I intend to have the nicest Savage hunting rifle ever built!

Big claim and surely one to be disputed by some but for me this rifle will be Savage perfection.

I'll be starting with a LH SS Savage 116 flat back long action. I'll install a Tubb Speedlock 100% titanium FP with a uprated spring. It'll have my own bolt lift device and a Stockade 5/8" handle. I'll also machine a new BAS. It has a Gunrunners aluminum follower with an uprated W-spring. My worked and sweet two screw will provide fire control and it'll be paired with a PT&G Remington 700 ADL aluminum triggerguard.
Weight complete with everything included above plus the SSS recoil lug is 2# 3.5oz.

The barrel is a SS Rock Creek 8 twist, 5R cut rifled tube in their #2 Sporter contour. It'll be threaded nutless and will have a SSS recoil lug.
The chamber will be the 6mm-284 cut with a match chamber, necked no-turn, and throated specifically for the 115 Berger H-VLD at an OAL of 3.097" which will provide one caliber of shank/neck contact. The barrel will be cut and crowned at 24".
Weight complete is 2# 8oz.

The stock will be the superb McMillan Hunter's EDGE, black with grey speckles. Inlet precisely for this build and the ADL triggerguard. It'll have a blind magazine of course. 13.5" LOP.
Weight 1# 6oz.

The mounts will be the 1.4oz Talley LW low ringmounts and the scope will likely be the 9.3oz Leupold VX-2 Ultralight 3-9x33.
Weight complete is 10.7oz.

This puts me at 6# 12.2oz. I'm estimating the finished barrel weight as the barrel I'm weighing at 2# 14oz is still 26" long and it's not chambered or threaded yet. No matter how I look at it the rifle will come in comfortably under 7# and under 7.5# with a full magazine and an Uncle Mike's Mountain sling.

The stock was ordered a month or so ago but all the other parts are here.

When it's done I'll proudly post it in the Rifle Builds section here for hopeful inclusion onto the front page.

What a fun project this one is and I learned a lot from my previous Savage/McMillan which I used to inform my decisions on this build.

LOL i always thought mine were!
good luck on your build & i hope you are correct

drybean

It'll be wayy too nice to want to shoot. You're not gonna get it dirty, are you?

Can't wait to see it!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by fgw_in_fla

It'll be wayy too nice to want to shoot. You're not gonna get it dirty, are you?

---

This is going to be an easy carrying, rough and tumble hunting rifle and it'll collect it's share of honest bruises.

Believe me, I want to shoot it already!

As a matter of fact I'll probably put this into a tupperware stock I have sitting around just to try the thing out while waiting for the EDGE to arrive.

LOL the funny thing here is I got a brand new thumbhole stock for my build and right out of the box I drop a wrench right on it wow was I ticked but my dad told me how to use a iron to pull the ding out ;-)

Sounds great. It's nice to see some lite weight hunting guns. I love a nice mid weight varmint/bench gun, but a hunting rifle in the 7# range is just perfect. I have a 20" barreled 358 Win which is currently 8# 2oz ready to hunt and I want to put it on a diet to get it closer the 7# mark.

Andrew

It can't be "that" nice. It's a lefty! LOL

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JackinSD

It can't be "that" nice. It's a lefty! LOL

---

To be this nice it HAS to be a lefty!

You know, I am planning a build very similar to yours, on a 110 long action with a Mcmillan Edge stock and leupold ultralight, Stockade bolt handle and a lift kit. Difference is that mine will have a Rifle Basix trigger, no Tubb's firing pin or remington ADL triggerguard, and a slightly heavier Benchmark #3 contour 24" 284 barrel. I was shooting at around 7 1/2 pounds, but it might be a few ounces heavier.

Rusty, you may wish to look into the ADL TG as the regular Savage TG doesn't work well with the PG of the McMillan stock.

McMillan will sell you a modified Savage TG but I think there are more options when going with the ADL TG.

To me the ideal hunting rifle is one that shoots sub-MOA and whose stock fits me. Ugly or heavy, I don't give a rats arse. After five yrs in the field a purty rifle ain't purty anymore. Its just another rifle. I will bet my rifles will shoot right alongside any and cost me 1/5 as much. Being frugal (often called "cheap") has its rewards. Especially with Savages.

El Lobo

I ain't worried a bit about how it looks. If I did care I'd have it CM polished to 600 grit, rust blued and lovingly inlet into exhibition grade Bastogne walnut whittled by a master and checkered by a god.
This will be a basic SS/synthetic hunting rifle made with some of the best components and put together by a great 'smith. As I said, it'll get beat up and bruised.
As can be inferred from my build sheet my idea of a perfect hunting rifle is one which I can carry in my two hands all day long while traversing hill and dale, swamp and brush, and still do stand duty if I deign to climb into a stand.
The most accurate rifle in the world isn't worth a plug nickel if it's on your shoulder when that bruiser buck makes his fleeting appearance.
I expect the rifle here to be easily sub-MOA but frankly the only accuracy I really care about is an absolutely consistent first and second shot to POA each and every time.

There is also something called pride of ownership and a tupperware stocked, factory or low end aftermarket prefit barreled rifle doesn't provide that for me, no matter how well it shoots.

Pride of ownership? No matter how well it shoots?
I think we buy rifles for different reasons..
I hope you like your new Savage as much as you anticipate liking it.
I'd just buy a Lightweight Hunter and call it a day but meh. It's your money and I support your decision to spend it.

The Lightweight Hunter is light done wrong in nearly every single way which matters to me.
Short barrel, milled up action, walnut stock with holes, CM, etc. Not to mention no LH models.

A rusty, dented Porsche 911 could likely perform as well as a pristine one but I'd take a whole bunch more pride and joy from the nice one.

Okay the no lefty option I can understand.

I also think the LWH is a gorgeous rifle, if they made a lefty I would have bought that and just rebarreled it instead of building my own, but alas this is what I have to do. I am building mine (detailed a bit in post #10) because I dont have a lightweight, mild recoiling (compared to my 300wsm and 7mag) rifle.

Nasquam, hope I didn't sound like I was denigrating your design, I wasn't. Just saying what fits me for a hunting rifle. Its a case of "whatever floats your boat". For about 30 yrs I hunted with an FN commercial Mauser actioned, gold and silver mounted rifle i bought in the white for $75, made a walnut stock for, browned the metal to a dark almost blue, hand checkered the stock and went hunting. It has all the beauty marks the woods here in NH could give it and now sits proudly in a rack, probably never to hunt again. And it has a few marks on it from hunting Pennsylvania up near Mansfield State College back in the 80's

El Lobo

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ellobo

Nasquam, hope I didn't sound like I was denigrating your design, I wasn't. Just saying what fits me for a hunting rifle. Its a case of "whatever floats your boat". For about 30 yrs I hunted with an FN commercial Mauser actioned, gold and silver mounted rifle i bought in the white for $75, made a walnut stock for, browned the metal to a dark almost blue, hand checkered the stock and went hunting. It has all the beauty marks the woods here in NH could give it and now sits proudly in a rack, probably never to hunt again. And it has a few marks on it from hunting Pennsylvania up near Mansfield State College back in the 80's

El Lobo

---

No worries El.

Although I admire you retiring your Mauser to a place of honor I also feel that a FN commercial Mauser action is at it's best when slaying stuff smoothly and reliably. That is one great action.

His sounds like it will be a nice rifle. I doubt that McMillan will look much worse than most after 5 years or so. prob, a bit better.

Mine on the other hand, is an old Savage LH '06, with blind mag (currently), and filled in forend to stiffen it up, and a kick-eze recoil pad, and a 3/8" thick kick-eze cheek rest. It aint purty, but it hits what I aim at and does it with authority, and that is all that matters to me. That 168gr TTSX will hit with enough ooomph to cleanly take elk to 500yds, if I ever got the gumption to shoot one that far off.

nasquam
I am curious as to why you picked that particular caliber? Care to enlighten me?

My guess is that its a light recoiling yet powerful cartridge, which would go great for a lightweight build. It's a bit of a barrel burner, but if all you are going to do is hunt with it, that shouldn't be a problem. I went with its parent case, the 284, because I don't just plan on hunting with it, so I want a little better barrel life, and I like shooting heavier rounds.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by handirifle

His sounds like it will be a nice rifle. I doubt that McMillan will look much worse than most after 5 years or so. prob, a bit better.

Mine on the other hand, is an old Savage LH '06, with blind mag (currently), and filled in forend to stiffen it up, and a kick-eze recoil pad, and a 3/8" thick kick-eze cheek rest. It aint purty, but it hits what I aim at and does it with authority, and that is all that matters to me. That 168gr TTSX will hit with enough ooomph to cleanly take elk to 500yds, if I ever got the gumption to shoot one that far off.

nasquam
I am curious as to why you picked that particular caliber? Care to enlighten me?

---

I really like the 6mm bore size for whitetail and my most recent experience with a .300 WSM drove home the fact that I just don't enjoy dealing with all that recoil.
I always prefer oddball type cartridges and was actually considering the 6mm-06, 6mm-06AI, and the .240 Gibbs for this build. A look at die prices and a few runs through QuickLOAD convinced me that the 6mm-284 would perform exactly like these LA cartridges for less money.
I also think that the 6mm-284 looks wickedly sexy with the 115 VLD seated way the heck out there!

Well your reasons sure sound well thought out. I have owned 243's but never shot anything bigger than coyote with it, no real reasons other than I just never had the rifle/oppportunity at the same time. I have zero experience with VLD bullets, but have read of their use a bit on the long range hunter, magazine forums.
answering this from my phone, so I can't look back, but I assume that bullet requires a 1-8 twist, is that what you ordered?

I already have the barrel. An 8 twist 5R rifled Rock #2.
They actually recommend a 7.5 twist for the 115's but that is for the smaller capacity 6mm's.
With the extra speed from my 6mm-284 I should be able to stabilize in an 8 twist.

That IS going to be a barrel burner, for sure.

Burning barrels is the LEAST of my concerns!

After 20 years I'll be ready for a new barrel.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Trent

For a hunting rifle, who cares. His grand kids will still be shooting it long after he is gone. (most likely)

---

Exactly!

Let's hope that I can shoot enough game with it in my lifetime to burn out the barrel!