Questions on a long action

Are all long actions the same(stevens) etc.I am going to build a 280AI on a long action I got here yesterday.I need to know if any long action stock will fit.I know they changed the action screw center to center distance on the short actions but dont have alot of experience with the long actions.Next,do the long actions take small or large shank barrels? Are all the bolt handles the same between short and long actions . What is the difference between a long action bolt head and a long action bolt head. Are action screws the same thread as the short actions.Thank for all your input. Jon

Long actions are all the same.

You can use the same screws and bolt handles as short actions.

Pretty much the only large shank are the tough to find RUM actions. The vast majority are small shank.

Jon - maybe somebody else can chime in here. I believe the centerfeed actions will be easier to feed an AI caliber from. Already has the round centered up....

I have repeaters, but seldom use them as such, so, does not matter much to me.


Believe there should be some sort of genealogy on Savage actions. There are some out there not often captured. :)

I have a long action, single shot, large shank....all original...in 223.

I built my 280AI on an older stagger feed action. It was a bench gun and I used a single shot follower. The sharp shoulder on the AI case can cause feed problems so I eliminated that from the get go with the single shot follower.

I'd agree, the center feed system feeds the straight walled and/or steep shouldered rounds much better than the stagger feed.

Thank you for your replys.Damn I love savage's but stock selection for the long action sucks.

Stock selection is better for the stagger feed system. It REALLY sux when your trying to stock a center feed.

But it's really easy to turn a long action stagger feed stock into a center feed stock.

Yeah, gotta agree with you there. I just did a SF to CF conversion a few days ago and it works flawlessly.