Ranger412
12-23-2015, 04:19 PM
Awhile back I built up a Savage rifle for my son to shoot in our local precision rifle matches. At the time I believe he was still 12 years old. He's now 14. The rifle is a Model 10 action and we added a factory 26" stainless steel fluted barrel in .223 (1-9 twist). I bought, from Savage directly, the bottom metal components necessary to convert the gun from blind magazine to a detachable box. We assembled it all into a Boyd Bros. Tacticool stock that we bedded and did our DIY raised cheek piece mod. The rifle is topped with a SWFA 12X Super Sniper in a set of TPS rings on a Warne tactical base. Using factory ammunition and 69 grain bullets we are able to print 1/2 MOA groups on occasion, always better than MOA though. We did try some heavier bullets but just couldn't get them to group better than about 1 1/2" at 100 yards. Twist rate is a bit slow I guess.
http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/ASUS_-_20140903_185125_2_.jpg
For the past few months my son has been studying ballistic charts, reading articles, and watching YouTube videos in order to educate himself about alternative calibers for match shooting. I initially tried to talk him into the .260 Remington, but that wasn't his idea so he wouldn't have any part of it. The range of calibers swung wide, from PPC cartridges to the 6.5 X 284. He had grown tired of the .223 and just wanted something different. A week ago my friend who also likes to re-barrel Savage rifles told me that he had found a Hog Hunter and was re-barreling it. I asked him what caliber the original rifle was and if he had a buyer for the barrel and magazine parts. It was a .308 Win and he gave me first right of refusal on the barrel and accompanying parts. Since I've been shooting the .308 Win for years I have a ready supply of brass and other components. A little coaxing and my son was on-board with the project, especially when he found out that it was a 20" barrel. "That's different and cool", he said.
Right now the barrel and magazine parts are still wrapped up nicely in the shipping tube. It'll find its way under the Christmas tree and will be quite the surprise I'm sure. I'm not sure if we'll make any modifications to the stock. We'll have to see how the short tube looks in the Tacticool. For certain, we'll have to change the paint scheme. I've been Duracoating for awhile now and have a small library of "tactical" colors.
We'll post our progress with the barrel swap, any upgrades, paint, and resulting groups as we move forward on the project.
http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/ASUS_-_20140903_185125_2_.jpg
For the past few months my son has been studying ballistic charts, reading articles, and watching YouTube videos in order to educate himself about alternative calibers for match shooting. I initially tried to talk him into the .260 Remington, but that wasn't his idea so he wouldn't have any part of it. The range of calibers swung wide, from PPC cartridges to the 6.5 X 284. He had grown tired of the .223 and just wanted something different. A week ago my friend who also likes to re-barrel Savage rifles told me that he had found a Hog Hunter and was re-barreling it. I asked him what caliber the original rifle was and if he had a buyer for the barrel and magazine parts. It was a .308 Win and he gave me first right of refusal on the barrel and accompanying parts. Since I've been shooting the .308 Win for years I have a ready supply of brass and other components. A little coaxing and my son was on-board with the project, especially when he found out that it was a 20" barrel. "That's different and cool", he said.
Right now the barrel and magazine parts are still wrapped up nicely in the shipping tube. It'll find its way under the Christmas tree and will be quite the surprise I'm sure. I'm not sure if we'll make any modifications to the stock. We'll have to see how the short tube looks in the Tacticool. For certain, we'll have to change the paint scheme. I've been Duracoating for awhile now and have a small library of "tactical" colors.
We'll post our progress with the barrel swap, any upgrades, paint, and resulting groups as we move forward on the project.