My .260 lwh has landed

[bluealtered]

Well the wait is over, our store got in two .260 lwh's last night and i got my pick of them. After seeing a stock on gb that didn't look so good i was kinda worried. The first one i opened had a good looking stock to it, in fact the rifle just flat looked good all together.

The second one i opened was even better, the rifle looked great and the stock was just beautiful, even had a little bit of burl to it. Needless to say i took the second one and after thinking about it for a moment i realized that i didn't own a wooden stock rifle at all, they just aren't practical in this area. But i own one now, and boy am i gonna cry when i scratch it for the first time.

Ok, to what we have been waiting for, ... it weighs 5lbs 11.6ozs that is without a scope base, just as shown on the savage web site. Yep it's a little over 3ozs more than listed, however it is still about 3/4 of a pound lighter than the standard model 11. I can live with it and i'm a very picky guy. I only see two things wrong with the rifle.

1-now i have to do the factory break in, unless the new owners lets me out of it.

2-it's just to da*n pretty to take out and scratch up. So if any of you are looking for a lightweight rifle this will fill the bill, and i guess i better find a hanky before i start hunting with it. blue

[ellobo]

I know what you mean about those nice new shiney stocks with a plastic like varnish on them. One scratch and they look like hell. The only one I have like that I stripped it, sanded it smooth, added a little of water based stain to restore color and then gave it a heavy dose of oil finish, many coats. then gave it a good coat of wax. Scratches are easlily fixed and dont show much. A little xxxx steel wool and reoil and you may never know the scratch was there.

El Lobo

[jpdown]

+1 on stripping off that factory finish and revealing the natural wood. I refinish with Tru-Oil Gunstock finish. After hunting season, it's easy to restore it to look like new.

[FW Conch]

How about getting a "beater" stock to hunt with ?

[bluealtered]

I picked up a can of krylon matte finish clear thinking i would spray down the inside and outside of the stock to weather proof it, haven't done it yet still kinda thinking about the options.
As for a beater plastic stock, that would be my first choice if i can find one that doesn't weigh any more than this one. This model has the trigger guard bolt release so i'm not sure of that yet either, maybe someone who is more up on the stocks will post which one i would need.

It sure is a good looking rifle and if i get time i'll start the break in this morning. blue

[jpdown]

There are currently no composite aftermarket stocks available for the LWH. I was able to do a side-by-side eyeball comparison the other day between the current Savage SA and the Savage LWH. You can probably bolt the skeletonized LWH action into standard Savage stock. But, it looks like you are going to have some large gaps along the sides of the action and barrel channel. The LWH 20" barrel is definitely a featherweight or #1 contour. The LWH has a CF DBM with a plastic tab release and the bolt release in the trigger. The standard bottom metal, frame and trigger guard are all molded plastic for weight savings. However, it looks like the dimensions are the same as the standard DBM assembly. So they may be interchangeable. Won't know until somebody has tried it.

I love wood stocked Savages. So I had a very strong urge to buy the LWH when I saw it in person. The only thing that saved me from shelling out the $696.00 was the gun shop did not have a .260 in stock. Instead, I came home and started working on my own version of a Savage LWH. Just finished her up a couple on nights ago. Final weight is 6 lbs, 6 oz as pictured. It has a 20" cut and re-crowned Savage sporter barrel in .308, metal trigger guard, blind magazine and modified Boyd's TH stock with .8" recoil pad. I added a ebony wood grip cap and tip for show. Switching to a 20", #1 countour barrel in .260 and plastic trigger guard would save another 5 to 6 oz. But we'll see how she shoots and recoils before I see if an aftermarket barrel is justified to save a few more ounces. Cost of materails for build was $525.00. Time and labor is a hobby for me.

[img width=600 height=450]http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii276/jpdown/PICT0022.jpg[/img]

[bluealtered]

Thats a good looking savage jp. I have to admit the wood stock is growing on me and i have to say the recoil is more noticeble but thats to be expected. Another thing i noticed is that this is the roughest working savage action i have owned, it should smooth out after i get some rounds through it. blue

[pdog06]

Blue,
All this hype and you havent posted pics of you smiling while holding the rifle...What gives??? :D :D

[jpdown]

That's a good looking savage jp. I have to admit the wood stock is growing on me and i have to say the recoil is more noticeable but that's to be expected. Another thing i noticed is that this is the roughest working savage action i have owned, it should smooth out after i get some rounds through it. blue

Thanks. Be glad you got a Savage LWH in .260 verses a .308 or larger. I found the bench recoil increase with a .308 barreled action was quite a bit more annoying verses a .260 barreled action in a LW rifle. The Savage LWH's I observed in person looked like they were wearing a Pachmayr Decelerator pad to help tame recoil. After one break-in session at the bench with my LW build, I took off the hard rubber pad with sharp edges, and installed a better pad.

[bluealtered]

pdog06, i haven't stopped smiling since i got it! Jp, the recoil may be somewhat from the fact i was shooting off the hood of my truck since our range was spoken for all last week, but i'll be there first thing in the morning to get some bench time with it.

Add to that, that the scope i was using went away in the first ten rounds and i hadn't taken a back up so the first time out just ended up with me putting rounds through it for break in. Everybody who has seen it can't believe how light it is, or how good looking as well.

I still have my fingers crossed on how well it will group being as light as it is but i should have a pretty good idea by the end of the week. I have always found it interesting that i buy a rifle for hunting and then want it to make bug holes as well. blue

[rsbhunter]

+1 on the pics, i am either selling one or more of my current rifles,to buy one, or building a lwh of my own......sure would like to see "real" pics of the rifle....rsbhunter