338 Lapua 110 FCP conversion options?

[jjseman]

I am new to Savages - I am considering buying the 110 fcp in 338 Lapua and I would like to know if it is possible to convert this rifle over to a 260 Rem for the times that the 338 Lapua is not necessary (< 1k shooting). The concerns that I have are the following; can I just swap out bolt heads/barrels and be good to go? I know that the bolt head face for the Lapua is considerably larger (.585" vs. .470") will the lugs on the .260 Rem bolt head mate with the Lapua's? I've read that going from a long action to a short action should not be a problem, will this be the case with this change-over? Lastly, what about the external magazine, will I be able to run the 260 rem rounds through the AI mag that comes with the 110 fcp. I believe those are all of the things that I should consider, unless I am missing something. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I am coming from a Remington 700 background, forgive my ignorance!

[shoalwater]

Yes it could be done, but not as easily as it could with a different starting platform. You would have to get PTG to make you a .473 bolt head with .550" lugs and 1.125" shank. The mag that comes with the 110 FCP in 338 will not work with the 260, but thats an easy fix, just buy a 300WM mag from Accurate Mag and tweak the feed lips. You would also need a large shank barrel as the Lapua is a large shank action. That's really about it, that and some go no-go gauges.

[jjseman]

thank you for the info. I wanted to start with the factory lapua action for safety reasons. I've heard of people converting up to Lapua, but I think that is not the safest way to do things due to the high pressure on the action/bolt face.

[shoalwater]

You are correct, you definitely do not want to go the other direction.

[Harpy]

jjseman,
Have you made any decisions on the conversion yet? I have a 110 fcp in 338 .Lapua also and was thinking about doing the same thing.

Harpy

[jjseman]

As of now I have built a 260 rem on the savage 110 action, mcgowen barrel, timney trigger, xlr chassis (everything cerakoted). It shoots really well and looks pretty slick. In the future I will convert over to the .338 edge rather than the .338 Lapua (that's why I went with a 260 rem on a long action). The .338 edge runs at lower/safer pressure for a regular shank action, all the while having nearly identical ballistics. The brass will be readily available by resizing rum brass. At the end of the day it will be a better conversion for me. If you really want the 338 Lapua specifically, I think its best to just purchase the 338 Lapua fcp and work your way down by purchasing a large shank barrel for the caliber of your choice and then getting a custom bolt face built by ptg. It will be the safe way to go even though the 110 fcp is exactly inexpensive. Just my thoughts.