My first Savage 110 a little Q and A!

[spitfire_er]

Let me start out by telling you a little about myself.

I'm a young guy (27) but have done more than many twice my age. As far as guns go, I know a thing or two. I have built several custom rifles on 14/17 Enfields, and 98 Mausers, and when I say built them I mean I did the work including threading/chambering and all metal and stock work. I have not been trained as a smith but have done quite a bit out at my grand father in-laws gunsmith shop. He has been building customs for 50 years and was a benchrest shooter for many years. I have not shot a factory round out of any of my rifles for over 5 years. I love wildcats, and have a problem of always looking for another project....

Well this leads me to my most recent aquisition.

I just got a 110 Savage pre accutrigger in .270. Nothing special standard savage. I bought it only for the action. I'm not sure what caliber I'm going to build, but I have a few general questions. My grandfather in-law is 84 and is hard to talk to on the phone, so I usually have to go visit in person to get advice, which I will do soon here. He has done many savage rifles, including F-class, benchrest, and custom sporters. He knows his calibers and barrels, but not too keen on all the new after market stuff.

Here are a few questions for you savage guys:

1. Is it hard to convert blind mag to DBM, and what is the best way to go about it?
2. Is it beneficial to true these receivers up, or does the floating bolt face do a pretty good job of keeping everthing square?
- I have read that these bolts pretty much self-align the cartridge.
3. Are there any other triggers available other than Timney, or Rifle Basics that are less than $100?
4. Can you tune that old trigger? I have not looked at it, but I'm a big fan of Timneys on my other customs.

I guess I didn't have too many questions, but I'll spend a bunch of time looking over the site here to find out what I want.

Not sure If I want to do a tactical setup yet, or a thumbhole mid weight hunting rifle. I guess I have a long action so I'll have to justify that.

Thanks guys in advance, and sorry if this has been covered 32 times before in other places.

[geargrinder]

Welcome. Good questions for a first post.

I'll take a shot at your questions.

It's good that you have a long action. In my opinion it is more versatile and lends itself to barrel swapping. Everything is just a bolt head swap away. I have a long action that has seen everything from .223 up to 338 Edge.

DBM is not a simple thing. You'll have to deal with the stock inlet. Also, the pre-accu DBM was not considered very good. The newer center feed DBM is pretty good but not a straight swap for your pre-accu. It could be done with some modifications to your action and a stock inletted for it.

The truing on a Savage is completely different than on other actions. The biggest difference is that you never mess with the action threads. That would end your ability to swap prefit barrels. The best way to improve a Savage action is a bolt lift kit, polishing the cocking ramp, adding a tactical handle, and tuning or swapping the trigger.

The SSS Competition trigger and the Rifle Basix Sav-2 triggers are the best two triggers to deal with. I've also had very good luck adjusting the factory 3 screw trigger and replacing the spring wire with a lighter one.

[spitfire_er]

Thanks for the reply.

I may just steer away from the DBM then, sounds like too much of a hassle. That being said, stock inletting is no big deal, I have made and modified many stocks, so fitting is not an issue.

I'll check out that Bolt lift kit, and I can polish the cocking ramp. As for the trigger, I will most likely end up getting a new one whichever it may be. The stock trigger is horrid, and I have military triggers which are better.

I will most likely get a tactical style bolt too. The old small knob savage bolt doesn't do much for me.

I'll do some more research on this. It is on the back burner for now, just getting ideas. I have 2 other rifles to build, and 2 more to finish up before I get started with this one. Planning one out is half the fun though!