Just rebarreled my Svage, will it be on Zero?

I just changed out the factory Savage 308 barrel for a new McGowen prefit 24" 6.5 CM. Will my zero still be in the ballpark? Or do I need to get up close? My gun had the slick barrel nut and of course i broke the wheeler tool trying to get it off. I heated the nut and action with a torch until it bubbled and the slick wrench bolt finally broke. So i got my pipe wrench and it broke loose immediately. The kick tab did not have a divot to lock into the receiver either, but it did have a slew of Loctite on the barrel.

No it will not maintain zero because all barrels have some internal curvature so I would start at 50 yards. All barrels are different so it is impossible to know the degree of variation you will have from one barrel to the other.
When you were trying to remove the slick nut we're you reacting the torque against the barrel or the action?

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I had the barrel in a wheeler barrel vise. I think if i had torched it first it would have came off easier, very gritty under the nut from loctite.

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The barrel nut wrench you were using is compressing the nut against the barrel preventing it from rotating. Had you had the action fixed the barrel and the nut would have come loose much easier. That is also why the pipe wrench worked, the pipe wrench digs into the material of the nut rather than compressing it.
Pretty common mistake, best practise is to place the action in an action wrench and apply torque to the nut.

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I removed my savage barrel last Thursday. I used a pipe wrench on the silly smooth barrel nut with the action in the NSS action wrench. Easy peasy.

It could be but only way to find out is to find out.

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I heated the nut and action with a torch until it bubbled and the slick wrench bolt finally broke.

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Have you ever heard of annealing?

Well I got out yesterday and put 50 rds through my new 6.5 CM barrel, It was shooting 3.2 mils high at 100 yds and .4 mils right! A little rezeroing on the scope and i am good to go! Got some fireformed Lapau brass I will be loading soon for it.

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Originally Posted by Robinhood

Have you ever heard of annealing?

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Hopefully...

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Originally Posted by Kev1Doggy

I just changed out the factory Savage 308 barrel for a new McGowen prefit 24" 6.5 CM. Will my zero still be in the ballpark? Or do I need to get up close? My gun had the slick barrel nut and of course i broke the wheeler tool trying to get it off. I heated the nut and action with a torch until it bubbled and the slick wrench bolt finally broke. So i got my pipe wrench and it broke loose immediately. The kick tab did not have a divot to lock into the receiver either, but it did have a slew of Loctite on the barrel.

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Do you know who put "loctite" on the old barrel? Or did you have it off before? There is no need for any type of thread locker if the nut is torqued correctly.

Bought the gun new, was like that from Savage apparently. 10 FCP 308 24 in fluted and threaded barrel, accustock.

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Interesting, maybe something they've added because of the "smooth" nut! Maybe sharpshooter will chime in on this one, thread locker on a barrel or not makes no sense to me. Maybe a "filler" for loose threads...lol

The factory doesn't loctite anything on their guns. What you think is loctite is residual bluing salts, the grittyness is steel shot left under the nut when they shot blasted. If you would have used a good barrel nut wrench, it would have broke loose with a quick jerk.

It was a smooth nut. What is a "good" barrel nut wrench that make the smooth nut come off with a quick jerk? i used a pipe wrench with an 8" cheater.

sharpshootersupply.com

https://www.amazon.com/31015-Heavy-D...s%2C176&sr=8-2

Or this one that will arrive in a couple days. But it is a moot point now since the OP already used a pipe wrench and probably pitched the smooth nut where it belongs.

as i stated before the kick lug did not have a tab on it also, from the factory and had some junk on the inside of it that had to be cleaned out before it would slip on to the new barrel.