Savage 340 barrel swap

[mech1369dlw]

I have an old Savage 340 in .222. The barrel is a tomato stake. Does anyone know if I can put a new production .223 barrel on this receiver? Can I use the bolt that is already on the gun? If so, where can I get a good barrel to use on it. Any useful info will be appreciated. Thanx

[quarterbore]

You shouldn't have any problems. Bolt face is the same at .378. Watch the classifieds on here for a used barrel, they come up every so often.

[bootsmcguire]

I am no Model 340 expert, I am only going off of memory here............

IIRC the 340 has a different sized barrel nut and so the wrench for the 110 won't fit it. Also IIRC the thread pitch and diameter is different on the 340 vs the 110 series.

Might check it out.

You should be able to have a barrel made, but I would check out the above and proceed with those questions answered. FWIW I have had the chance to fire a very pristine Model 340 with a low low round count in 222 Rem. She was a shooter, and if I found one that needed a re-barrel I would definitely pursue a new barrel if it is possible.

[quarterbore]

I bought one used a couple of months ago from another member on here, and the gun has a smooth barrel nut on it. I assumed that the threads were the same pitch since they obviously didn't use smooth barrel nuts back when the gun was originally made.

[bootsmcguire]

Hmm, not sure about how you ended up with a smooth nut, that's a bit of a conundrum.

Did a little looking around and found THIS POST (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?85195-Savage-340-barrel-question&p=908643&viewfull=1#post908643) over on Castboo**** forum, and THIS THREAD (http://www.savageshooters.com/showthread.php?13785-Savage-340-Barrel-Nut) from here.

The one from Castboolits says the 340 has a shank size of .850"-18TPI.

[neohiojohn]

Did the same swap with my 340D with a barrel from Numrich. Had to get a little creative with the barrel nut removal but after reading many threads here and other forums chose a satisfactory solution ( Kroil, an old leather belt and vice grips. No marks!!!). The other issue you will have is you need a .223 mag. They are not the same as the .222 and it will take a little finessing for a solid fit and feed. At least mine did. If it sounds like more than you planned on taking o, PM me and maybe I can help. Good luck.

[quarterbore]

Why would he need a 223 mag if he's shanging the barrel?

[neohiojohn]

All I know is my .222 mag did not like the .223 cartridges, it "popped its seam" on one side so I got a .223 mag and massaged the front clip in area on the top and it has worked just fine. Maybe my .222 mag was just real tired all I can speak to is what I had happen to me.

[quarterbore]

I would think that the 222 mag would work with the 223 cartridge. I read your original post wrong neohiojohn, must have been to early in the morning.

[mech1369dlw]

Thanx for the replies. Called Savage today and after listening for 10 minutes how great Savage is while waiting for customer service, the man I talked to said they had NO info on anything made before 1995. He suggested I buy a new Savage rifle to fit my needs. Going to look around and see what I can find. At Remington, Winchester, Ruger, perhaps the AK makers. A company that has been around for this long has no records of anything before 1995, yeah, right.

[neohiojohn]

PM me

[neohiojohn]

Thanx for the replies. Called Savage today and after listening for 10 minutes how great Savage is while waiting for customer service, the man I talked to said they had NO info on anything made before 1995. He suggested I buy a new Savage rifle to fit my needs. Going to look around and see what I can find. At Remington, Winchester, Ruger, perhaps the AK makers. A company that has been around for this long has no records of anything before 1995, yeah, right.

Hit send too quick. PM me if you want more info on the swap mech1369dlw. Thanks Boots, forgot.

[bootsmcguire]

There is a reason the have no info, or rather can't/won't share it. The current management bought and took over the company in 1995 and sometime back released that they would not be warrantying anything made under the previous owners. Since they didn't make it, they wouldn't/couldn't be responsible for it. Savage has made no secret of it for quite some time. Basically the Savage that built the 99's and 340's and earlier 110's that we all love and enjoy went bankrupt and went under, and a new company with the same name emerged.

Not saying its right that there is no warranty on it, but then again good luck calling Packard, Tucker, Kaiser, or Edsel and get replacement parts from the original maker of those cars. Kinda the same difference.