One of the unique benefits of the Savage 110 design (and the Axis as well) is the use of a barrel nut to set the headspace which makes it quite easy for the average person to change out their barrels. In more recent years other manufacturers have started using the barrel nut system on some of their rifles (Mossberg, Marlin and Remington to name a few), aftermarket options have become widely available to utilize a nut on other rifles like the Remington 700 and Tikka T3, and several custom actions are now being offered with threads to accept Savage pre-fit barrels and a nut as well.
The process of swapping out a barrel is fairly simple and has been outlined on this and other sites numerous times so I won't go into that here in this article. There are however a few specialty tools needed to successfully do the job. Those tools include a barrel nut wrench, a set of Go/No-Go gauges, and an action wrench or barrel vise. There's some debate as to whether an action wrench or a barrel vise is the better option, but both options work perfectly well when used properly so you can decide for yourself which you prefer - or when in doubt, get both.
To date I have been using the Ken Farrell Barrel Vise for a little over two years and I have been extremely happy with it. Yes there are cheaper options out there on the market, and I have tried some of them in the past, but I find that the Ken Farrell vise does a much better job of holding the barrel secure - especially when removing factory installed barrels/nuts where the threads are full of residue from the tumbling and bluing processes.
Factory sporter barrels can usually be removed with the standard blocks, but you may find it beneficial to add a piece of leather or thin hard rubber between the jaws and barrel to account for the taper in the barrel. It's best to "choke up" on the barrel and clamp it as close to the nut as possible as shown the photos below. I typically leave about 1/2" of barrel between the nut and the vise to allow room to slip the wrench off the nut for repositioning.
When removing or installing a heavier contour barrel the use of the leather or rubber is not required. However, I will usually wrap the barrel with a layer or two of masking tape to protect the finish - especially on blued or parkerized barrels. Stainless barrels I don't bother with as any minor scuffing caused by the v-blocks are are easily removed with 0000 steel wool.
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