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I've been interested in the Savage switch barrel concept for years and have a few questions before taking the plunge.
1. Is any accuracy lost between barrel switches? I understand that a scope may have to be removed and sighting in redon.
2. Is there any way to switch barrels without removing the scope or scope bases?
3. What are the best tools for switching barrels?
I may have more but that's it for now.
Thanks!
No, yes, search the forum, there was a huge discussion on barrel vice vs. action wrench.
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To remove barrel without removing scope base, you need to make sure the base screws don't thread through the action and bottom out on the barrel.
You will need a rear entry action wrench and a nut wrench if you are going to Loctite the barrel nuts on to the barrel so you don't have to re head space.
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I agree with HereInAZ, But here is a bit more detail on your accuracy Q.
What is your baseline? If you are a world-class shooter, you can notice a difference, but probably also not wrenching on a Savage yourself...
Any time things change, they change. Will you get the headspace exactly the same, will you account for throat erosion, will you actually ever change barrels? All very minor changes, but a change in any case. If you are the type who loads 300 cartridges, and takes 5 years to shoot them all, with some barrel swaps in between; the powder dessication will cause more issues than anything else.
Ok, I understand the accuracy issue. There seems to be a lot of difference of opinion about the action wrench vs barrel vise. For starters i'll get the action wrench and barrel nut wrench from NSS.
4. Is there any advantage to the 11" wrench vs the stubby one?
5. Should i get the headspace gauges? "Go" or "No Go" or both?
The long one has always worked well for me. I see no need for the stubby.
Headspace gauges are good, particularly if this is your first time and you don't reload. Go gage is good enough. Close the bolt on it, twist the barrel till it's tight and back off a tiny bit so the action opens without resistance off it. Tighten the nut. Remove the GO gage, add a piece of tape to the back end, trim it good all around (this is now a No-Go gage) and try to close the bolt on it. Should only close about 1/2 way or less.
After a barrel is removed for the first time, I have no need for an action wrench OR a barrel vice. Nut wrench is all I use. Slide the wrench on the barrel, chuck the barrel in padded vice jaws, smack the wrench with a steel hammer and the nut comes loose. Reverse the procedure, being sure to set the headspace and you're good to go. No issue with scope mount screws but it's a good idea to check before you start smacking. Torque settings on the barrel nut? I don't bother. Smack the wrench with a steel hammer and be done with it. NEVER had one come loose in over 20 years of swapping barrels. But, I do mark my barrels and action, just in case. Tape on the barrel with a black mark that matches the black mark on the front of the action.
And I might add, all of my Savage rigs are switch barrel rigs. Not one has the same barrel it came with. And most have been switched NUMEROUS times. Everything from 17 VHA up to 6.8 SPC and a bunch in between.
17 VHA, 20 VT, 20 VT "short" Wildcat, .221 Fireball, .223, 308, 22 BR, 6 BR, 6.8 SPC, 6.8 BR Wildcat and the latest venture, 20 TCM Wildcat.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
As far as accuracy goes, I just shot one of the sweetest groups ever with my 7.5 Swiss build.
I am trying to match chambers with a K-31 (Swiss Army rifle)
I was a tad short on the 7.5 LW (Lothar Walther Barrel Savage) so I took it out of the stock, took the scope off, took the base off, loosened the nut moved it out a tad, put it all back together .
I then got something like a .210 MOA group (the sweet part is it had a slight clover shape with 3 and two went right into the middle of the clover)
Not quite bench rest accuracy (competition) but more than good enough for me and if I could shoot that good consistently I could win local matches.
I have shot some like groups though not quite as aesthetically pleasing as the last one with a X Caliber barrel and a Shilen barrel.
IMHO every barrel shoots to a different POI, so you will have to sight in each barrel after a change. I always remove the scope. Beating on a action wrench with a $1000 scope a few inches away, is not a good idea. If you dedicate a scope to each barrel and can slide the rings and scope off and on the bases. After the barrel is put back on, the dedicated scope will go back on and be very close.
Bill
So, you've got a scope that costs maybe 2 to 3 times what the rifle costs?? We're still talking Savage arn't we? That's OK till you watch your rifle get smacked on a rock or hit the ground as it rolls off the bench. Barrel nut wrench is 6" to 8" away from the scope and you smack it accordingly.
no need for the nut wrench. use a rear entry action wrench and a barrel vice. no need to remove the scope. in fact if you inlet the stock to clear.the nut you can switch barrels without even removing the action from the stock
if when you have your headspace correct you put some.index lines on the barrel, nut and action and glue the barrel nut to the barrel with locktite you won't even have to headspace with a barrel switch. just screw the.barrel on till the index lines line up. barrel doesn't need to be heavily torqued. in fact many switchbarrel shooters just screw them on hand tight.
Thanks for all the great responses. I'm really getting a good understanding of how the whole system works.
Mikie, Mikie, Mikie........ literary license and Murphy's Law....... chill out.
Just for some more data.
I got the Shilen 30-06 down to the 300 yard range. I had 4 x 5 shot groups that were 1/2 MOA. Two other groups had 4 shots and a flyer.
Not bad.
I duplicated the 110 yard results with a .250 MOA group with the 7.5 Swiss.
I am not going up against Dale T any time soon but the Savage build is certainly competitive.