Savage 110 barrel swap from 7mm Rem to .308

[Mike2019]

Hello, I'm new to the forum and pretty new to shooting a rifle. I've had a savage 110 in 7mm rem mag sitting in my safe for over 10 years and have put less than 40 rounds through it because of the jarring recoil. I recently found out about swapping barrels the Savage action. My plan is to re-barrel to .308 and increase the weight of the gun to make it more shootable. This will primarily be a hunting rifle, but I want to make it respectably accurate. I've already ordered a Shilen varmint barrel from Northland, and I'm thinking about doing some or even all of the work myself. I might as well get some experience out of the project, since it would have been much easier, and not too much more expensive to get a new rifle off the shelf. I've done a fair amount of research on line, but since I'm starting from knowing nearly nothing, I still have a lot of questions.
1) how do I modify the magazine to accept the smaller rounds? I have a top loading stagger feed magazine for the 7 mm RM?
2) can a get a stock that allows for a detachable magazine, or am I stuck with top loading?
3) Hogue offers a fairly inexpensive stock with a full aluminum bed for a savage long action - is this a good stock?
4) there are some videos about how to swap out the bold head. Will I also need a new firing pin and any other supplies?

Thanks and I look forward to any advice you guys have.

[strut64]

1. Try the 308 in the magazine as is. I have 110 that started life as a 7 Rem Mag and now shoot 270 and 30-06. Feeds fine
2. Can't help with detachable mags.
3. No opinion on Hogue don't have one. I have a Boyd's aftermarket that I pillared.
4. The firing pin you have should work fine
Good luck

[Mike2019]

Strut64, good to know about your experience going from 7 Rem Mag to a 30 caliber round. Do you think the shorter length of the .308 will be a problem? Also, did you do the bolt head conversion yourself? I'm trying to figure out exactly which parts to get and where to get them.

[JMG1894]

You'd be better off to sell your 7mm and buy a short action 308 imo.

I had plans to build a 280AI from a Stevens 200 in 300WM and after doing some research (bolt head, mag etc) it was cheaper to just buy a 270 or 30/06 and build off that.
Just my. 02 cents

[Mike2019]

No doubt that would be the pragmatic approach. That's partially why I'm hoping to turn this into an educational experience. :-)