New guy, new to me 111 300wm

I just acquired a lightly used 111 from a member on another forum and wanted to know what are some worthy but cheap (i have NO budget) enhancements. Right now I just have a 4-12x scope on it and and a recoil pad.

I don't have a great cheek weld so I was going to add a cheek riser, I'd prefer one of the adjustable ones but I don't know about hacking up the stock seeing as how it's a fairly nice wood stock not a lightweight composite. I'm not quite sure if the rifle is bedded but it's an option if it's not.

This is going to be a deer rifle not a competition rifle so I'm on the fence about a bipod. Additionally I'd like to get into reloading but could use a tip on which sites have the best info.

Either way, it's good to be here & I know I can learn a lot

For a quick, cheap cheek rest, I took a reusable camo tape, kinda like the medical tape the has no residue, and taped on some stiff foam like a blue camping matt. Worked great! Tape doesn't have reaidue like duct tape. Long term, i dont know what it would do.

The best thing you can do it is improve the trigger. If it is a "3 screw" Savage trigger or accutrigger you are in luck. If not, ebay has timney triggers for under 100.

After that, bedding. PM me your address, and I will send you some epoxy putty you will need to do a nice bedding job, and I'll explain my way of bedding a Savage.

I may include include some aluminum pillars and epoxy.

If you have time and terrain for a shot at game, a bipod will absolutely help, also, if shooting off a bench.

This site and lots of others have good info on reloading.

Welcome aboard.

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Originally Posted by hereinaz

For a quick, cheap cheek rest, I took a reusable camo tape, kinda like the medical tape the has no residue, and taped on some stiff foam like a blue camping matt. Worked great! Tape doesn't have reaidue like duct tape. Long term, i dont know what it would do.

The best thing you can do it is improve the trigger. If it is a "3 screw" Savage trigger or accutrigger you are in luck. If not, ebay has timney triggers for under 100.

After that, bedding. PM me your address, and I will send you some epoxy putty you will need to do a nice bedding job, and I'll explain my way of bedding a Savage.

I may include include some aluminum pillars and epoxy.

If you have time and terrain for a shot at game, a bipod will absolutely help, also, if shooting off a bench.

This site and lots of others have good info on reloading.

Welcome aboard.

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Was thinking about foam wrapped with self adhesive sport tape or camo, i don't think the deer would care much either way, or wrap with tape then use black or tan craft foam/felt to build up a pad

I know for a fact it's not the Accu-Trigger but I haven't separated the action from the stock to see if it's a 3 screw or not. I could stone/polish the existing trigger if it's a viable option. I'm not a trigger snob but if it'll help accuracy then I'm in.

I've worked with epoxy before (I'm a mechanic & I've had to jerry rig some stuff with jb weld & other 2 parts) but I haven't pillared a rifle so that would be a 1st. I can shape the pillars to the action, it's the same as forming tubing for a good weld minus the actual welding of course.

I don't think I'll be taking any game from a bench, it was more so to add some weight to help dampen recoil rather than adding lead to the stock which might throw off the balance

Is there any particular company to go with for a reloading press or are they all pretty much on the same level?

Go to the FAQ section, info there on trigger adjustments. The trigger is the worst thing about a Savage.
For bedding check this out http://www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html

After seeing that i REALLY hope that mine is the 3 screw and I'll separate the stock from the action when i get home & find out about the trigger & the bedding. Hopefully I can lighten the trigger without replacing it & bed the action

I took the action off & it's similar to the 3 screw trigger that was referenced but it doesn't have the sear adjustment. It has pull weight, which i brought down, safety adjustment & overtravel but not sear release. Also, there's no bedding so I might be getting devcon 1 day & dusting off my dremel if i can find it

Before you start changing things up go shoot it first. The bolt knob replacement is fairly easy and inexpensive. As far as a check riser I added one onto mine but I needed to because when in shooting position my natural line of sight was looking at the base. With the pad on there I line up perfectly to the middle of the scope. There are a few YouTube videos our there you can check on to show you how to properly check your line of sight. I would also consider a muzzle brake. My 300 WM Bear Hunter came with one and it really tones down the recoil to the point of being enjoyable to shoot. Zero at 200 and you are good to go! Mine is set up for hunting as well. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...34/007%202.jpg[/IMG]

Even without the sear engagement screw sear engagement can be adjusted with shims. It's not easy and is a one way street (more or less) so at this point I would say (as Strutnut said) shoot it first, may be ok.

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Originally Posted by Strutnut

Before you start changing things up go shoot it first. The bolt knob replacement is fairly easy and inexpensive. As far as a check riser I added one onto mine but I needed to because when in shooting position my natural line of sight was looking at the base. With the pad on there I line up perfectly to the middle of the scope. There are a few YouTube videos our there you can check on to show you how to properly check your line of sight. I would also consider a muzzle brake. My 300 WM Bear Hunter came with one and it really tones down the recoil to the point of being enjoyable to shoot. Zero at 200 and you are good to go! Mine is set up for hunting as well. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...34/007%202.jpg[/IMG]

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First off, nice rifle. Second, I have shot it, heavy trigger, less than glass smooth action, kicks like a mule. Sorry if I come across as a D!CK, I'm not trying to be. I have the same issue with scope alignment, its not just a decoration for me lol. I can't get a good cheek weld with a clear line of sight without a riser. I considered a brake but my barrel isn't threaded and i saw 1 clamp on brake (witt machine, custom made using my barrel's measurements) that was actually made well & reasonably priced but i shoot at a public range & I've heard it can be fairly loud. Re-barrelling or having it threaded is out of the question since I don't have the budget for it so a Clamp On is my only option for a brake. i've looked at their website and all of their "negative" reviews seem to stem from people not measuring their barrel properly and since I deal with micrometers & calipers on a regular basis, I think my measurements will be reasonably accurate

I have thought about getting a Witt clamp on brake, they seem like a good idea for those pencil thin barrels. And you are right they are a bit uncomfortable for everyone except the shooter but so are a lot of others things I have to listen to all day long. Let us know how the trigger turns out.

One word of caution, the triggers is surfaced hardened so you'll want to very carful if you stone the surfaces.

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Originally Posted by olddav

I have thought about getting a Witt clamp on brake, they seem like a good idea for those pencil thin barrels. And you are right they are a bit uncomfortable for everyone except the shooter but so are a lot of others things I have to listen to all day long. Let us know how the trigger turns out.

One word of caution, the triggers is surfaced hardened so you'll want to very carful if you stone the surfaces.

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The range i go to is mostly fellow hunters and a few of them sounded braked but i cant be sure. It seems that Witt is the only one making GOOD clamp on brakes, if it keeps thumping my shoulder I'll pony up the $90+shipping for a Witt and call it a day.

Asides from a brake the only other way of reducing recoil that i know of is by adding weight or a mercury tube and I'd rather not carve up the stock or have to buy an aftermarket one yet. I could drill out the stock & add lead shot like a dead blow hammer but would it be effective? I have a synthetic stock for it that I'll probably never use, maybe a little experiment is in order

After I adjusted the trigger I don't personally feel the need to stone it any longer, it breaks crisp & clean & is probably almost as light than my Springfield XD9, minus a bit of spronge in the xd

Do you have a recoil pad on the stock, if so how thick is it?
I had to install a 1" pad on my 338-06. Shooting 225 to 250 grain bullets was causing my hand to tingle after each shot. A thick pad cured that. My rifle has a varmit contour barrel and wood stock and both add weight. I'm sure you know that weight tames recoil.

Glad you got the trigger workd out.

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Originally Posted by olddav

Do you have a recoil pad on the stock, if so how thick is it?
I had to install a 1" pad on my 338-06. Shooting 225 to 250 grain bullets was causing my hand to tingle after each shot. A thick pad cured that. My rifle has a varmit contour barrel and wood stock and both add weight. I'm sure you know that weight tames recoil.

Glad you got the trigger workd out.

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I have a Limbsaver on there, i think its 3/4" or 1". I am aware that increasing weight decreases recoil & I don't have the funds for a varmint barrel (I'd like a threaded barrel for future suppressor use though) and it already has a wood stock. It came with a synthetic stock i could mess around with. I was looking at recoil reducers both DIY & commercial ones and it seems one of the best & cheapest is to add a "dead blow" tube filled about 3/4's of the way with bird shot or a tube with a spring, weight & heavy oil. I probably have most of what I need at work except for the bird shot so the cost would be minimal either way. I also thought about using a gas spring for a hood or a trunk as a shock but it would only get about an inch of travel (added length of pull is fine by me) and I'm not 100% sure how to mount it so the buttplate doesn't twist & turn. According to shooterscalculator dot com, a 9lb rifle with my current factory load is generating 21.7lbs of recoil energy and the gas spring I looked at was rated for a 20lb load, usually a hood or trunk lid but 20lbs is 20lbs. I might have to drill a vertical hole in the stock for a steel anchor but it would be a small price to pay for hopefully a large reduction in recoil. If this works as well as I hope it does then there's no need for a muzzle break

I'll check out the synthetic stock and see if I can mount something in there and get it sorted out. On a side note I figured out the cheek riser and all it took was an old back support belt, some 550 cord and craft foam. Does it look like a high priced custom leather one? No, but it'll work and it cost less than $10 and a little bit of "free" time