Most Practical Savage Model to Convert to 7.62x39??

[MSR_Gal]

I want to build a Savage bolt action around a McGowan pre-fit .311” 1:16” twist barrel with 7.62x39 Match chamber.

I’d like to start with one with the AccuStock and AccuTrigger.

Will the 7.62x39 magazine fit any short action model 10, 11, etc?

Which available model/caliber would best suit my needs?

[Newtosavage]

I have an original Model 10 "Scout" in 7.62x39. It has the bottom bolt release an came with bottom metal (real metal) and an Accustock but I have stripped all that to shave weight, and it now wears the tupperware stock and uses plastic Axis mags. I have been using the .223 Axis mags and just flaring out the lips a little. The .223 mags only take 3 rounds instead of four, of 7.62x39 though. I tried using the .308 mags but they didn't feed as well.

I believe the 7.62x39 mags do fit all the short action receivers, with of course the appropriate bottom metal or "plastic" parts.

[MSR_Gal]

Newtosavage,

Thanks for the good info. I am also completely new to Savage. I bought a Savage 10 7.62x39 Scout on Gun Broker yesterday. I hope to have it by the end of next week.

Does the barrel nut on your Scout have the current square notches or does it have the old style radiused notches. Since I plan to immediately change the barrel, I wanted to go ahead and order a barrel nut wrench. I want to make sure that I get the correct one.

[darkker]

http://www.savageshooters.com/content.php
On the left is a "Savage FAQ's" tab. Last page has good info on dates and changes to the actions.

Any good Savage wrench should work, but that may also be covered in the FAQ. All 2-digit actions are the same(10,11,12, etc). All short actions, just different "trim" if you will.

[Newtosavage]

Newtosavage,

Does the barrel nut on your Scout have the current square notches or does it have the old style radiused notches. Since I plan to immediately change the barrel, I wanted to go ahead and order a barrel nut wrench. I want to make sure that I get the correct one.

Mine has the newer, smooth barrel nut. And you did good to find a Savage 10 scout in that caliber. They are rare!

[Zero333]

I use these wrenches for the barrel nuts.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/288765/wheeler-engineering-barrel-nut-wrench-savage-10-110

The wrench for the smooth nut broke the screw that tightens the wrench on me when I tried it the first time.
I was able to get a replacement screw at the hardware store.

Problem was the original screw is long and flexes/tenses too much under lots of load and breaks. The replacement screw I got was a 1/8th inch shorter and works flawlessly.
I can take smooth barrel nuts off with out a single scratch. Masking tape on the nut helps to keep the wrench (and the copper shim) from scratching the nut.

[Robinhood]

You will need a .44 bolt head. Same as 6ppc or the Grendel

[sha-ul]

Newtosavage,

Thanks for the good info. I am also completely new to Savage. I bought a Savage 10 7.62x39 Scout on Gun Broker yesterday. I hope to have it by the end of next week.

Does the barrel nut on your Scout have the current square notches or does it have the old style radiused notches. Since I plan to immediately change the barrel, I wanted to go ahead and order a barrel nut wrench. I want to make sure that I get the correct one.

What are you thinking about doing with your rifle?

[MSR_Gal]

I think that the 7.62x39 has the elements of the ideal truck gun / ranch rifle / medium range deer/hog gun. However, it is notoriously inaccurate with the attractively priced Russian steel case ammo and only passably accurate with good American ammo. People say its the bad ammo quality, but thats only partially true. The accuracy of Russian steel case .308 ammo is a good bit better and its quality is every bit as bad. All bullets are at least a tiny bit out of balance either statically, or dynamically, and usually both. With American made match bullets, the unbalance is small. With bi-metal jacketed Russian bullets the unbalance is considerably greater. The faster you spin an unbalanced bullet, the greater radial group dispersion the unbalance will cause. The limiting factor is that you must spin the bullet fast enough to stabilize. So the 1:12" twist of a .308 causes less radial group dispersion than the 1:9.45" of the 7.62x39. Run some numbers through any of the bullet stability/twist calculators on line, and you'll see that the 122 - 125 grain bullets of the 7.62x39 are optimally stabilized with 1:16" twist.

The other factor is throat design. Modern cartridges designed in Western countries, like the .308, have a throat that starts with a cylindrical free bore only slightly over bullet diameter followed by a gentle 1 degree cone section. This prevents the bullet from setting up a yaw or wobble as it moves from case mouth to rifling. The 7.62x39 only has a large mouth 3 degree funnel for a throat that is not condusive to best accuracy. Valmet has always used a throat similar to our .308 that Lapua developed for them, rather than the large mouth funnel of both the C.I.P. and SAAMI 7.62x39 chambers.

I am going to have a pre-fit Savage barrel made with .311 bore, 1:16" twist and a 7.62x39 Lapua chamber. I believe I will end up with a rifle that will shoot noticeably better with Russian steel case than 1:9.45" twist barrels and will shoot really fantasitic with good American ammo or handloads.

[Robinhood]

I am going to have a pre-fit Savage barrel made with .311 bore,

I was under the impression you wanted to use higher quality bullets. The good American boolits are set up for a 308/30 cal bore. I would investigate. I know several guys who have shot Russian ammo in the 308 bore. But when loaded with 125 or 135 sierra MK's.

[MSR_Gal]

I was under the impression you wanted to use higher quality bullets. The good American boolits are set up for a 308/30 cal bore. I would investigate. I know several guys who have shot Russian ammo in the 308 bore. But when loaded with 125 or 135 sierra MK's.
Sierra, Hornady, Nosler, Speer, Barnes, Lapua, Lehigh, Remington, and Winchester all offer quality .310/.311 bullets. So that won't be a problem.

However, building a .308, 1:16" barrel with the Lapua chamber would also prove very accurate. There are a number of .30 cal. benchrest cartridges that are shot with 120gr to 125gr .308 match bullets and they all use rifling twist from 1:15" to 1:18" with excellent results.

[Newtosavage]

I think that the 7.62x39 has the elements of the ideal truck gun / ranch rifle / medium range deer/hog gun. However, it is notoriously inaccurate with the attractively priced Russian steel case ammo and only passably accurate with good American (http://www.goodamerican.com/) ammo.

People who think the 7.62x39 is an inaccurate caliber have just never shot it from a good bolt action rifle. Anyone who has ever shot my Savage model 10 7.62x39 has fallen completely in love with it, because of it's friendly recoil and superb accuracy. Day in and day out, it is routinely the most accurate rifle I take to the range, even with $5.99/box steel case ammo.

Today, I finished my range session with 3 shots from my model 10 7.62x39. These were hand loads using RL-7 powder and 125-grain Nosler BT's - a bullet most would say "won't work" in the 7.62x39 because it's .308 and not .310 or .311. Regardless, all three bullet holes could be covered (easily) with a quarter.

Boring accuracy is how I describe my bolt-action 7.62x39. I'm sure the same would be true of the CZ 527 or the new Ruger American Ranch.

Frankly, anyone who feels that caliber is not accurate isn't able to discern between a caliber and the platform it is fired from.

[MSR_Gal]

Today, I finished my range session with 3 shots from my model 10 7.62x39. These were hand loads using RL-7 powder and 125-grain Nosler BT's - a bullet most would say "won't work" in the 7.62x39 because it's .308 and not .310 or .311. Regardless, all three bullet holes could be covered (easily) with a quarter.

Savage uses .308 barrels for their 7.62x39, not .311. So your results with .308" bullets in carefully assembled handloads does not surprise me. Savages use of .308 barrels is one of the 3 reasons I plan to change the barrel. What kind of groups does your rifle reliably and repeatably get with its favorite Russian steel case ammo?

I have a CZ 527 (.311 groove and C.I.P. chamber) that shoots very well with carefully assembled handloads using high quality .310" Hornady bullets seated .010" off the lands. But thats not why I bought it. It does not shoot factory ammo nearly as well and it does even worse with Russian steel case.

The ease of re-barreling compared to my CZ 527 is what attracted me to buy the Savage 10 FCM Scout. I am looking forward to receiving it and getting a barrel ordered.

[Newtosavage]

B.J., I get the same results with .311 123-grain HP's from my $5.99/box steel case ammo. Literally all day long, day in and day out. That little rifle is boringly accurate with anything I feed it. Literally everything I put through it is under 1.5" and those Monarch steel case HP's and my handloads are routinely under an inch.

[MSR_Gal]

B.J., I get the same results with .311 123-grain HP's from my $5.99/box steel case ammo. Literally all day long, day in and day out. That little rifle is boringly accurate with anything I feed it. Literally everything I put through it is under 1.5" and those Monarch steel case HP's and my handloads are routinely under an inch.

NewToSavage,
With you getting that kind of results, I definitely will try mine with a variety of Russian ammo before pulling the barrel. Unfortunately, until now, that hasn't been my experience with Russian steel case ammo in fast twist barrels.

[Newtosavage]

If you can get your hands on it, try the Academy "Monarch" brand 123-grain HP's. They are lights-out in my gun. Routinely cutting the same hole or within 1/2 inch of it. Drop pigs like Thor's hammer too.

[MSR_Gal]

If you can get your hands on it, try the Academy "Monarch" brand 123-grain HP's. They are lights-out in my gun. Routinely cutting the same hole or within 1/2 inch of it. Drop pigs like Thor's hammer too.

Monarch is Academy's house brand. The Monarch brass case ammo comes from PRVI Partizan in Serbia. The Monarch steel case ammo comes from Barnaul in Russia. Which of these are you using?

[Newtosavage]

Monarch is Academy's house brand. The Monarch brass case ammo comes from PRVI Partizan in Serbia. The Monarch steel case ammo comes from Barnaul in Russia. Which of these are you using?

The Academy Monarch 7.62x39 is all steel case. It's either FMJ or HP. I'm using the 123 grain HP's with the silver(ish) coating on the bullets.