Ditch the barrel nut?

[Nor Cal Mikie]

"So $550 DIY vs $650 smith". You forgot the cost of the action wrench. Another $100.00? If you do the barrel swap thing enough, you may choose NOT to use the action wrench. Depends on how confident you are at what you're doing.
Then, there's the wait time involved with your smith. Doesn't feel like working that day? Things arn't going as smooth as he would like? If you're doing a FTF transaction, you're OK. If you ever ship anything to get worked on, you better hope it gets there. Lots of stories about lost gear or empty boxes showing or damaged goods.
I'am lucky enough to have found a good man to do my chambering work. I've lost count on how many barrels he's chambered for me.
I send him MY blank and MY custom cut reamer, he'll chamber the barrel and have it back to me in about a week or so, unless it hunting season, then it takes a bit longer.
And when you finally get done spending all your hard earned $$, you've still got BIG $$ invested in a Savage. And you better hope it shoots as good as you hoped for.
One thing to remember, you're only going around one time (unless you're Shirley MacLane) and you can't take those $$ with you unless you change them into Travelers Checks. Spend those $$ and enjoy the ride.

[freediver111]

"So $550 DIY vs $650 smith". You forgot the cost of the action wrench. Another $100.00? If you do the barrel swap thing enough, you may choose NOT to use the action wrench. Depends on how confident you are at what you're doing.
Then, there's the wait time involved with your smith. Doesn't feel like working that day? Things arn't going as smooth as he would like? If you're doing a FTF transaction, you're OK. If you ever ship anything to get worked on, you better hope it gets there. Lots of stories about lost gear or empty boxes showing or damaged goods.
I'am lucky enough to have found a good man to do my chambering work. I've lost count on how many barrels he's chambered for me.
I send him MY blank and MY custom cut reamer, he'll chamber the barrel and have it back to me in about a week or so, unless it hunting season, then it takes a bit longer.
And when you finally get done spending all your hard earned $$, you've still got BIG $$ invested in a Savage. And you better hope it shoots as good as you hoped for.
One thing to remember, you're only going around one time (unless you're Shirley MacLane) and you can't take those $$ with you unless you change them into Travelers Checks. Spend those $$ and enjoy the ride.

I think you touched on my biggest concern. Is it smart to dump a bunch of money on a Savage action?
Well, I think why not? Remington blueprinted actions aren’t exactly cheap, and I’m not very impressed with Remington’s overall.
Custom actions cost upwards of $1,000 so pass on that.

My only other option that I considered was buying a Tikka CTR 24” barrel rifle. Cost is $1100. Now you get a nice action, possibly good barrel, and cheap stock.

With the Savage, I happened to have found an XLR Element for Savage in like new shape for a good price. That ultimately swayed my decision. I wanted a chassis down the road, so I decided to go for it.

While the Savage actions aren’t as amazing as some, I don’t mind them one bit. I’ve been very happy with mine, and would even say that when I shoot my Winchester M70 I’m not overwhelmed compared to my Savage. But I’m not overly picky when it comes to actions. It shoots, it extracts, and I like the accutrigger.

In the end, I also like the option that I CAN do the barre work down the road if I choose. Nice option to have. Some guys spend over $1,000 on a Ruger PR. When I’m done it will be a little over $1G, but I’m my opinion I’ll have a nicer gun.

Tough choice though. Some good options out there, but I wanted to stay in the $1200 range. So when I’m done I’ll have a cerakoted action, nice barrel, chassis, and a gun that can ultimately be worked on as a DIY project if I choose.

Not too shabby in my book.


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[LoneWolf]

Freediver, What are you using this rifle for? Savage rifles are great entry level rifles. The Savage actions biggest draw back on a competitive level is reliability. Let me know what you intend to do or goals you have and I can provide a ton of advice from direct personal experience with the endeavor of going from running built up savages to a custom action.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

Bottom line? If you prefer/like the Savage action to build on, it's your choice. Nothing like taking a low class Savage and coming out on top when it comes to competition. That's like taking a rear grip SP and beating the long range rifle guys at their own game.
My guess? This won't be your last and only Savage build. Go for it and keep us posted.

[LoneWolf]

Bottom line? If you prefer/like the Savage action to build on, it's your choice. Nothing like taking a low class Savage and coming out on top when it comes to competition. That's like taking a rear grip SP and beating the long range rifle guys at their own game.
My guess? This won't be your last and only Savage build. Go for it and keep us posted.

This was my train of thought until I was trying to fix crap with my Savage after every match because of feeding/ejection issues... Yes some people "never" have an issue, but those people to shoot nearly as many rounds or beat their gear up nearly as bad. I've seen everything go down in matches. Savages are the most common factor due to design, but they fill their intended bill very well for the average guy just starting out!

[tobnpr]

A lot more to accuracy than the action.
Plain old Stevens 200 actions, but set up uniquely for competition...sometimes it pays to think outside the box:

http://www.accurateshooter.com/guns-of-week/gunweek075/

[freediver111]

Freediver, What are you using this rifle for? Savage rifles are great entry level rifles. The Savage actions biggest draw back on a competitive level is reliability. Let me know what you intend to do or goals you have and I can provide a ton of advice from direct personal experience with the endeavor of going from running built up savages to a custom action.

I do zero competitions. No PRS or anything that involves high rounds in short order. Purely long range practice at our local range with my buddies and hunting. That’s it.

I have about 300 rounds on this gun and no feeding or extraction issues. But I don’t run it like some of you do in competitions. Just a fair amount of range time to get good at long range, and hunting.


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[LoneWolf]

Then I would stick with the savage until you feel it doesn't meet your needs. Plenty accurate enough and if it does break it's not hard to find the parts. Great platform to learn on and work on as well. I would go barrel nut and shop for a quality prefit. I've had no issue shooting off the shelf barrels. Get a Wheeler action wrench and a savage nut wrench. Gauges should only cost about $60. You only need a go and no-go gauge. You do not need the field gauge. I like Forster gauges, but also use PTG depending on my timeline and availability. I also use a breaker bar, torque wrench, and bench mounted vice for my set up, but that's not all necessary as has been mentioned. Swapping barrels is not difficult at all! Plenty of demonstrations available on YouTube etc. and if you can't find one let me know and I'll send you something to get you going.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

If you only plan on using "factory loaded ammo", the gauges will do the job at setting head space. Not one of my Savage rigs will load factory loaded ammo. The bolt won't close. Head space is just too snug, BUT, my brass doesn't get moved that much when resizing and lasts a loooong time.
I have some BR brass with 25 to 30 + resizes on them and they're still going strong. No split necks and primer pockets still snug. I also don't run hot loads and THAT makes a big difference.

[gbflyer]

$650 Benchmark barrel on a Savage? Please send us some pictures of targets when you get it together.

[OLEJOE]

I love my Savages. I’m a tinkerer. I like the ability of the Savage and the nut to be able to put any barrel of any one of a vast number of chamberings and be able to do it with a few hand tools. The nut makes this possible. All of this works great for someone who likes to tinker. As has been said before you just about have to be to keep one up and running. If I was going to do away with the nut I would use a different action. I prefer the Howa action over the Savage for reliability and strength and smoothness. The comparable price doesn’t hurt either.

[psharon97]

Like LoneWolf said, Savage actions have their place. For most applications, the Savage action is just fine. I was surprised at one of the club bench rest matches, how many people use a Savage action for competition. Savage actions are great to get started on, and easy enough to work on.

That being said, for PRS competitions, the Savage action is not going to cut it. I've tried it, even a T&T action, and the field conditions proved too much for the action.

I've personally noticed no discernible difference in the accuracy or the precision of a rifle with a shouldered barrel or a nutted barrel. Simply put, they are two ways of attaching a barrel on an action. I prefer a barrel nut system, as I prefer to swap barrels and not have to send the action out to a smith.