Need some advice Savage 111 LA..

Could really use some advice gentleman. I have a Savage 111 Long Action in 7mm Rem Magnum that was the first rifle I ever bought 20 years ago. It has the sporter weight pencil barrel, and I put it in a Bell & Carlson Duramaxx stock years ago to replace the Tupperware one. It has always been extremely accurate with a pretty decent factory trigger. I love the rifle and will keep it my whole life, but want to get in to some long range shooting. In its currently configuration I can shoot ~4 rounds before the pencil barrel begins to heat up considerably and POI begins to "walk around" so a heavier barrel is necessary. So I need advice on what barrel profile will help reduce this without spending a ton of money and adding a ton of weight as it will still see some elk hunting duty. I know I could just buy a B-14 HMR etc., but I want to see what I can do with this old Savage. Any and all recommendations and thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Do you plan on keeping the same cartridge? Have you thought about a 6.5 rem mag or the 264 win mag?

The heavier the barrel the longer it will retain the same point of impact. A high quality barrel can make a big difference.

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Originally Posted by Robinhood

Do you plan on keeping the same cartridge? Have you thought about a 6.5 rem mag or the 264 win mag?

The heavier the barrel the longer it will retain the same point of impact. A high quality barrel can make a big difference.

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Thank you for your response. Yes, I am keeping to 7mm Rem Mag. I understand there are better chamberings, BCs etc, however I am set up to reload for the 7mm RM, have a good stack of factory ammo and have always appreciated the 7MM RM. My current sporter weighs in at 2lbs 10oz with a .52" at the crown. I am looking at an ER Shaw heavy magnum barrel with a .7 at the crown, as it weighs in at just over 3lbs. Much heavier than that and I am not gonna wanna pack it around the woods. I may as well go to my M1A:p. What do you think?

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Originally Posted by Rattleakak

Thank you for your response. Yes, I am keeping to 7mm Rem Mag. I understand there are better chamberings, BCs etc, however I am set up to reload for the 7mm RM, have a good stack of factory ammo and have always appreciated the 7MM RM. My current sporter weighs in at 2lbs 10oz with a .52" at the crown. I am looking at an ER Shaw heavy magnum barrel with a .7 at the crown, as it weighs in at just over 3lbs. Much heavier than that and I am not gonna wanna pack it around the woods. I may as well go to my M1A:p. What do you think?

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The Shaw barrel should serve you well for your intended purpose. It will probably require a break in period to diminish copper fouling. I've had Shaw barrels in the past that have been excellent shooters. Even with a magnum sporter, you'll still have to contend with groups opening up a bit when the barrel gets hot.

I have a 111 in 270 with Accu-Trigger that I picked up used at my LGS not long ago. It's a "copper mine" and I have to clean it well to remove the copper after a range cession testing hand loads.

I think (not 100%) a heavy sporter takeoff savage barrel weighs around 3 lbs and it will help a little with the number of rounds you can put down range, so that might be what you are looking for weight wise. personally, i like to shoot my huntingrifles too, but for the range, i like to be able to put a lot of rounds down range and that means a dedicated range gun. One gun is not suited to do everything.

A heavy sporter is going to be your best bet for a hunting rifle that can shoot Long range. like a Criterion barrel for example. You might be able to get 6-8 shot strings at long range but that's about it. Was thinking about building a 280 Rem myself not too long ago. With a heavy sporter barrel at 24" and a good LR optic on my 111 with the OEM stock still on it, I figured I could get it to stay between 9-10 lbs.

If you want to be able to run 10 shot strings, then you have to jump up to a Varmint profile at the least.

FWIW: I have the Shaw barrel. They are Magnum contour, 24" and finished very well inside and out....I think it is a good "go-between" for Sporter vs Heavy Barrel

Sent you a PM.

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Originally Posted by wbm

FWIW: I have the Shaw barrel. They are Magnum contour, 24" and finished very well inside and out....I think it is a good "go-between" for Sporter vs Heavy Barrel

Sent you a PM.

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+1!