Savage sporter vs heavy/magnum sporter?

I'm getting ready to rebarrel my wife's backup rifle (Savage Lady hunter). Her primary rifle wears a heavy sporter barrel which is in a boyds stock. I do not want to take that rifle all apart to measure the difference in barrel thickness since the thing is screaming in the accuracy department and I do not want to mess that up (currently shoots bug holes at 100 yards). The lady hunter stock is a bit more slender than the standard savage stock so while I can remove some material from the fore end to allow free-floating, I do not want to be removing a ton as I want the stock to remain relatively strong. Does anyone have an idea how much thicker a heavy sporter barrel is compared to a regular savage sporter barrel at the nut and then say 6 inches down from the nut? If not too much difference, id prefer the heavy sporter as thicker barrels are always a better thing BUT not at the price of weakening the stock too much. Or maybe just play it safe and go with a regular sporter. This will not be a competition gun so while 5+ shot groups sub MOA are great, 3 shot groups would be just fine. Thanks!

Big E,

Here we are again... My vote would be a heavy sporter over the standard sporter barrel. I have an Axis that is chambered in 22-250. Despite the length differences of the Savage sporter barrels they all have the same taper I believe.... I swapped out my sporter barrel for a CBI heavy sporter and still had plenty of meat around the barrel channel after I hogged it out to accept the heavy sporter... The best I can do for you is this list, which should help you get a pretty good ballpark of what the tappers are going to be.
If you're still going 6.5 Creedmoor then I say you're going to want the heavy sporter over the sporter. Even in 22-250 I can see the difference in accuracy; just my .02 on that subject...

http://northlandshooterssupply.com/w...tour-Sheet.pdf


Sorry, that's all I can help with on this one at this time.

Every manufacturer of aftermarket barrels has their own "proprietary" contours- there is no industry standardization of dimensions of "heavy sporter", "light target" etc. and they're all named differently.
Take a look at each manufacturers website- Shilen, McGowen, Criterion, etc. They all list their profiles, and dimensions. Some barrels have a straight cylinder at the chamber (usually 3"-4") then a straight taper to the muzzle. Others taper the entire length. Still others have a cylinder, a step, and then a straight taper. Point being, they're all different but the info is there for you.

You don't need to remove the barreled action from the stock to eyeball the diameter holding a tape measure over your barrel, and find a standard contour that comes close for the length you're looking at. You can also interpolate the taper from the manuf. drawing to determine the barrel diameter at any point such as what it is at the forend of the stock.

Look at the "varmint barrel" on the Axis. Had three "custom heavy sporter" and they were all very similar to the Axis I spun on the .243. There's no worry, plenty of wood or plastic on the forearm. Removed very little forearm material, not noticeable. The Axis sporter and their "varmint barrel" are different dia. and it was nearly a drop in.

Few months ago Bartlein did a great job matching the contour of 116 stainless 22” regular sporter barrel. At their request I gave them the Savage take off barrel as a template as they said not too many people ask for 270 win, or with that spec. The Bartlein throat area is probably a little thicker. Darn close though. I wanted a hunting length maneuverable inside blinds. Bartlein also crowned, chambered, and head spaced. Maybe Bartlein can dig up the specs of my order for the standards sporter if that spec is of interest.

Per Appleseeds experience it sounds like a sporter barrel like the Bartlein will fit fine. My barreled action is still unmounted so available for measuring. I’m tung oiling the stock into March.