remove savage fcp-sr barrel, which is/are the right tool(s) for the job?

hi guys, which tools do you recommend to remove the barrel of my 2015 savage fcp-sr 308? (have a barrel nut wrench and no go gauge on their way already)

i see midway has a sale on both the wheeler action wrench, and barrel vise; which one is the way to go? (clamp down on receiver or barrel when working on loosening the nut) Or should i use something else?

( I'd like to keep both barrel and action in 1 piece, just have another barrel that i would like to try to see how it shoots)

And for the headspac gauges, do i need just a no go gauge and then check with a cartridge to see if it closes, or is it important to check with both a go and no go gauge?


thanks!

the barrel wrench as you list it needs a vise and can be hard to keep the barrel from spinning. I use an action wrench and a nut wrench. With your gauges you will get pro and con answers for both ways. If you reload and have some fired brass then you can resize it and use for a go gauge (DO NOT USE FIRED BRASS WITHOUT RESIZING FIRST) but also use the no go to double check.

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Originally Posted by earl39

the barrel wrench as you list it needs a vise and can be hard to keep the barrel from spinning. I use an action wrench and a nut wrench. With your gauges you will get pro and con answers for both ways. If you reload and have some fired brass then you can resize it and use for a go gauge (DO NOT USE FIRED BRASS WITHOUT RESIZING FIRST) but also use the no go to double check.

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thanks for the input ! So you recommend using this one

http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/710...700-savage-110

over this vise;

http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/226...-wood-bushings

(?)

(have the barrel wrench on its way, not sure if i should go with the barrel vise or action wrench in combination with the barrel nut wrench.)

As for the resized brass, i do reload; do i use a neck sized or full length sized case?

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Originally Posted by vincent7

thanks for the input ! So you recommend using this one

http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/710...700-savage-110

over this vise;

http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/226...-wood-bushings

(?)

(have the barrel wrench on its way, not sure if i should go with the barrel vise or action wrench in combination with the barrel nut wrench.)

As for the resized brass, i do reload; do i use a neck sized or full length sized case?

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correct and full length

got it. I know that the modern savage fcp guns get blasted with steel grit before their final finish when receiver and action are already screwed together, leaving blasting grit in between the threads of at least the nut.

Is there a good procedure to follow when unscrewing the barrel from the receiver, to prevent the threads being damaged from this blasting grit / media? Is it perhaps better to cut and split the nut carefully instead of unscrewing it with this parcular model?

I soak mine in Kroil for no less than over night and then loosen the barrel nut just enough to screw the barrel off. So far i have not messed any threads up. Make sure if you are taking the barrel off an action that has a scope mounted to remove the front scope mount as the screws could be touching the barrel threads which could mess up the threads of the barrel and in unison mess up the action threads.

last question (i think); since this fcp has the Savage 4.4" hole spacing receiver; is the NSS action wrench the best tool for the job, or will the wheeler work just as well (?);

http://northlandshooterssupply.com/n...aes/nss-tools/

Northland Shooters Supply (NSS) Action Wrench

Loosen nut just enough to unscrew receiver,if lucky it will come off with no problem, if not work it back & forth while cleaning threads. Once receiver is off clean barrel threads & remove nut. Take your time, clean threads often, clean receiver threads & install barrel.

I use Jim's but the wheeler will work.

If you are using an action wrench never mind. If not, remove your front scope mount front screw.and get the Bald Eagle 4 bolt barrel vice if the former is true as well.

I built my own barrel vise. I went to Home Depot (or was it Lowes?) and bought a 3' piece of 2"x2" oak (you MUST use the hardest wood you can find) as well as a piece of 2" wide by 1/4" thick steel bar. I cut off a 10 inch section of the oak, clamped the short section near one end of the long section with a 1/4" wooden spacer between the parts and drilled a hole about the size of my barrel. After discarding the spacer, the two semi circular cuts in the wood blocks will fit around the barrel, but with some clearance to allow me to clamp them down tight without bottoming out.

Then I reinforced the top and bottom wood blocks with a couple of 10" long pieces of the steel bar. I drilled holes for two 5/8" diameter clamping bolts, nuts, and washers, and I was good to go. By leaving the bottom piece of wood as long as possible, it is easy to clamp it to my work bench to handle the considerable torque required to remove the barrel nut. In other words, the clamping section is at one end of the lower piece with a long tail to provide a nice way to temporarily clamp the vise to your workbench using your largest C clamp.

Be sure to grease the threads so that you can REALLY clamp down on the barrel. You'll need a couple of good wrenches and really lay into the bolts and nuts to get enough clamping force. The Savage factory barrel nut torque is VERY high. You'll probably need to take a hammer to the barrel wrench.

By the way, all the guns smiths I talk too say to set the head space so that the "go" gauge fits. Then put a single layer of transparent packaging tape on the aft face of the gauge and make sure the bolt won't close with the tape in place. Of course, you can force it, but you should be able to detect the resistance and reluctance to close over the lengthened gauge. Remove the tape and re-check to be sure. That will give you enough head space but not too much and saves the cost of two gauges. Perhaps you can swap your "no-go" for a "go"

Don't forget the Gorilla and 1/2" torgue wrench with a 6 ft pipe for good luck! LOL factory nuts are hard to break!

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Originally Posted by MrO17

Don't forget the Gorilla and 1/2" torgue wrench with a 6 ft pipe for good luck! LOL factory nuts are hard to break!

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Nope. Just got to hit the nut wrench with a solid blow from a heavy deadblow hammer

thanks fo rthe input guys, got the smooth barrle nut off in 1 piece, no damage to it either. 2 days in penetration oil, NSS action wrench, dead blow hammer and wheeler smooth nut wrench did the job.

Make sure you replace the bolt in that wheeler nu wrench with a grade 8, the one that comes with the wrench is garbage and might snap off while in the tool.

I've made an action wrench out of 2x4s, good enough for one use and if not, you aren't going to break anything and you'll make a better one when you switch to hard wood.

It is cheap and might even last 3-4 times.

If you are a little handy, DIY can give you a lot of pride in ownership.

I made mine to get the Bannerman butchered barrel off of a Remington Mosin Nagant for a reclamation project. Its going to go from a unsafe 30-06 conversion with an oversized bore to a 7.62*54r with a heavy machine gun barrel and a Finnish M28-76 stock (one of these days).