Savage SA Custom Lightweight Rifle Project - Update

[jpdown]

I've been trying for to build a light weight Savage hunting rifle with wood stock for several years. I thought I'd share some of my findings. Finished weight of stock, SA, and barrel (20" .308 Savage Sporter) is 7 lbs, 2 oz. Since the scope, rings and lens caps weigh right at 16 oz, that means the rifle weight is 6 lbs, 2 oz. (first picture). In the second picture I show some recent updates. I changed out the ebony tip to give some more length and balance to the rifles appearance. I changed to a Shaw 22" SS .260 barrel barrel and added a better recoil pad. Finished rifle weight is now 7.5 lbs. The Savage 14 walnut stock in the background is another attempt at a lightweight stock. It weights 8 lbs using the same action barrel and scope, or 8 oz more than the laminated version.

I've tried the Remington Model 7's. They weighted about 7 lbs with the Leupold VX-3 2.5-8 x 36 pictured. I loved the light weight and handling, but never could get them to shoot like I wanted. Most attempts at a traditional wood stock Savage have come in around 8 lbs with scope, give or take.

I started with an unfinished Boyd's LTH that weighed 2 lbs, 13 oz. I removed over a pound of wood from the stock. I added a ebony wood grip cap and tip to dress it up a bit. I converted the hole spacing from a stagger feed to a center feed, added pillars and bedded the action. I was able to get the finished weight of the stock down to 29 oz. The barrel in the first picture is a Savage factory .308 22" sporter cut to 20" and recrowned. The 2" cut reduced the barrel weight by almost 4 oz. I used Talley LW scope mounts. I'll need to replace them with the low height rings to get the proper sight picture for quick shots with this set up.
I got to shoot it a few times this evening before it started raining. I'm going to need to remove the hard rubber recoil pad and replace it with something a little more comfortable. Otherwise, I've finally got an easy to handle, light weight hunting rifle that shoots sub MOA groups like it should.


[img width=600 height=450]http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii276/jpdown/PICT0005.jpg[/img]

[img width=600 height=450]http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii276/jpdown/PICT0018.jpg[/img]

[rsbhunter]

This looks good, i have thought about doing the same thing, but keeping a full size stock. Did you hollow out the fore end at all? Iv'e thought about going as far as hollowing out the pistol grip....Now, this won't be on a 460 Wby. Mag or any heavy caliber/dangerous game rifle......but a 6-6.5 caliber deer / pronghorn rifle. I have rifles i use for hunting that have telephone poles for barrels, and weigh in at 11-13 lbs.....but the mountains get steeper every year after 55!!!! Thanks for the write up and pics....rsbhunter

[jpdown]

Actually, the two Boyd's stock I've purchased lately already had the forend hollowed out. So cutting off the forend on the pictured stock only reduced the weight by 6 oz. Most of the weight reduction comes from either hollowing out, or removing wood from the buttstock.

The stock I modified first was a JRS Classic in walnut. The start weight of that stock was 2 lbs, 12 oz I shortened the forend by about 5" and added back 2" with a ebony wood tip. Final stock length was the same as a Remington Model 7 stock. I hollowed out the buttstock with a wood bit. I've found with these light weight stocks, a good recoil pad is needed for comfort and control, especially with anything in .308 or larger. So, I changed out the 1/2" hard rubber pad to a 1" Kick-Eez recoil pad. That added about 3 oz to the weight of the recoil pad. The finished weight of the modified JRS walnut stock was 2 lbs, 3 oz. I sold it recently in the classifieds because I wanted a checkered stock.

So next, I got a discontinued Savage 14 classic compact stock from Numeric. I hollowed out the buttstock, added a 1" Kick Eez recoil pad and made a ebony wood insert for the DBM cutout converting it to a blind magazine box. The Savage metal DBM/HFP assembly adds 9 oz of weight verses going with a blind magazine box. I heard they use a plastic DBM assembly on the new Savage LWH to address this issue. Final rifle weight was 8 lbs using the same action, 20" barrel and scope picture.

Hopefully my experiences will serve as a shortcut for others seeking a LW wood stocked rifle.

[rsbhunter]

I definitely want to cut out the stock area, but save alittle more of the cheek piece / rollover , but that looks awesome...rsbhunter

[jpdown]

Yea, if I had to do over, I would have left a little more of the rollover for a more comfortable cheek weld.

[sha-ul]

pretty cool effect ;D

Do you think it will hold up OK to recoil, a couple spots look awfully thin. :-\

[jpdown]

The top rear corner is the only spot I'm concerned about. But I believe the way the laminate runs, it is a lot stronger than it looks. Most likely would crack at that point if it was walnut.