread sizes

so far other than a bunch of email's and phone calls i have spent 40$ on a few parts
a magazine box assembly,and follower Assembly and a different barrel nut.

i wish i could just find out the right answers. and being so lost on this whole bolt thing wish i could just find a complete bolt for that year of gun for a 308.

ask for any and all help and thoughts i under stand that im new here and asking a ton of questions and looing for a bunch of helpful suggestions.

like i said I'm trying to do this on a budget but still make it safe.

that and if i did it right i found parts to build a complete bolt at brownells web site minus the firing pin and cocking button

[ellobo]

No.1, most gunsmiths have not a clue about Savages. they adhere to the old lie that Savages are junk and will tell you to get Remington and spend $500 for them to convert it.
No.2. Savage used 110 long actions for thier first short cartridge builds. They went through a couple of changes before they finaly made a real short action. You can tell the difference by the mounting screw spacing. The original had 5.062 spacing, startting in 1958. The so called "J" series actions (110) from 1959 to 1988 the spacing is 4.52. The true short action 1998 - 2006 is 4.27.
No.3 I never heard of having to change the cocking button.
No.4. Yes there are large and small dia firing pins but I dont recall the difference in dia. Someone will chime in on that. If the new bolt head you have is for a small pin you can just drill it out to take the larger firing pin. Disassemble your bolt to find out. Older bolt heads had a lug on one side to fit in a groove in the bolt body to prevent rotation. They stopped doing that yrs ago. If your bolt head has a lug just grind it off. A new one probably wont have the lug.
No.5 I have E.R Shaw barrels and they are morre than adequate for hunting. Mine shoot sub-MOA with no problem. If you are intent on competition target shooting you should get a barrel by Shilen, Krieger, McGowen or other hot makers.
No.6 Your reciever is a small shank for small shank barrels. The barrel you have will fit.
No.7 The .260 is a great round, no problems there.
No.8 get a magzine box that will fit your cartridge. Maybe taking the spacer out of your current one will work. They used to use a longer magazine with a spacer at the rear for .223 type cartridges.

Do not be afraid to ask questions here. The only dumb question is the one never asked. I went through the learning process as you are doing right now. Takes awhile due to some of the differences from older actions And I ran into them all at one time or another. Got the answers here and it was worth the trouble in the end. Once you have done it you will be amazed at how simple it really was. Just remember, when you finish the project, make sure the barrel is free floated as well as the tang as the tang has no mounting screw going into it, this aint no Remongton. Oh, and get an aftermarket recoil lug as part of your build. If you have to emove maerial from the stock to get the free floating. Sand it out with sandpaper on a dowel.

[cooker900]

ellobo

thanks that helps a lot.

[cooker900]

ok i have a 5.062 space so its a long action

[ellobo]

Forgot to mention, you will need a new extractor and ejector. Both are spring loaded so assemble in a plastic baggy so the parts doent go flying around the room. There is a spring with a ball on it under the extractor and the ejector pin is also spring loaded and held in with a cross pin you can push out. I think the ejector pin and spring can be reused as is the small ball and spring under theextractor in the bolt head you have. Best to have extras. Just push the extractor to the outside to remove it. Ball and spring will fly if your not carefull.

El Lobo

[handirifle]

Actually he may be able to just swap the bolt head parts into the new one. I hav e done this. For some reason, some heads will, some won't.

Other than that, I agree with 100% of what ellobo told you in his earlier post. Before I ever did my first barrel swap, I asked a gunsmith what he would charge to swap it, and he told me and said, "the first thing I would do is throw away that barrel nut". Instead I bought the tools, asked questions like you're doing, and did it myself. Have swapped so many times since I lost track.

I assume you also have the action wrench and or barrel vice? I got the action wrench and have never needed a barrel vice. If you take your time, do your research ahead, and pay close attention to detail it's easy.

Oh yes, did someone before mention you need headspace gauges? You will need both GO and NO GO gauges for the NEW caliber you select, in this case 260 Rem. Some gauges are interchangeable with several calibers, yours might work on any 308 based caliber, I am not sure though.

[cooker900]

ya for what i have seen so far the 2 local gunsmiths have no clue. because they have both told me different things that were 180 degrees opposite. no wrench yet but i did know that i needed one. and the barrel i was looking at came with go/no go's

is there someplace that has good instructions for taking a barrel off? or really good places to find reliable info on the subject.

[BoilerUP]

Search "Savage barrel swap" on YouTube...more than a handful of videos showing how to DIY.