110 LA, SA magezine, caliber conversion questions

[Zipdrive]

I have a 110 LA that was machined as a short action, 223 including the plug in the mag to keep it to a 223 length box. I am wanting to change out the barrel to for a 338 RCM, which is a short action magnum that is 308cal in length. I have a handful of questions to start on this build.

Is there enough strength left in the bolt head (.532" dia) to actually do this? I know I can get a new bolt head from eabco.com. Has anyone converted a short action 110 to a short action mag round? Likes / dislikes / problems? Has anyone converted to a 308 external box mag? What other issues should I look at or have to solve?

Thank you for your help! Cheers.

[Robinhood]

You may want to research your action to see if the BH will fit without some grinding. BTW you will want to buy the long action magnum BH. It is 1/16 longer tha the standard BH. You will need to set the firing pin protrusion. The extra length will impact the bolt lift so you may want to consider adding a spacer between the BAS and the bolt handle. The right thickness is determined if you put a bolt lift kit in it or not. You will need to find a magnum magazine that fits your rifle(Stagger Feed magnum mag for short mag LA....does it exist?) Otherwise the action should handle it.

We all have something laying around that we think about converting to something different, but sometimes its not the best idea. I see modern short actions available sub $300 often.

[Zipdrive]

Thank you for your reply and info. I'm new to modifying the savage rifle, and fairly ignorant about the ins and outs of the details of the brand, but not to gun smith-ing projects. I've had this particular one for 2 decades, and its not too useful in its as is condition. Unfortunately, its a perfectly good gun and I can cloverleaf 5 rounds at 100yrs with it. My goal was to modify it into a hunting rifle for my son to take elk/deer hunting with me.

So, I will not be modifying the receiver to make it accept a true long action mag. I want to keep it a SA, and fit what ever will work in a SA. I was originally looking to turn it into a 338-06, until I found that it was milled as a SA. That was an unexpected surprise! So, a 338 RCM was my next alternative that I would re-chamber it for assuming that there was enough material on the bolt head to stay intact, and I could redo the mag as a 308 cal. There is a WSM mag, which would be my guess that would work the best choice. The 338 RCM is a 532 case head, so, it would probably end up being a center feed due to its dia, yes? Was the purpose of the LA bolt head to add material to the bolt head lugs and base under the case head?

If this is a poor idea, what action would you suggest? I did not see that savage offered a magnum SA variant, so I was assuming that the receiver would be the same. If that is an incorrect, please let me know. If starting from scratch, I'd think I would start with a 111 for the drop mag, but I think I would be in the same position, but without reusing any parts. Thank you for you help and time. Best regards!

[olddav]

You can purchase a new rifle chambered in a suitable caliber for about (if not less) than it would take you to convert your existing rifle.
Now a new rifle will offer you options that you do not have with your current rifle. I have a old flat back stagger feed LA and it’s hard to find some parts and that will only get worse as time goes by.
Good luck how ever you proceed.