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Been wanting to order one from Savage for years now, and I finally pulled the trigger today. I was not quite prepared for the price - a hair over $300 shipped with the bottom plastic and trigger guard - but I should only ever have to buy one right? :D
It's going on a 6.5 Grendel build. Donor action is a Model 10 from a 7.62x39 scout rifle.
Will post up pics when it all comes together. Shaw is telling me another 4-6 weeks on the barrel.
Can't wait to see the pics. I'm a bit of a Grendel fan and have thought of doing the same build myself. I'm really curious to see how it goes.
I have a Grendel in a Howa Mini at the moment, and it's a critter killing machine. The Shaw barrel will be a little heavier contour, and 20" instead of 22" like the Howa.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frontier Gear
I'm hoping for a 6.25# rifle with the Model 10 action and Shaw barrel, if not lighter.
Got an LWH with the wood stock a couple of years ago...they are beautiful stocks.
They seem to be. I haven't seen one in the flesh. Only pictures. But it will be nice to have a real walnut stock for a change.Quote:
Originally Posted by wbm
I had one I would have sold for less than that.
My friend has one on his gun, it sure is a nice looking stock !!!!!
Not the best picture, but here are two Howa's in 6.5 Grendel and Boyd's At-One stocks. Top one has had the barrel cut down to 16 and is wearing a flash hider while it waits for the suppressor to get out of jail. The mag on the top one has been cut down to flush fit and still holds 4 rounds. The bottom one has a 20" barrel. Both of them are pillar and epoxy bedded. They also both have the DIPinc aluminum bottom metals, mag floor plates and mag release levers.
I've known guys who have tried to turn Savages into Grendels, but feeding was an issue. That Grendel case taper is odd and can be a bit of a pain. I'd get rid of the bottom one if I knew that I could build a Savage that would work just as well. Nothing wrong with the Howa, I just prefer the tang mounted safety on the Savage.
https://i.ibb.co/3f54Z3t/IMG-4627-1.jpg
I was going to do a comparable build but decided to go with the ruger american rifle that takes AR platform mags. But to keep my post savage centric I am going to take a model 10 4x4 in .204 and turn it into a .300BLK.
Part of my choice on the grendel was due to magazines. The Howa requires you to buy their magazines. Savage you can use the 7.62x39 mags but I think the taper of the cartridge may cause a problem. Going with the ruger I can swap my grendel mags from to the AR and back. More of an economical move.
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It would be well worth it if we could figure out which Savage works best for the Grendel. The case taper does cause a problem with feeding. I've had two Ruger American Predators in 6.5 Grendel, two Howa's in 6.5 Grendel as well as a number of ARs. The Howas are the only ones to not have feeding issues. To be honest, the RAPs had the most feeding issues and were my least favorite. I got rid of both of them. A lot of guys have wanted a Savage in Grendel, but the case taper/feeding issue has been the deterrent. A well documented and successful Savage build would be a good thing to point people to.
I have a lot of Grendel experience, but almost no Savage experience. The Rem 700 does seem to make a reliable feeding platform for the Grendel. I'm not sure which Savage would imitate that the best. My guess would be a center feed, but that is just a guess. The Howa uses a single stack, center feed mag that also doubles for the 7.62x39. It is also low capacity. The Grendel really starts having feeding issues when you get past 5 rounds in a mag. Even the AR mags that are Grendel specific can be a bugger at times.
That is why I stick to the 10 round AR mags.
I considered doing a single shot grendel in savage. If I did that I would like a left port action for some odd reason.
I may still do a single shot savage in the grendel just for kicks.
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I'll keep that in mind as I may want a 2nd one!Quote:
Originally Posted by grouse
Nice looking rifles! I also cut down the magazine on my Howa. Initially, the magazines were my least favorite part of the rifle, but now that I've cut mine down and trimmed the mag release lever, I don't really think about it anymore. And that polymer mag feeds super smooth. And I've needed it because I've been surrounded by pigs a few times before where I emptied the gun in less than 5 seconds! No issues whatsoever working the Howa Grendel that fast. It's nearly as smooth and fast as my Tikka. Actually, probably faster because of the action length, and almost as smooth (but nothing is as smooth as a Tikka).Quote:
Originally Posted by Frontier Gear
I'm converting an older Model 10 Scout in 7.62x39 to the Grendel, so everything should be compatible. I'll bend the feed lips on the mag as I need to, and see where that gets me. I will need it to feed very smoothly and reliably due to the above-mentioned scenarios which are fairly common for me these days.
If I'm understanding it correctly, Savage used a specific mag just for the 7.62x39 (part number 55221). Is that correct?
I believe so. That’s what I have
Interesting. Does anybody know what other rifle (action and stock) that this mag would work with? Your Model 10 7.62x39 scout rifle is kind of hard to come by. You are lucky to have one.
I would think it should work on any centerfeed short action that has the stock inletted for that magazine and appropriate bottom metal. But I could be wrong.
So any center feed bolt action (top or bottom bolt release), and set up to use the "premium" or non-Axis style of mags. Does that sound correct? I'll start looking for one if that is the case.
I'm having a little trouble understanding what you're asking. The 7.62x39 magazine I have uses the standard plastic "Axis" bottom plate, but that is easy to swap out for a metal magazine plate. The internals (magazine frame and follower) are all that's unique to that particular magazine. Those parts with the correct magazine bottom (plastic "Axis" style or real metal) can be made to fit any Savage center feed stock and action.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frontier Gear
Honestly, I've taken .223 magazines, bent the feed lips and made them work just fine from my 7.62x39 scout.
Is the magazine release part of the magazine (Axis style) or part of the stock ("premium" style)?
http://www.savageshooters.com/conten...is-and-Premium
It can be either, depending on the magazine floor plate you use.
Ahh, my bad. I forgot I swapped the original bottom metal on the magazine for the plastic Axis type when I put a Trophy Hunter XP tupperware stock on that rifle. The original Savage Scout 7.62x39 had an accustock and real bottom metal, and it weighed a ton. I lightened the whole thing up by dropping the barreled action into a Trophy Hunter XP stock, and then did the magazine bottom plate swap so it would work.
Been a couple years and I forgot I did that. Sorry if I took you down a wrong path.
But yes, that 55221 magazine is the one that originally came with the 7.62x39 Scout. If you want to swap it to an Axis style, it's simple enough to do though.
Thanks for the clarification. I was getting confused. So this brings up an interesting possibility. I could buy a short action Axis, a PPC bolt head from eBay or PTG, a Savage 7.62x39 mag and a custom Grendel barrel. Then swap all the parts over including the Axis mag plastic bottom plate over to the 7.62x39 mag. When done, I "should" have a Grendel Axis. Am I missing anything?
Nope. Because I might be doing the exact same thing. I have an Axis action on the way, and just got one of the brand new Axis stocks in the mail. They are much better than the original Axis stocks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frontier Gear
Once I get all the components together, I'm going to weigh everything and then make a decision whether I go with the Axis stock and action, or the Model 10 action and LWH stock for the build. I want the finished rifle weight under 7 lbs. scope and all. My current Howa Mini runs 7 lbs. 1 oz. scope and all.
It's good to have options!
Whichever one doesn't get the Grendel barrel will end up getting a .308 barrel for a hunting rifle for my son.
Very cool. I hope this works out. It would be great to have another Grendel option.
You can use a .243 magazine and bend the lips in on the magazinenand it works fine thats what I did on my my 7.62x39 build that I am finally finishing
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And with the .243 mag I fit 5 rounds
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Great info. I'm going to give that a try. I assume that you don't have the bolt stop baffle on your bolt, that prevents the bolt head from coming all the way back to the regular SA mag length? Or did you put a spacer in the back of the .243 mag?Quote:
Originally Posted by futurerider103
I did not use a bolt baffle and actually I just posted in my build thread about my magazine needing to be modified or get a 762x39 followerQuote:
Originally Posted by Newtosavage
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Stock arrived today. Oh my! Absolutely gorgeous stock. I mean wow!
I had to get out the sockets and sandpaper (a tiny bit) to fit a standard action into it, but that only took me about 30 minutes and was easy peasy. Not only is this stock gorgeous, it's 3 oz. lighter than my painted plastic stock! That brings this 7.62x39 down to just 6 lbs. and 13 oz. with the "placeholder" Simmons scope on it (about 9 oz.)
The gold indian head is a really nice touch.
Can't wait to drop a 6.5 Grendel barrel in it, and top it with a lightweight Leupold scope. This stock completely transformed this rifle for the better. Totally worth it.
That is sweet. Congrats. Well worth it if you ask me. That will be one awesome Grendel.
Can i get a straight side view of the area where the magazine is? Im trying to figure out if I want to contour that area on mine.Quote:
Originally Posted by Newtosavage
The wood is definitely a good choice for your gun. I really like the checking and would like to do it on my build but ita going to have a gloss finish and I dont think it will work out right
Not sure what you're asking. The current bottom plastic and mag are flush with the bottom of the stock. Do you mean looking at the action area from the side? One photo already shows that although it's kinda dark underneath.
Does it look like this?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3bf2d45ed7.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by Newtosavage
Yes, except mine is a bottom bolt release.
I realize I never updated this thread with my final build out.
Here's the end product - a 7mm-08 Axis barrel (the Grendel just wasn't quite what I wanted in the end) on a model 10 short action, bottom bolt release, in a walnut LWH stock. I topped it at first with a 9.9 oz Leupold 1.5-4x20 scope (as shown), but got a good deal on a VX-2 2-7x33 (also 9.9 oz). Dropped that in some Talley low rings, and that's what it will wear from here on out.
Total rifle weighs 6 lbs. 15 oz. and points like a dream. This is the first bolt action hunting rifle I've owned that reminds me of my beloved pre-64 Winchester 30-30. It balances and points just as good. I've already had friends who want me to build them one. I am not sure I've ever seen a better looking wood stock.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...-1-jpg.825998/
Its working for me now thanksQuote:
Originally Posted by Newtosavage
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Looks goodQuote:
Originally Posted by Newtosavage
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Great looking rifle! Good job!!!
Great looking rifle.Quote:
Originally Posted by Newtosavage
Are the back rings touching the magnification dial? They look awfully close, but it's hard to tell from the image.
They were close but not quite. The mag. dial will - just - fit in the little valley in the Weaver base if you're using the low quad-lock rings.Quote:
Originally Posted by Apollo117
Funny thing - I replaced those Weaver bases and rings with Talley lows, and I was concerned whether the mag dial would clear. When I got them in, I realized the mag dial on that Freedom series was just a hair too large diameter to clear on the low Talleys if I wanted it that far forward. When I replaced the VX-Freedom in the pic. with the VX-2 2-7x33, the mag dial "just" cleared the base portion of the Tikka rings, as I had hoped it would. I was tickled to say the least. So I mounted it up only to discover that the little black allen head screw that secures the mag dial in place, made contact with the base as it was rotated to it. Easy fix though. I pulled that screw and filed a half mm off of it, then blued it with a cold blue pen and reinstalled it. And it worked perfectly. The mag ring on my new scope clears by a gnat's hair and the scope is nice and low and forward where I want it.
I'll try to post some new pics of the final (final) setup with the Talley low rings and VX-2 scope. It's pretty darn sweet.
Honestly, I like that model 10 action in the LWH stock more than I do the LWH action. Cleaner lines to me.