First 110 build

[jmadisonbiii]

Hello everyone, new here. I just checked in over in the introduction forum. I bought a 110 today for a song, for the purpose of "rebuilding" with a new barrel, stock and scope. According to the serial no. it is a 110FXP3 manufactured 4/25/96, caliber 270. My plan is to install a new barrel in .300 Win Mag, Boyd's stock and Leupold or Nikon scope with upgraded rings. I would prefer to install the barrel myself, but unless I can rent a barrel vise and action wrench, it's cheaper to pay a 'smith. I am going to put it in a Boyd's stock and shoot it before I decide whether to bed it. I think I'm going with a Shaw barrel, installed by E. Arthur Brown. They will also change the bolt head and tweak the mag for the larger round. Anything I'm missing here or should do differently? Looking forward to all input. Thanks in advance.

[darkker]

Not sure what you want for feedback here. But it seems odd to come to a board that tends to pride itself on doing their own wrenching, and ask what to buy and pay to have done....

I think you should have a little confidence in yourself, and try doing things first. I've been rebarreling Savages for well over a decade, still don't have an action wrench; never needed one. A few I've used a regular bench vise.

Same with the bolt head/mag/follower, no magic anything needed.

[jmadisonbiii]

OK, point taken. I'm going to do it myself, knowing I can get great help here. I will order the Shaw barrel kit, which comes with a barrel nut wrench and headspace gauges, and install it myself. Likewise the replacement bolt head and stock. I do have a couple of questions though:

1. What else will I need to order to do this build myself? I'm thinking barrel kit, bolt head, stock.
2. Will the rest of the parts in my 270 bolt be compatible (ejector, etc.) or do I need to order any of these?
3. Where might I find a magnum bolt head? Brownell's, MidwayUSA, Numrich, etc are out of stock. Can't reach PTG to see theirs will work. I will buy a membership and check the classifieds here.
4. What about the magazine? I'm aware some replace the box and follower, some use what's there, and tweak it. Is this an easy fix?
4. What is the best way to use a bench vise? There is a guy on youtube who uses wood blocks in a bench vise...is this advisable?

Sorry for the noob questions, I'm just now ordering everything I'll need, and want to make sure I've covered all my bases. Thanks in advance for your help.

[gotcha]

You seem to have a tight budget? For a cheap vise jaw insert sandwich 3 pieces of 1X ( one by ) pine in your bench vise.( actually 3/4" thickness) Mount with grain vertical and use a 1 & 1/8th in. drill centered on the middle piece. Drill across the grain, not with the grain. After drilling discard the center pieces and mount your BBL between the two outside pieces which will now have two handy quarter moon cuts to put your BBL in :) Wrap the BBL with typing paper to insure you don't scratch the BBL if it twists in the wood blocks. It probably won't. Just a safe guard. Or, take a look at Northland shooters supply vise jaw inserts. I've got a set and they are A+.......... P.S. When mounting the BBL in the wood blocks hold the typing paper in a "U" shape you don't want multiple layers of paper as this will cause slipping.

[darkker]

OK, point taken. I'm going to do it myself, knowing I can get great help here. I will order the Shaw barrel kit, which comes with a barrel nut wrench and headspace gauges, and install it myself. Likewise the replacement bolt head and stock. I do have a couple of questions though:

1. What else will I need to order to do this build myself? I'm thinking barrel kit, bolt head, stock.
2. Will the rest of the parts in my 270 bolt be compatible (ejector, etc.) or do I need to order any of these?
3. Where might I find a magnum bolt head? Brownell's, MidwayUSA, Numrich, etc are out of stock. Can't reach PTG to see theirs will work. I will buy a membership and check the classifieds here.
4. What about the magazine? I'm aware some replace the box and follower, some use what's there, and tweak it. Is this an easy fix?
4. What is the best way to use a bench vise? There is a guy on youtube who uses wood blocks in a bench vise...is this advisable?

Sorry for the noob questions, I'm just now ordering everything I'll need, and want to make sure I've covered all my bases. Thanks in advance for your help.

1)Don't NEED a new stock, that is a want. So it's up to you
2)Yes. I believe they are all interchangible.
3)Pretty sure I still have one sitting in a pile O parts. I'm beginning a busy season, so Shoot me a PM or email and I'll try and look prior to the weekend.
4)This is where Black magic comes in. I have changed a few 270's into 264WM's. Never had to change anything. So YMMV. If anything I would suggest the feed lips MAY need tweeked.
5)On the few I've had to vise, I used that, OR some UHMW (so the vise didn't marr) on the Recoil Lug.

[Steelhead]

One bit of advice I'll add from my recent build is skip the barrel vice and get an action block.
I got mine from northland for $60 and it makes the swap a no brainer.

My action tried to spin with the barrel nut.
Overall it's a very easy process to re-barrel a savage.

[jonbearman]

all Jim at northland supply and he will explain the whole thing for you.He sells barrels and tools and stocks etc. 1-763-682-4296 Jim is a good guy and will set you on your course the correct way with what you need.

[jmadisonbiii]

Just wanted to post an update. I have ordered a Shaw 24" stainless magnum contour barrel in 300 WM as a kit which comes with barrel nut wrench, headpsace gauges, etc. Also on the way from Boyd's is a Classic model stock, nutmeg in color, a stainless trigger guard and nickel action screws. I will order the scope in a day or two-have just about settled on a Nikon Prostaff with BDC, but I can't decide on 40 or 50 mm objective. Any consensus here? Kinda leaning toward the 50, for hunting purposes. Here is a "before" picture of the $250 donor rifle. Hard to tell from the pic, but it's kinda rough around the edges.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy85/jmadisonbiii/savage_zps5cc046ce.jpg

[darkker]

For hunting distances and light, I don't think it will matter much on the objective.

I responded to your PM, I have a complete bolt; so yes, I have your parts.

[jmadisonbiii]

Update: Got in my scope (40 mm Nikon), stock, barrel and bolt head (thanks darkker). Still waiting on Leupold rings. Got the new barrel on and headspaced no problem. I removed the old barrel using gotcha's method. My barrel kept slipping so I used a latex surgical glove around the barrel-worked great. My Shaw barrel is a little thicker than a Savage barrel, so I am going to have to remove some wood from the barrel channel, just wondering how much. I have read some threads that say a dollar bill should slide between the barrel and forend fit all the way back to the barrel nut with moderate pressure applied to the barrel and forend. I have also read that four bills' thickness is about right. Just wondering what the consensus is. I have considered bedding the action (maybe pillars), but I am going to shoot it first to see how it works. This seems to be the preferred course, as some Boyd's stocks shoot well out of the box. How should I sequence and torque the action screws? Thanks here's a pic with the new stock and barrel on:http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy85/jmadisonbiii/rifle_zps88cf0055.jpg

[darkker]

Looking very nice!
The discussion about "how much" to free float a barrel, is a matter of preference. Many don't like to "see" a gap between barrel and stock, others want some. I see it as a chance for air flow as well. I typically get a wooden dowel and staple sandpaper on it. Attach a cordless drill, and away I go. I'm personally not concerned with appearance as much as many, so I tend to have a very large gap.

[jmadisonbiii]

Mounted my scope today using the Savage bases and Leupold PRW medium rings. I boresighted, then set up a target at 25 yards. First shot was about 15 inches low, a couple inches left. Long story short, I got the windage corrected, but ran out of elevation while still hitting about 2.5 in. low at 25 yards. Everything is tight, the scope seems to be tracking correctly. Now what? Should I try different bases and/or rings? Shim what I've got? Never had this problem before.

[foxx]

Maybe your scope is mounted too high? Ideally, it should be just off the barrel.

I'm guessing you want it 1-2 inches low at 25 yards (bullet is still rising past100 yards), but if you're running out of elevation to get there, there's something wrong.

[jmadisonbiii]

The objective bell is about .30 off the barrel. Around .32 low at 25 should put me a 1.6 high at 100 and on at 200. It Looks like to shim the (rear?) base would raise point of impact?

[foxx]

I don't know, really. That's certainly not too high of a mount, but I would want the scope lower, myself, even if that's not the problem, it would help. Shimming the rear will definitely bring you POI up. I'd suggest Burris Signature Zee rings. They have inserts that protect the scope, hold tight and allow you to correct for these kind of problems in an almost infinite arrangement of "shims". They aren't shims, per se, but offset collars you rotate to get whatever cant you're looking for.

[jmadisonbiii]

Yeah, I've already found the Burris rings and offset insert kit at Midway. I will probably shim it for now, just to get shooting, then install the Burris stuff once the weather gets a little cooler and I can do some more serious tuning.

[michaelnel]

I have also read that four bills' thickness is about right.

Problem with that is, when I have spent a bunch of money upgrading my rifle, it's tough to find four $1.00 bills to do the test with!

[jmadisonbiii]

Quick update: I got my rear base shimmed and sighted in a tad low at 25 yards. Apparently dead on at about 150, as this fellow found out. I will shoot from a bench in the next couple of weeks to see how well it shoots on paper.http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy85/jmadisonbiii/photo-5_zpsb4a53540.jpg?t=1411576700

[foxx]

I read your post thru email without seeing the pic. I didn't "get it." I'm thinking, "what fellow? Who is he talking about?"...
Then I opened the thread. Lol. That's funny.

[mikgarus]

have you bedded the stock?