Nub,

If sharp shooter is giving you his advice, just take it as biblical... He is the best source for info and working on Savage rifles... I suggest just going down to your local Home Depot or Lowe's and just find yourself a 3/8" steel spacer that is .5" long and another that is 1" long.

That's what I used for my pillars in my Boyd's Pro Varmint. the only thing I had to do was ruff up the outside of the spacer on both, and I had to cut off a tad bit of length from the 1" spacer (for the rear pillar).

You may have to "notch" your rear pillar too, but don't do that until after the pillar has set fully. If you do it before, the pillar gets turned.