Series J

[banjosboy]

Have a close friend with a Savage 110B- Series J. What does the "J" designate?

[bootsmcguire]

You will hear the term J series used often describing actions, The long action rifles with barrels marked J Series are just standard 110 or 112 Long actions with Staggerfeed magazines. The Short actions with barrels marked J series may be equipped with the "Intermediate" Short action which has a screw spacing of 4.52". Savage's next version was their first true short action which has a screw spacing of 4.27" and were equipped with SF magazines, and then the next were the 4.40" spaced actions equipped with Centerfeed magazines.

So the best way to tell your action is to measure the screws, center to center, but if you see someone referring to a "J Series" action they are talking about the 4.52" spaced Intermediate Action.

Also FYI all long actions have a 5.062" spacing and can have either a SF or CF magazine. The mag cut-out in the bottom of the actions are different for each mag style.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

The "J" is an inbetweener. Those came out when Savage was trying to standardize their short and long actions. 10,12,16,110,112 and 116.
Like boots mentuioned, different action screw spacing. One piece scope mounts are few and far between unless you go to a rail mount. Same with different style stocks. A short action stock can be modified by moving the front mounting screw hole (in the stock) forward about 1/4".
Bolt body length is a "one of a kind". Bolt head and handle are the same as any of the 10,12,16 or long actions.
My first Savage is a 110V that started life in .223. Been about 5 or 6 different calibers since then. From .221 Fireball to 6.8 SPC. Couple of different stock changes also.
A one piece scope with rear windage adjustment was not available (after a long search) so I had a smith that I knew build me one out of a couple of new mounts. Cut, weld, polish and it couldn't have turned out any better. Got it just the way I wanted it!

[sharpshooter]

Now that you guys have muddied the waters, it's time for a clarification.

Have a close friend with a Savage 110B- Series J. What does the "J" designate?

The "J" designation only distinguished that it was "new version" of the 110 after major improvements were made in 1966.
It has nothing to do with action length. The first 110 "short action" was made in 1960,with a screw spacing of 4.522". When the improvements were made, the Series "J" applied to both action lengths. Savage produced the 110 and 112 short actions up until 1985.
The Series"J" roll stamp disappeared sometime in 1988-89.
For some reason these first generation short actions are erroneously labeled as "J" series short actions, but the proper terminology is 110 or 112 short action.
It wasn't until 1997 that the current version short actions came out with a model designation of 10,12,14 and 16.