Savage/Stevens barrel swap advice

[j.primo]

Hey guys,

Just got a new .308 Varmint barrel for my Stevens 200 .308 sporter. So far I replaced the factory trigger with a rifle basix. My dilemma now is should I invest in tools i.e. barrel vise & action wrench (total $100+) to switch out my barrels myself? Or pay someone to do it for me. I've never removed a barrel from an action on a bolt rifle, but it looks pretty straight forward on the Savage/Stevens with the proper tools. I can probably get away with making my own barrel vise, but I think the action wrench will be necessary if the action and barrel are mated tight.

-I don't see myself in the future swapping out barrels frequently for the rifle

-My space is limited, so I don't want tools I'll use once.

Now if I can find a person/place who can swap my barrels out for a price less than the tools, then I want to go that route, if not, then I'll have to do it myself.

I haven't called any Gunsmiths yet, but I have 3 in mind I've been to before.

So is there any CGN'ers out there who has experience in Savage rifles? Perhaps someone with the tools and and know how to do a quick barrel swap for me at a reasonable price?

Any tips, advice, and/or leads would be greatly appreciated. I'm located in the SF bay area and will drive a reasonable distance.

Thanks

[Fjold]

Savageshooters.com

[j.primo]

Savageshooters.com

I'm part of that forum, a lot of great info, still trying to familiarize myself to their forum layout.

Anyone local, around here who can help a fellow CGN'er out?

[kcstott]

I'm part of that forum, a lot of great info, still trying to familiarize myself to their forum layout.

Anyone local, around here who can help a fellow CGN'er out?

Not in your neck of the woods But a good action wrench and a decent barrel vise is not cheep. let alone gages and reamer rental.
Don't let anyone tell you that because Savage uses a lock nut you don't need to ream. You may be able to not ream but I wouldn't count on it. How much case head is hanging out of the chamber?? If it's to much you'll have to ream to finish depth.
Then there's the issue of marring up the barrel and lock nut. It gets a little delicate. not to mention they also use some god awful thread locker that is just a bear to remove

[Rob454]

you don't need any of that high priced barrel vise and receiver vise crap. I made my own barrel vise out of some plywood pieces. A barrel nut wrench runs about 30$ and you can get a set of go no go guages for 40-60$. i went with the go no go but a buddy of mine uses a empty dummied out bullet and a piece of thin metal.

I can swap my barrel out in about 15 minutes and that includes removing the stock and scope. Even if you only use them once in a great while the cost of the materials is about as much as paying someone to do it for you the first time. You can buy the tools use them for your needs and then sell them at a minimal monetary loss. This way you pay almost nothing for the knowledge of swapping your own barrel. hell I thought it was gonna be hard so the first time I did it. After doing it myself I wanted to go punch the gunsmith in the face for overcharging me.

[kcstott]

i went with the go no go but a buddy of mine uses a empty dummied out bullet and a piece of thin metal.

Thats an accident waiting to happen. I know it was your buddy but gages are there for a reason. You did the right thing by buying the proper tools.

hell I thought it was gonna be hard so the first time I did it. After doing it myself I wanted to go punch the gunsmith in the face for overcharging me.

I'm not going to defend the Gunsmith as most are just hacks. But there is more to it then screwing it in and checking with a gage. the big issue is case head protrusion. Once that is verified to be good then yes it's simple.

[Rob454]

Thats an accident waiting to happen. I know it was your buddy but gages are there for a reason. You did the right thing by buying the proper tools.




I'm not going to defend the Gunsmith as most are just hacks. But there is more to it then screwing it in and checking with a gage. the big issue is case head protrusion. Once that is verified to be good then yes it's simple.

Meh i told him. Not his mother so I just told him its not right. Threw my go no go on there and ain't it a b***c it closed on the no go.

While I just followed the instructions that i got with the barrel ( and i am not defending the way i did it vs the way you say to do it) the barrel seems to be set correctly and works just fine the bolt does not close on the no go. maybe i got lucky but none of the barrels i swapped on the receiver seem to be in need of reaming but it doesnt mean its not needed

[kcstott]

Closing on a go gage and not on a no go is not the issue.

I need to ask though is this a factory barrel or aftermarket??

My concern is with a short chambered barrel the case head will stick out to far and everything will look fine but the case may protrude from the chamber so far that it is past the web. Once that happens the cases will ring for sure and possibly separate at the head.
You can check this with an empty case and a set of calipers, measure the depth of the case from the inside to the top of the case then measure the over all length outside and the difference is the case head thickness. Your case should not protrude from the chamber more then .050" more then your case head thickness. The closer you can get it the better as you will have the weakest part of the case fully inside the chamber where it belongs.
This will keep your cases in good condition.

[gunboat]

I suggest contacting kendog - he is reasonably local to you.

[j.primo]

I suggest contacting kendog - he is reasonably local to you.

Kendog was one of the 3 gunsmiths I mentioned. He threaded a rifle barrel for me a while back.

[Rob454]

Closing on a go gage and not on a no go is not the issue.

I need to ask though is this a factory barrel or aftermarket??

My concern is with a short chambered barrel the case head will stick out to far and everything will look fine but the case may protrude from the chamber so far that it is past the web. Once that happens the cases will ring for sure and possibly separate at the head.
You can check this with an empty case and a set of calipers, measure the depth of the case from the inside to the top of the case then measure the over all length outside and the difference is the case head thickness. Your case should not protrude from the chamber more then .050" more then your case head thickness. The closer you can get it the better as you will have the weakest part of the case fully inside the chamber where it belongs.
This will keep your cases in good condition.

Currently its a factory Savage barrel for my gun. My buddy was using a aftermarket barrel not sure of the brand. I have a ER shaw barrel also I was planning on swapping between the thin contour and the bull barrel. I made my own barrel holder for a vice and it works great. I could make one for the receiver also if its needed but i havent made one yet. i sent you a PM trying to figure out if the way i did it using the go no/go guage is right. The gun smith i was referring to is a long story from a while back. nobody on this board.

[kcstott]

Given that the barrel is factory I'm willing to bet they got the dimensions correct for the chamber depth. The way you set your headspace is fine. Thats the way it's done on Savage and Sako's (rifles with lock nuts)

My only concern, if this was an aftermarket barrel was to be sure the case was fully supported. i.e. proper depth because on these rifles you can have proper headspace on a short chamber depth resulting in a very unsafe condition.

On nearly any other rifle the breach face (Mauser1898's) or the tenon shoulder (Win M70, Rem M700 and the like) seat against a surface and the barrel can not be turned in or out to adjust head space. it's a fixed location.
The lock nut rifles could have a short chamber be headspaced correctly based on gages and have a case that is not properly supported.