What calibers will fit in my guns mag?

[quadsport09]

I have a stevens 200, chambered in 22-250. All factory at the moment. Im planning on changing everything eventually and looking for a good caliber for some medium to long range shooting. what other calibers will fit in the factory magazine or what calibers can I fit in it with slight modifications?
New to gun building and I appreciate everyones input and IM definitely learning alot from everyone so thanks !

[keeki]

any short action caliber that uses a .473 bolthead is just a barrel swap

[Hersh5317]

Just to further what was said above, in the FAQ section there is a list of popular cartridges, their bolt head diameter, and overall length.

but here is the direct link in that post
http://www.gunnersgear.com/savage_pics/caliber_case_head_sizes.pdf


Long range is a subjective thing though. I know people that believe 300 is long range. If your idea is at least double that, look at the .260, 6.5 Creedmore, and 7mm-08. If you want something a little more common, the .308 will still do everything the others will, just with a little more recoil. I'm still learning Savages too, but I've been shooting centerfire and rimfire for 16 years.

[keeki]

if you can shoot the big bullets, you already have a 600yd shooter. 22-250 is very capable of that distance

[quadsport09]

Yeah I understand about the bolt head being the same, but will everything with the same bolt head fit in the factory stock and magazine?

[243LPR]

Not if it's a short action.The 30-06 family and magnums will need a long action.

[Three44s]

First you need to ascertain the length of the cartridge you desire. Next, will the bullets you'll likely want to fire seat in the case but have enough clearance in the magazine and upto the chamber to feed properly?

The bolt head is the least of it as you change them in the Savages.

Next you'll likely need to change the magazine box as there are different ones for different cartridges.

I am thinking that going from a .22-250 to a .308 based casing may require a different feeding lip contour.

A good example is the .284 based wildcats: Here you have a fatter than normal casing and though it's a "short" one, it's still long enough that you'll find long actions containing them as well as short actions (which it was designed for) because the longer bullets (for long range) seat so deeply that it can leave it's performance lacking.

The same applies for the 6.5 Rem mag and it's wildcats.

Just some more food for thought!

Three 44s

[gotcha]

If you're concerned about cartridges fitting in your magazine. Buy a Hornady reloading manual. Each cartridge listed shows a max over all length ( C.O.L.)

[quadsport09]

Thanks everybody lots of helpful info