My 111 Project

first off let me say this, i like this website. although i dont post much at all i do read around here and the m14 forum. if this is in the wrong section, please move it to the correct place.
my last post here, i think, was about how i want to build a rifle, etc, etc. well i have begun, and will be posting pics of my progress. yes, its going to take awhile because as you know, money doesnt grow on trees. lol

so far, i removed the stock, scope/rings/mounts, removed the mag and trigger parts. now im running into problems. the barerl nut is stuck. i tried alittle heat and it wont budge. are these left or right handed threads?

now, i have another problem. my rifle is currently a 7mm mag and i cant decide on going with a 300wm or staying with a 7mm. i know there are alot mor options for reloading 30 cal. i would like to use this rifle for long distance hunting but common sense says most of its time will be out in the desert shooting steel past 1k. how does the 7mag perform around 1500?

im going to be getting a shilen barrel and replacing the recoil lug and nut with stainless and probably going with their varmit contour 26". havnt decided on a trigger just yet but i have time.

question, is it necessary to square the receiver? im going to be lapping the lugs but if i can get away with not sending it to the local gunsmith to put on the lathe i will. should i bother?
after the receiver is complete with barrel, trigger, and a 20 moa base, its off to mc millian for a new game scout stock.
then i need to save up those va checks for some nightforce glass...$$$$ :o

There is no need to lap the lugs as you're using a savage with the floating bolt head. As for squaring the receiver face, if done properly it can't hurt but there is a whole bunch of guns out there shooting tiny little groups without a done up receiver. I'd also really talk it over with the gunsmith and find out what he's squaring to, the bolt raceway or receiver threads, or is he some hillbilly charging you to chuck the reciever straight in the jaws and making chips fly off the other end accomplishing nothing?

If I were having an action done I'd send it to sharpshooter and know it's done correctly.

the local smith has been doing this stuff for years and has done many, many rifles. but youre right, i should go talk to him and maybe ill send it to sss with the barrel...

Don't think I was inferring that your smith doesn't know what he's doing as that wasn't my intentions. I've just seen too many guys get suckered into thinking that because someone owns a mill or lathe that they know how to use them.

The reason I recommend sharpshooter isn't necessarily because of the trueing but because of the timing that he does that makes it so much smoother. Smiths in my area try to treat it as a Remchester when we all know it's a bit differnt.

If all you are wanting is a trued face then it sounds like you know a competent smith that would do a satisfactory job.

Sounds like you're going to have a sweet build when finished. I dream of owning a NF scope someday. These darn priorities keep holding me back from spending the coin though.

after soaking the barrel nut over the weekend with clp, i cant get it off to save my life! is there some sort of trick to it? are they standard threads? meaning not left handed?

The threads are standard. It takes a good amount of effort that first time to break the nut loose, Mongo puts them on tight, he knows not his own strength. Sometimes a little heat is necessary on the nut, other times a good rap on the wrench with a 4 pound sledge will break it loose. If you don't have an action wrench, you may have to split the nut with a dremel to get it removed.

What tool are you using to get the nut off? I use and action wrench to hold the action and use the barrel nut wrench to crack the nut loose. I usually soak the threads with Kroil for 24-48 hours before trying to break it loose. My usual procedure is to attach the action wrench and lay the barreled action on the floor on a piece of cardboard. Then I put the barrel nut wrench on in such a way that I can stand on the handle of the action wrench with one foot and then put the other foot on the barrel nut wrench. A weight transfer to the nut wrench usually pops it loose easily enough.

i got the nut off and made a call to the local gunsmith and he wants to charge me $250 for blueprinting etc, basically what SSS will do but SSS will do it for WAY less. needless to say ill be going through them. now, does anyone have a line on stainless barrel nuts? because i cant seem to find any anywhere. or should i stick with my old one? 1 more thing, trigger. which one? this will be used for hunting so i dont want something so light i can breath on it and launch one down the tube. something adjustable with a wide range of adjustment.

Rifle Basix SAV-2 for the trigger and check with Jim @ Northland Shooter Supply for the barrel nut.

I also like the SSS Competition trigger. Especially if you are going to send Fred your action for timing and truing.

Also, just for the record and the sake of others reading this and who might not be familiar with SSS Time and True service: It is not the same as "Blue Printing", as a ordinary gunsmith will do. You may have the BEST gunsmith in the world, but he will not do what Fred does at SSS. He times and trues the action so that all the moving parts are coordinated and matched-up optimally. That is not an issue that needs to be addressed with non-Savage actions. He has developed special tools and techniques for this and (for the most part, as far as I know) others simply do not have the knowledge or intention of doing the same thing for your Savage action. Somewhere here there is an article by Fred about how and why he does this. You can also visit his website.

thanks for everyones help. im going to send it off to them as soon as i clear it with them and my VA check comes in in june. may's check is dedicated to the wife! i would be a rich man if i was single...

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Originally Posted by danthman114

thanks for everyones help. im going to send it off to them as soon as i clear it with them and my VA check comes in in june. may's check is dedicated to the wife! i would be a rich man if i was single...

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No you wouldn't...


You'd just have more guns!