Can a Chicopee Falls 110L Get a new barrel?

[mikebritton]

Mike Britton here,
I posted an introduction just a few minutes ago.
I have a really nice, very early Chicopee Falls 110L, serial #209XX in .30-06 that I would like to re-barrel in 6mm Remington.
I am hoping to re-barrel in 6mm Rem with a varmint weight barrel. Shaw's barrel is .700 at the muzzle and my factory barrel is .670 at the muzzle, so I'm good there
Action length is okay, the bolt face is fine, the 6X57 cartridge face and the .30-06 cartridge face are nearly identical.

But as I am doing research I am finding comments about how early 110 actions are difficult and expensive to re-barrel.
As I peruse the different barrel suppliers, none of them make comments about early 110 actions. Are there so few left that no one is working on them? Or, is the only issue making sure I have the right size bolt face? Changing from .30-06 to 6mm should be a no brainer.
And, I think this leftie 110 would make a sweet varmint weight 6mm rifle that I might actually shoot as opposed to the .30-06 that waters my eyes every time I pull the trigger. LOL Which, by the way, feels like about 3 pounds with no creep or grit, as opposed to the reports I hear from other Savage owners.

Looking forward to this forum, Thanks for your time. Mike

[Whynot]

Someone on here has a thread going about their Chicopee Falls rifle- more specifically the trigger- but they found someone to do the barrel for the same price. I went the other route and purchased a new bolt and now run the regular savage barrels. It is all possible- just do a little research- and remember that trigger and bolt parts can be hard to find.

The big difference on the guns is the bolt.... they have different bolt setups and those in turn need to have the barrel chambered and recessed differently. But the bolts are interchangeable in the actions BUT not interchangeable with the barrels. They also have a different extraction and ejection setup.

In a Rem 700 I went from 30-06 to 6mm Rem and it works great. With it being a long action you will have lots of room and that makes a big difference on the 6rem. I am just over 3.000 OAL but mine is longer range target rifle and shooting the heavies. Make sure that you get the right twist for what you want to shoot.

[J.Baker]

The early 110's (1958-1965/6) used a totally different bolt design than the 1966-current design. As such, none of the pre-fit barrels on the market will work on that rifle without replacing the entire bolt assembly with a newer style assembly. The early bolt heads had a protruding shroud that required a matching cut into the breech of the barrel to accept it. Additionally, the cross pin that retains the bolt head and front baffle to the bolt body was rotated 90 degrees to prevent the older design parts from being able to be used with newer design parts. By the time you buy a complete bolt assembly and the new barrel you'll have far more into it than the rifle will be worth.


Left pic - old on right, newer on left
Right pic - old on top, newer on bottom

If you have a competent gunsmith near you who can finish out barrels (chamber, thread, contour, crown, etc), he should have no problem mating a blank up to your action and current old-style bolt for you - but you'll probably have to pay him $250-350 in labor at minimum for his efforts.

That all said, I would recommend finding a different donor rifle to build on simply because of how collector interest in the early 110's has risen in recent years. If you start swapping things out it's going to devalue the rifle and kill any potential interest from collectors in the future. For what you'd pay a gunsmith to finish out the blank you can usually pick up complete action here in our classifieds from someone parting out a newer rifle that would readily accept a pre-fit barrel.

[J.Baker]

Almost forgot, the grooves in the barrel nut on your rifle are likely different than the current style. The older wrenches from SSS would work on both, but not sure if their current wrench still does since demand for one to fit the early nuts is all but non-existent.

[mikebritton]

WOW! Thanks, guys! I got all excited at the prospect of a nice leftie 6mm varmint/target gun. Oh well........

[Whynot]

Just went and looked and the other thread said that it was McGowan Barrels that told him they would make him a Pre-66 barrel for no additional cost- He just needed to send in the old barrel and they would match it up.

[mikebritton]

WOW! I'll E-mail McGowan! I was going to have whomever do the install anyway, so I will surely look into that.
I still think this 110 would make a really nice varminter. It is in a custom stock, nice cut checkering, shnable (sp?) forend.
I have read where people don't like the trigger on these early actions, but mine is fine. I don't have a gauge,but it is crisp with no creep.
Too bad I cannot post a picture, it is a pretty rifle.
Thanks for the headsup, Whynot!

[PhilC]

Mine, quite a bit earlier than yours, has a nice, crisp 3lb trigger. Since the original stock has been replaced, and collectors would want unaltered rifles, I say make it what you want and enjoy!

Search for member "newtosavage" posts here, believe McGowan made the barrel for his early 110. ;-)

[mikebritton]

I don't have a trigger scale, but I like the trigger. Not too heavy, just a bit of take up. No creep.
I went looking for trigger advice today, but I think I'll leave well enough alone. I do believe I will clean whatever crud I find in it.
I'm excited about the possibility of building this rifle. I believe it will make an elegant varmint/target rifle worthy of the money spent on it.

[mikebritton]

If I can afford to replace this 1958? original .30-06 barrel with the rear sight lug on it, should I ask McGowan for the original barrel back?
Will it have any appeal to the collectors?
It is a 22" factory 110 .30-06 barrel about .670 or so at the muzzle, with the lug for the rear sight, but no dovetail in the rear or the front. Blue condition is about 80%, bore is sharp and shiny.
I don't have any attachment to it, and it would be easiest to just let McGowen deal with it. But I got to thinking, maybe someone would want it.

[yobuck]

I had one of the early ones in a lefty 06.
Mine had a pretty stock with a palm swell on the grip with rosewood cap and a rosewood pc on the forend.
Skip line checkering also.
From across the room it could almost pass for a mark five Wetherby.

[mikebritton]

This one is an aftermarket stock, high end, nice wood. Expertly inletted, I almost hate to bed it, but bedding will no doubt make the rifle shoot better, and make it stronger. Plus there is a hairline crack that goes down diagonally from the bolt groove for about 2", and bedding will deal with that.
I wish I knew whose stock it is, it has a very European feel to it. Very slender, no Monte Carlo, but a nice cheekpiece. Slender forearm ends in a very European shnable. 20 lines cut checkering, the stock feels as old as the 50's action!
You can see the chisel marks in the barrel channel.
I fitted the iconic Savage black plastic bolt groove liner to it this morning. Whew!!