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Had my fav gunsmith use set of go nogo guages on my model 10 chamber...he says that its showing some wear and is a bit long. I have 2,500 or so rounds thru it after 3 years . Love the Mc Millian stock and accutrigger. thinking maybe just shoot it till barrel is gone then rebarrel and maybe new bolt....could have action trued up then also. So ..is this a viable idea or should I go get all new rifle?
The action will be able to be passed on to your grandkids. A new barrel is all you need. It is what is worn, not the action. A new barrel is really inexpensive compared to a whole new rifle.
2500 rds ?? three yrs ??
What caliber ??
Rebarrel when the throat is completely gone....if its a game rifle that
could be 5K rds......or more depending on your accuracy demands....
The action will not 'wear out'......barrel will....
rebarrel & set it up tight......pass it on to your grandkids......
my tires show some wear...........everything once used shows some wear, shoot the thing until your accuracy falls off then re barrel. the action with basic maintenance will last forever (or darn near)!
there is no magic round count then replace keeping track of group size is where you will see when the barrel is wearing out.
to Armed In Utah ....its a .308 Winchester .....mostly mild to medium handloads. I put about 150 rounds or more thru it every month. Love this rifle!!! I am so used to it now that it feels like a part of me when I am shooting. I have shot as well or better than a lot of other guys who have more money invested. I do shoot a lot more than they do I am sure..... Thanks everyone for your input.. I feel better with that info since I know I am going to wear out the barrel eventually at this rate.
With the 308 and mild to medium handloads most likely you are not even half way thru the barrel life yet. At any rate you should get around 5000 rounds before you see any real change in accuracy.
Gary
What I'd like to know is how this gunsmith used a set of headspace GO/NO-GO gauges to tell you that the throat is a little long...? ???
Maybe I'm being a little paranoid, but it sounds like your gun plumber is leading you on hoping to score some $$$ on a barrel replacement.
:'( Now why didn't i catch that? +1 MonteQuote:
Originally Posted by memilanuk
Gary
If the rifle is not being newly chambered/barreled, then basic headspace gauges don't tell you anything. The rifle should have been originally chambered to close on the GO and not close on the NO GO but the slight initial wear from use will increase the headspace ever so slightly. The NO GO gauge is cut right in the middle of the chamber tolerance spec, the idea being that a new rifle should chambered on the short end to allow for some chamber expansion as the bolt/receiver mating surfaces wear to each other. A well used rifle being able to close on a NO GO gauge is not a cause for alarm and is really to be expected. If it closed on a FIELD gauge, you have a problem. Of course being a Savage, that problem can be fixed by simply breaking the barrel nut loose, turning the barrel in a smidgen and locking the nut back down.
This is not kosher ........... like has already been pointed out:
You can't judge your barrel's life by go and no go gauges!
The gauges just show headspace, the distance from the bolt face to the datum line ...... (the shoulder in your case) and the wear your gunsmith is alluding to is in the THROAT area .... out of reach of a chambering gauge.
I'd call him on it! Snap a picture of his RED FACE and post it back here ............
Three 44s
The OP never said anything about the throat, he specifically mentioned the chamber. My first post mentioned the throat as the part that would wear out. What went from there was a lot of assumption and putting words in the 'smith's mouth.
I'm curious how the chamber would get longer to any significant amount over the period of 2500rds, unless the user is coating his cases in some sort of fine abrasive and honing out the chamber as he goes...
I've got a number of .308 Win barrels sitting here, and I measure the headspace of my fired cases fairly regularly for the purpose of making sure that my dies are set correctly (more barrels with more different chambers than I have sets of dies for)... and I don't think I've ever seen the headspace dimension vary *AT ALL*, even over 3-4k rounds - and while most of these are 'match' guns, I do shoot on a couple ranges known for swirling dust storms of fine abrasive sand and I'm not the most anal cleaner of guns - they are tools, not delicate flowers. I don't dump a handful of sand in there and start turning the bolt, but there's a reason I F/L size - for a little bit of insurance in the form of chamber clearance, and the guns get cleaned when I get home at the end of a 2-4 day match. And I still don't see any movement of the headspace of my guns. Heck, I've seen guys who *did* get sand/grit blown in their chamber on the second shot, didn't realize it and scored the snot out of their cases *and* the chamber shooting all dang day long... and still didn't have their headspace dimensions move.
Again, while it may be possible that the chamber wears a skosh over the life of the barrel... I sure haven't seen it. And unless the gunsmith had taken 'before' and 'after' measurements on that same barrel from when it was new til now, HTF would he know it was getting 'a bit long' and didn't come that way originally? Maybe he did, and the OP didn't mention it. Maybe he also used a bore scope in the process and the OP didn't mention that either. But based on what he did mention, I'd call B.S. and ask the 'gunsmith' for an explanation of how he arrived at that conclusion.
If the gauges show too much headspace ......... it's an adjustment ............ not a replacement of your action or barrel.
Three 44s
Also possible that his rifle left the factory on the loose side of spec.
Barrels are cheap and you can do it at home with a few tools.Tell the gunsmith to take a hike.I have a local smith that can do good work,however he pulls the mechanic at harry the hole in the walls auto game to much and I am sick of his BS. I bought 2 wrenchs and headspace gages and do it my self.It is so simple a caveman can do it.I am serious,go to northland supply and buy a mcgowen pre-fit and never look back.You wont be sorry.
I once bought a used 110 in .270 Win from a pawn shop that had excessive headspace from the factory. It had factory sights that lined up perfectly, so I know that it came from the factory that way. The rifle had no extractor, so I thought it probably had rust in the chamber. When i installed the parts and polished the chamber, it still had sticky extraction. A on-go gage showed excess headspace. I knocked the barrel nut loose and retightened on a go-gage and all was good (except that the sights were leaning to the left).
My , my....didnt I open a can of worms with my posting.....must be a good topic. I have never had the chamber guaged before but I would not be suprised if it has always measured a bit "long". My gunsmith didnt say I needed a new rifle but he did say that it might have a bit of wear in it. He did say he "prefered" the Remi actions more. The Rem one piece bolt being one of the things he likes compared to Savages multipiece bolthead. When I was shooping for this rifle several years ago another gunshop owner said he didnt like the Savage because it has to many small parts. And generally the less moving parts in a machine the better. But I love my Savage ( and the Mcmillian stock it came with ) I think Ill just keep it and rebarrel it when the time comes. I have got some phenominal groups with it and everyone who shoots it likes it too, even those who have never shot a high power rifle before. . If I had a lot more $$ to spend on guns I might be tempted to buy one of those fancy $ 5,000 accurized custom rifles but I dont play the lottery so it probably wont happen.
I find that most folks out there that don’t like Savage haven’t tried one. It’s like the folks that don’t like Mac’s usually they haven’t worked with one.
bgc, there is a lot of truth in that statement right there.
kenbo776, I use the motto "if it's not broken, don't fix it". If you feel the need, you could shake loose the barrel nut and tighten it up on the go/no-go gage. But if it's shooting to your expectations why screw with it. Shoot it until it starts shooting poorly or you are experiencing other signs of incorrect head space.
If you feel the need you could get a new barrel. They are easy enough to change. But again, if it's shooting the way you want it to...don't fix it.
And if you have a gun/stock you like, there are more options than just getting a new gun. Getting a new gun would be my choice if I just simply wanted a new toy...and that happens more often than it should. ;D
Happiness is a new gun ;D