Originally Posted by
tobnpr
In a sense you're correct, the barrel nut is optional on a Savage...it's that Savage builds their rifles this way from the factory.
Flip the coin, most any rifle can use this configuration- and some have become popular in the aftermarket, including Remington and Tikka.
Upside, with a few hundred bucks worth of tools- and no machine tool work, barrels can be installed onto a receiver and headspace adjusted by the nut.
Downside that few talk about, is that your barrel diameter is limited to the ID of the barrel nut- can't have a true, full-diameter bull contour barrel that many benchrest target shooter prefer.
I've not seen any evidence of accuracy differences based on nut vs. shouldered, and the floating bolt head design of the Savage helps mitigate some typical mass-produced machining errors (concentricity and perpendicularity precision).
If you have the skills and equipment to chamber and fit barrels, no need to go the extra expense (if we're ignoring that time is $$) for a prefit, just buy a .30 cal blank- and chamber for your .300 WM. Doing the chambering yourself gives you the flexibility to cut it how you want it, and you can rent a reamer for a one-shot deal without needing to purchase one.