model 10 barrel advice

I have a Model 10 .223 that has been giving me fits all winter trying to unlock the secret to accuracy. I have finally decided that the barrel is a piece of crap. I've tried factory loads, target loads, numerous hand loads and every combination you can think of related to bullet weight, type, powder charge, seating depth etc. If I get a good group one time I will celebrate and think that I've finally found what the rifle likes only to have reality handed to me the very next time I go to the range with duplicated loads. Yes, it has been frustrating. I even began to doubt my ability to shoot well until I went with a friend who let me shoot his rifles and I stacked bullets into tighter holes than he did with his own guns. Confidence restored. Back to the barrel.

Now I'm thinking about changing the barrel from the light 22 inch sporter to a 26 inch varmint barrel. My hesitation is if the two screw action in the walnut stock will support it and whether I can open up the barrel channel in the stock enough for the larger diameter barrel to fit. So, does anyone have experience with this combination of barrel changes and if so what were the results?

Thanks
Idaho

is everything tight. I have made that mistake of chasing my tail and spending a lot on ammunition only to find out the bases weren't tight. check the scope and rings too

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Originally Posted by sizthediz

is everything tight. I have made that mistake of chasing my tail and spending a lot on ammunition only to find out the bases weren't tight. check the scope and rings too

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Did that,,,several times

I built one with a criterion .223 barrel(varmint contour) and yes it shot way better than the factory junk. Some shoot and some don't in regards to factory barrels no matter who makes the gun itself. I am looking into a new x-caliber barrel for a swede build. I talked with a real nice guy and he bought or tried 2 barrels and was impressed with the finish of the barrel internally and they shot right inline with much much more expensive barrels.

I've ordered a McGowan barrel today. 26 inch, varmint contour, 1-8 twist, black chrome-moly. It is a Savage prefit so I just need a gunsmith to screw it on and set headspace whem it arrives. In the meantime I'm going to work on the barrel channel in the stock to make room for more steel.

Have heard good things about McGowan from others here. Depending on what your gunsmith is going to charge you might want to look into getting a go gauge, barrel nut wrench, and an action wrench and doing the barrel swap yourself. It seems a lot more intimidating than it is really... All-in the tools will run less than $100 and you'll be able to do the job yourself again if needed or wanted...

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Originally Posted by BarrelNuts

Have heard good things about McGowan from others here. Depending on what your gunsmith is going to charge you might want to look into getting a go gauge, barrel nut wrench, and an action wrench and doing the barrel swap yourself. It seems a lot more intimidating than it is really... All-in the tools will run less than $100 and you'll be able to do the job yourself again if needed or wanted...

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+1. The first time you try it is a bit intimidating but once done and you see how easy it really is, your hooked!

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Originally Posted by BarrelNuts

Have heard good things about McGowan from others here. Depending on what your gunsmith is going to charge you might want to look into getting a go gauge, barrel nut wrench, and an action wrench and doing the barrel swap yourself. It seems a lot more intimidating than it is really... All-in the tools will run less than $100 and you'll be able to do the job yourself again if needed or wanted...

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Originally Posted by GaCop

+1. The first time you try it is a bit intimidating but once done and you see how easy it really is, your hooked!

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I appreciate the advice and will look into it. Thanks!!

Get a Cbi criterion from NSS or a mcgowan. Both barrels i got were delivered exactly when they said they would be. No monkey business And the shoot amazing.

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Originally Posted by Lightflight

Get a Cbi criterion from NSS or a mcgowan. Both barrels i got were delivered exactly when they said they would be. No monkey business And the shoot amazing.

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McGowen 26 inch varmint with 1-8 twist is on the way. Now I'm thinking about a new barrel nut and recoil lug.

If you are doing the barrel may as well do the nut and lug. Did you decide to do the swap yourself?

Idaho,

Just replaced the factory barrel on my Model 14 and it was pretty easy. I got the confidence to do it by watching it being done on You Tube. Just search for "replace Savage barrel" and you will find several videos. If it looks like something you feel comfortable doing then go for it. Using a gunsmith is fine too. However, they are pretty expensive and they may keep your gun for weeks or months before doing the work. (An experienced gunsmith can install a new barrel in 30 minutes or less.)

OMT,

Tools you will need: action wrench, barrel nut wrench, go and no-go gauges and a little grease for the threads just to be safe. I highly recommend a torque wrench to ensure the barrel nut is properly secured. For me, getting the barrel off was a nightmare but installing a new barrel was not difficult.

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Originally Posted by Idaho

McGowen 26 inch varmint with 1-8 twist is on the way. Now I'm thinking about a new barrel nut and recoil lug.

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Contact Jim at Northland Shooter Supply for the barrel nut and recoil lug.

If you decide to do this yourself one thing you really should do is use a good penetrating oil and soak down the barrel nut really well. Even do it several times
because Savage Arms uses a thread sealer when putting there barrels on the actions and headspacing. McGowen barrels are outstanding... Mine has shoot .25
100yrd groupings.. .5 " consistently..... good luck on you rifle...

You did good ordering a nice new barrel. I have learned over the last several years that If I can't get a barrel to shoot with a reasonable amount of trial and error (reasonable is a relative term) I will get rid of it and either find another used one, or order a new one! Barrels are cheaper than spending tons of money developing tons of loads that may or may not shoot, and then spending money on gas to and from the range. Plus I get so frustrated and pissed when I can't make one shoot, that it just isn't worth it. Good luck with your barrel! I'm betting It will shoot pretty much anything you feed it.

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Originally Posted by teebirdhyzer

You did good ordering a nice new barrel. I have learned over the last several years that If I can't get a barrel to shoot with a reasonable amount of trial and error (reasonable is a relative term) I will get rid of it and either find another used one, or order a new one! Barrels are cheaper than spending tons of money developing tons of loads that may or may not shoot, and then spending money on gas to and from the range. Plus I get so frustrated and pissed when I can't make one shoot, that it just isn't worth it. Good luck with your barrel! I'm betting It will shoot pretty much anything you feed it.

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As you say, trial and error is frustrating and expensive. When I came to that conclusion I ordered the new barrel. I hope you are correct. Notice came in my email today that the barrel is finished. They just need final payment and it will be on the way. Now, I'm researching new barrel nuts and recoil lugs. Very soon I will know if the new barrel will shoot.

Update. Gunsmith has the barrel mounted on the action with the new barrel lug installed. He had to make room in the stock for the new lug because it is bigger than the stock lug so the action is curing in the stock in new bedding material. He still needs to open up the barrel channel a little more and put everything back together. He only works on Friday so it may still be a week before I get the rifle back.

Interested in hearing how it shoots?

Me too. I have not got it back yet. The cheap plastic trigger guard broke when they tightened the action down in the stock after the new bedding job. I had ordered a Savage steel trigger guard and just dropped it off yesterday when they told me that the gunsmith was not there this week. Rats. More wait.

As soon as I get my hands on this thing I'm headed to the range with bullets and a cleaning kit for break in.

I finally got to shoot the rebuilt rifle today. It was done entirely for break in. fired one shot and cleaned the barrel 4 times, then two shots and cleaned the barrel 5 times, then 4 shots and cleaned the barrel 5 more times.

I was using cheap factory FMJ 55 gr loads and did not expect much accuracy. At the end of the day it was shooting groups of about 1 1/2 inches. Back at my bench and I measured the distance to the lands with three different bullet types and found that this barrel does not have nearly as deep a throat as the factory one did. With the 1/8 twist in this tube I'm hoping that I can get some decent groups with 70 and 75 gr bullets. Loaded up a few for the range tomorrow. We will see.

Update. I measured the distance to the lands of the new barrel for three different bullets. 70gr Berger VLDs, 75gr A-Max and 55gr V-Max. The throat on this barrel is a LOT shorter than the factory barrel was. I could actually load these touching the lands if I wanted to.

I chose to stay a few thousands off for the first go around. When I got to the range a friend was already there with a chronograph set up so we put my handloads through it. The 75gr A-max over 23 gr of H335 gave a four shot 1/2 inch group at 100 yards. The fifth round in that bunch clocked at 2801 fps which was 68 fps slower than the rest. It was 1/2 inch away from the group and opened the 5 shots to 1 inch.

I got similar results with a Varget load. The spread in velocity was evident in the group. It was still 1 inch but now I'm looking to pay closer attention to my powder charges. I'm going to invest in a powder trickler and set my beam scale up so that it is at eye level and easier to see. I think if I can get my velocity spread down to less than 10fps that my groups will get smaller.

Now I'm going to pay attention to seating depth to the lands, accurate powder charges and then play with neck crimp. There are ragged holes in my future.

I think I'm going to like this McGowan barrel.