Re: Savage 29 Loose Barrel
Don't shoot it if it's loose, have it checked by a good gunsmith. If the barrel is loose, it's unsafe to shoot.
Once tightened, the Head Space will need to be checked anyway.
I don't think that model has a barrel nut, but could be wrong. If it's loose on a pin, a larger diameter pin could be put in or some careful tig welding done depending on what it looks like to the Smith.
John K
Re: Savage 29 Loose Barrel
After closer examination, I think that I can answer my own question.
It appears that the barrel to receiver is a slip fit, and the barrel is held in and kept from turning by the barrel pin.
It looks like I will have to have a "gunsmith" shim the barrel to receiver joint, or to deform part of the receiver to prevent the barrel movement.
This looks like a very bad (cheap) design obviously.
Other than this problem, it seems like a very nice rifle.
I've got another one that is similar to it with a round barrel. It has the brand "Ranger" stamped on the receiver. I think this might have been sold by Sears or Montgomery Ward. This one is a little strange because it has nice bluing on all parts except for the receiver. The receiver is what appears to be "bare metal".
Re: Savage 29 Loose Barrel
I have a Savage model 29B, 22LR pump, that had a loose fitting barrel. I tore it down to reblue a few years ago and when I put it back together, the barrel was loose fitting. I thought that this would happen, because there was soemthype of hard clear substance in the barrel recess area, maybe epoxy, that seem to keep the looseness to a minimum. To cure this problem, I redrilled the whole in the receiver (with barrel out) and installed a larger diameter barrel pin. Probelm solved. As a gunsmtih, this was a pretty simple fix. I wish I could remember what size drill and pin I used, but I don't remember for sure. It seems to me I used a 30 or 31 drill bit and used an old drill bit the same size that I cut as the pin.