I found out while buying an EGW Picitinny rail for my old Savage .308, that there were actually three sizes of actions made-small, medium and large. This rifle appears to have been made in 82 and is in fact a medium action. The mag box measures 3.35 inches inside. Does anybody know how many of these medium actions were made? This is a left-hand 110 CL and I am really thinking about a .260 re-barrel at some point, due to the long mag well.
There is no "medium" action per se, but Savage has changed the action screw spacing several times. Short actions form 88-97 were build in long actions. IF yours was built in 82 then it is likely a gen one short action.
Savage Long Actions
Same bolt spacing since the beginning in 1958 = 5.062”
Savage Short Actions
1st. Gen Short Actions = 4.522" (1959 to 1987, staggered feed magazine)
From 1988-1997 there were no short actions, they chambered short action calibers in long actions.
2nd Gen Short Actions = 4.275" (1998 to 2007, staggered feed magazine)
3rd Gen Short Actions = 4.400" (2005 and up, center-feed magazine, not in photo)
Originally Posted by Blckwlf
There is no "missing" generation. Those made between 1988 and 97 are definitively long-actions because that's what the screw spacing is.
No need to make the already confusing mess of Savage actions any more confusing than it is.
"Life' is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid." ~ John Wayne
“Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” —Mark Twain
Doesn't seem confusing to me, seems explain the timeline gap adequately. But to each their own.
There's a gap because no short-actions were made during that time. That's the only explanation that's needed. Just because a rifle was built to use a short-action cartridge does not make it a short-action rifle. If I pull the .30-06 barrel off my 111 and screw on a .223 barrel it doesn't magically become a short-action rifle.
"Life' is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid." ~ John Wayne
“Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” —Mark Twain
Even though they used long-actions, if they were made for sa cartridges, you cannot make it use la-correct? That was a confusing time and they must have been trying to cut corners and just cut one size of action. It seems kind of crazy to me, to make long actions and then tailor them, so that only sa cartridges will fit.
Yeah, I think we are on both saying the same thing, we are just interpreting the same thing in a different way.
EGW measures the different actions from the two center rail screws. Here are their measurements: short-3.93, medium-4.09, and long-4.63 inches. No doubt that the "medium", is just another version of a short action, but it is a far more useful action, than the standard short. My rifle is an "E" prefix and the numbers say 82. I was just curious how unusual this action is. I am pleased that I ended up with this length of action.
What you have is a 1st Gen short-action. These are approximately 0.540" shorter than a long action. The 2nd Gen short-actions are approximately 0.850" shorter than a long action, or 0.310" shorter than a 1st Gen short-action.
"Life' is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid." ~ John Wayne
“Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” —Mark Twain
Many applications do not care, unless you try to put a one-piece mount on them. Luckily, I talked to EGW, before ordering and got the explanation. I would have ordered a standard short and been pissed when I received it. Interesting. Thanks for the info. One can never quit finding new information.
Hi Sharpshooter. My .223 Rem. Model 110FP, serial # F1033xx (1991 manufacture according to the forum sticky) was built on the standard sized universal length action of that era, before Savage later introduced the short action length Model 10FP. It has the heavy target contour 24 inch barrel, factory early flimsy Choate tupperware stock that I have stiffened, pillar bedded, and free floated; with the factory stagger feed blind internal magazine, with a rear spacer for the mag follower. I want to make sure I am understanding you correctly. Even though the receiver ring spacing will accommodate standard length cartridges, the bottom cutout for the stagger feed blind magazine is sized only for short action length cartridges? That would force me to only use the rifle as a single shot if I wanted to fire standard length calibers, correct? If I wanted to fire standard short action length calibers (.308 family for example), could I do so by replacing the magazine box and the appropriate length follower (no spacer)? Or is the magazine cutout in the receiver also too narrow for any cartridges other than the .223 family? I think this series of rifles was one of Savage's earliest attempts at a police marksman or tactical type setup and I believe they also offered it in standard length calibers back then, like .30-06. When the newer manufactured dedicated short action Model 10FP rifles were introduced they were offered in .223 and .308. Thanks for your information and helping clear this up for me.
Yes, the magazine port will only accept short action magazines. All of the short magazines are the same length, only the .223 has an internal spacer to take up space because it is shorter than a .308 length case. You could change out the magazine to a standard .308 family magazine, but right now the hard part is finding those parts.
"As long as there's lead in the air....there's still hope.."
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