Whats up fellas, I wanted to share my experience on a build I completed. I was intrigued by the time and money I could save in the long term by utilizing Criterion pre-fit Barrels on a ground up Remington 700 platform build, but mostly because I like assembling things myself. However I'm the furthest thing from a gunsmith so I have limitations. Criterion makes pre-fit barrels for Savage and Remington actions. They come already chambered and ready to screw into a receiver. They are very cost effective barrels. They are button rifled and hand lapped. Criterion is a division of Krieger. You can order these barrels from Jim Briggs at Northland Shooters Supply who has a bunch in stock, or you can custom order one from him to your specs and wait a few months to get it. I chose one in stock because it matched what I wanted.
Basically you secure the barrel to the action with a barrel nut using a torque wrench and headspace it with go/no-go gauges (just like a savage). Some people will think its blasphemy to set up a Remington 700 pattern barreled action like a Savage, but what the hell.
I started with a Stiller Tac-30 A/W Left Handed action. Then I attached a 6.5 Creedmoor 26" Criterion 1-8 twist varmint contour barrel. I headspaced it with go/no-go gauges I got from the creedmoor sports website (made by PT&G I believe). Once it was installed and dropped into my stock, I made sure it was level and I marked the muzzle end of the barrel at the 12 o'clock position with masking tape and a sharpie (I eyeballed it), then took the barrel back off. I sent the barrel to Ross Shuler to have him fit one of his muzzle brakes to it. Ross sent it back very quickly; his work is awesome. I once again torqued the barrel to the action then dropped it and the picatinny rail off to a local smith here who does a ton of Cerakote work (A-Coating) to get it coated black. Once I got it back, I installed a Timney Straight Trigger with safety, dropped her into an AICS chassis and presto-bango.
There is definitely an up front investment in equipment to be able to do this yourself. Jim Briggs can sell you almost everything you need (barrel, barrel nut, nut wrench, and action wrench). You will also need headspace gauges for your caliber, a secure table vise and a torque wrench that works in foot pounds. But you can definitely realize savings in the long term if you shoot a lot and go through barrels. Because barrel swaps become extremely easy when removing and replacing one criterion pre-fit with another. Plus there is value in the satisfaction in assembling something yourself, at least for me there was.
Oh yeah, does it shoot? I would say so. With Hornady 140 Grain factory ammo, I routinely get groups under 1/2 inch up to 3/4 inch in prone on a sandbag and the bipod. And I don't pretend to be the best triggerman ever born either. I would bet a box of ammo that the rifle is more accurate than I am. One day I'll clamp it in real right and see how tight I can get the factory rounds to group, and also if I can find the time I will work up some hand loads. A couple links and pictures below. Thanks for reading! Southpaw357
here is information about Criterion Barrels: http://criterionbarrels.com/prefits/savage
Here is information about available countours: http://www.criterionbarrels.com/savagecontours.pdf
Here is a youtube video that shows exactly how I mounted the barrel. This is worth 1,000 words: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPlFtskCwng
And what thread is complete without pictures
Basically you secure the barrel to the action with a barrel nut using a torque wrench and headspace it with go/no-go gauges (just like a savage). Some people will think its blasphemy to set up a Remington 700 pattern barreled action like a Savage, but what the hell.
I started with a Stiller Tac-30 A/W Left Handed action. Then I attached a 6.5 Creedmoor 26" Criterion 1-8 twist varmint contour barrel. I headspaced it with go/no-go gauges I got from the creedmoor sports website (made by PT&G I believe). Once it was installed and dropped into my stock, I made sure it was level and I marked the muzzle end of the barrel at the 12 o'clock position with masking tape and a sharpie (I eyeballed it), then took the barrel back off. I sent the barrel to Ross Shuler to have him fit one of his muzzle brakes to it. Ross sent it back very quickly; his work is awesome. I once again torqued the barrel to the action then dropped it and the picatinny rail off to a local smith here who does a ton of Cerakote work (A-Coating) to get it coated black. Once I got it back, I installed a Timney Straight Trigger with safety, dropped her into an AICS chassis and presto-bango.
There is definitely an up front investment in equipment to be able to do this yourself. Jim Briggs can sell you almost everything you need (barrel, barrel nut, nut wrench, and action wrench). You will also need headspace gauges for your caliber, a secure table vise and a torque wrench that works in foot pounds. But you can definitely realize savings in the long term if you shoot a lot and go through barrels. Because barrel swaps become extremely easy when removing and replacing one criterion pre-fit with another. Plus there is value in the satisfaction in assembling something yourself, at least for me there was.
Oh yeah, does it shoot? I would say so. With Hornady 140 Grain factory ammo, I routinely get groups under 1/2 inch up to 3/4 inch in prone on a sandbag and the bipod. And I don't pretend to be the best triggerman ever born either. I would bet a box of ammo that the rifle is more accurate than I am. One day I'll clamp it in real right and see how tight I can get the factory rounds to group, and also if I can find the time I will work up some hand loads. A couple links and pictures below. Thanks for reading! Southpaw357
here is information about Criterion Barrels: http://criterionbarrels.com/prefits/savage
Here is information about available countours: http://www.criterionbarrels.com/savagecontours.pdf
Here is a youtube video that shows exactly how I mounted the barrel. This is worth 1,000 words: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPlFtskCwng
And what thread is complete without pictures
