Gunsmithing Savage Barrels

[bsalbrig]

I’ve been learning the process of rebarreling over the last year and have so far taken 2 savages apart and I’m wondering if anyone here knows if they are threading their barrels with a die. On both of them the chips that come out from under the barrel nut side look like chips produced from a die.

 

[hafejd30]

I have about 8 weeks until I do this for the first time. Anything I should know?

Yes

You should have bought a tikka

Or

Just gone with a custom action and prefit

Savages were awesome in 2010. Now they’re outdated

 

[CaptNemo]

I have about 8 weeks until I do this for the first time. Anything I should know?

Don't spend any money on a Savage if you're going to compete with it.
They are good hunting rifles and accurate out of the box "target" rifles as long as you're not on the clock.
Shoot it, enjoy it, make tiny little groups to show your friends with it, just don't dump any money into it.
DAMHIK

 

[bsalbrig]

Don't spend any money on a Savage if you're going to compete with it.
They are good hunting rifles and accurate out of the box "target" rifles as long as you're not on the clock.
Shoot it, enjoy it, make tiny little groups to show your friends with it, just don't dump any money into it.
DAMHIK

I’d agree with that. The 2 I’ve been working on are axis models. They shoot fine but you can see where the cost cutting got out of hand. They even made the firing pin spring about 1/3 to 1/2 the length of everything I’ve seen on other guns. On the older gun the firing pin spring had already weakened to where it wouldn’t shoot.
They are good for practice to learn the process of rebarreling though.
I bought the $350 bass pro Black Friday gun in 243 to try setting it back to 6br. Once I got it apart I don’t think there’s enough barrel to run the threads up further so I’m now contouring a green mountain blank for it.

 

[bsalbrig]

I have about 8 weeks until I do this for the first time. Anything I should know?

You will need to heat the barrel nut with a propane torch to get it loose.

 

[hafejd30]

Already did buy a Tikka. Love it. Agree it's much better quality.

This Savage is a hunting rifle project.

When you take the barrel off initially you’ll probably be whacking the barrel nut wrench with a hammer. They blast/blue the guns after assembly so media and bluing salts get under the nut. Usually giving the impression that Samson the gorilla does the final tightening on the barrel when in reality it little chicks with torque wrench’s.

When you rebarrel go barrel/lug and nut all at the same time. I used to buy mine from NSS

I used neverseize on the threads. You can torque if you want. I would get as tight as I could by hand. Then smack the barrel nut wrench a couple light hits with a 3/4” wrench to lock it down

I used an action wrench. The barrel may try to tighten slightly when you snug the barrel nut up. I’d just put a couple marks with a sharpie as a reference when I checked the headspace before tightening. To make sure it stayed correct. Then of course recheck it after

I’ve used criterion barrels for mine. Very accurate

Been a few years since I’ve played with savage but that’s what I recall

Also swap the detent ball below the extractor while you’re working on it anyways. Eliminate the rifle dropping spent casings in the rifle. Unless savage addressed this in last few years.

We crap on savage a lot here. But they do tend to shoot very well especially with aftermarket barrels. I’ve watched several, including my own savage, stomp on customs on the 1,000 yard fclass line

Not my rifle of choice today. But back when they were $400 and the only real switch barrel you could swap in your garage or basement without needing a smith they were my go to

Good luck. Factory barrels can be a bitch to brake loose. But Tikkas aren’t any better

FYI I’ve never used heat to brake a nut loose. Not sure what current models are like though

 

[Digetydog]

When you take the barrel off initially you’ll probably be whacking the barrel nut wrench with a hammer. They blast/blue the guns after assembly so media and bluing salts get under the nut. Usually giving the impression that Samson the gorilla does the final tightening on the barrel when in reality it little chicks with torque wrench’s.

When you rebarrel go barrel/lug and nut all at the same time. I used to buy mine from NSS

I used neverseize on the threads. You can torque if you want. I would get as tight as I could by hand. Then smack the barrel nut wrench a couple light hits with a 3/4” wrench to lock it down

I used an action wrench. The barrel may try to tighten slightly when you snug the barrel nut up. I’d just put a couple marks with a sharpie as a reference when I checked the headspace before tightening. To make sure it stayed correct. Then of course recheck it after

I’ve used criterion barrels for mine. Very accurate

Been a few years since I’ve played with savage but that’s what I recall

Also swap the detent ball below the extractor while you’re working on it anyways. Eliminate the rifle dropping spent casings in the rifle. Unless savage addressed this in last few years.

We crap on savage a lot here. But they do tend to shoot very well especially with aftermarket barrels. I’ve watched several, including my own savage, stomp on customs on the 1,000 yard fclass line

Not my rifle of choice today. But back when they were $400 and the only real switch barrel you could swap in your garage or basement without needing a smith they were my go to

Good luck. Factory barrels can be a bitch to brake loose. But Tikkas aren’t any better

FYI I’ve never used heat to brake a nut loose. Not sure what current models are like though

I have a Tikka and two Savages. I am still getting to know my Tikka, but I don't expect it to be "more accurate" than either Savage. They both shoot well.

Dollar for Dollar, the cheap Savages are still a fantastic deal for hunters. With a cheap Tikka running approximately 80% more than a Savage Axis, it better have better fit, finish, and a better stock.

 

[hafejd30]

I have a Tikka and two Savages. I am still getting to know my Tikka, but I don't expect it to be "more accurate" than either Savage. They both shoot well.

Dollar for Dollar, the cheap Savages are still a fantastic deal for hunters. With a cheap Tikka running approximately 80% more than a Savage Axis, it better have better fit, finish, and a better stock.

I have several of both as well. Mainly use my tikka CTR

I feel the CTR is a step above a savage. Like a mid point between factory and custom.

I like the double stack mags, the bolt is much smoother, 60° throw, pinned scope base etc. I wouldn’t say tikka is more accurate though.

Personally to make the tikka a great gun it requires an aftermarket chassis. So the extra cost is there

 

[Thump_rrr]

Don't spend any money on a Savage if you're going to compete with it.
They are good hunting rifles and accurate out of the box "target" rifles as long as you're not on the clock.
Shoot it, enjoy it, make tiny little groups to show your friends with it, just don't dump any money into it.
DAMHIK

This is a joke.
I’ve been competing with Savage rifles for over 10 years.
Specifically precision rifle service conditions.
We shoot out to 600m on targets that are hand held and exposed for 3 seconds for single shots and 8 seconds for 2 shots.
The first score card is from my Savage 10BA and the second was from my Ultimatum Deadline which cost 4 times as much.
The deadline is a pretty rifle and it shoots very well but the Savage can still kick ass.

These are some of my Savage rifles.

The 6.5 Creedmoor is the FDE one.
It is a $540 Canadian rifle in an MDT LSS-XL chassis totaling less than $1300 Canadian without optic.
This is the load development target for this rifle.

This was the score card for the 6.5CM Savage.

This is the score card for the Ultimatum Deadline.

This is the load development for a Savage in 6BR.

Gratuitous shot of the Ultimatum Deadline.
At Dead Zero Shooting Park Spencer Tennessee.

 

[bsalbrig]

For the record I really don’t like savages. I bought a 10 predator in 204 (the $900 one) that had a bad crown. I sent it back and it came back with a bad crown. The problem was savage was cutting the crown to the center rather than from the center out. It wouldn’t shoot with the 2 different crowns savage did on it. I bought the tools to crown it myself and I did it the right way and it shot great after that. After that gun I said I would never buy another. Now that I’m learning to rebarrel I decided to see what I could do with the cheapest gun I could buy. Bass pro ran the axis on Black Friday for $350 with a weaver scope so that’s why I got it. It did shoot less than 1/2” at 100 out of the box so I’m not sure I can improve but how they cheaped out on the firing pin spring is terrible and can’t be defended. I wanted to set the barrel back and use the original but it starts tapering just past the threads so there isn’t enough material to rechamber the original barrel.

 

[Eddystone]

If you are "smithing" om your savages do check that the bolt abuttments are square and level to the receiver shoulder. My 110 BA was .009" out! Not .0009.... So many broken extractors and bolt locking on starting loads we got it sorted out. Tight match chamber, good headspace, in a 34" long Bartlein it is a fun rifle now. 2 fingers to flick open and extract at max pressure loads in 338 lm. I think their designs are Ok, just very poorly done, like your crown.

 

[Oldguy03]

I should state that I'm not a huge admirer of savages. In my opinion, the CTR surpasses a savage.

 

[Praeger]

I’ve been learning the process of rebarreling over the last year and have so far taken 2 savages apart and I’m wondering if anyone here knows if they are threading their barrels with a die. On both of them the chips that come out from under the barrel nut side look like chips produced from a die.

I doubt they use a die to thread their barrels. There's no way to accurately cut the threads concentric with the bore since a die registers from the OD of the barrel shank. You might be seeing crystal remnants from the exterior phosphate treatment that wick into the threads.

 

[thefiremeister]

I’d agree with that. The 2 I’ve been working on are axis models. They shoot fine but you can see where the cost cutting got out of hand. They even made the firing pin spring about 1/3 to 1/2 the length of everything I’ve seen on other guns. On the older gun the firing pin spring had already weakened to where it wouldn’t shoot.
They are good for practice to learn the process of rebarreling though.
I bought the $350 bass pro Black Friday gun in 243 to try setting it back to 6br. Once I got it apart I don’t think there’s enough barrel to run the threads up further so I’m now contouring a green mountain blank for it.

Had the firing pin on my rifle break off. did some dry firing and when I went out to shoot it , it went click not bang. Found the front part of the firing pin was missing.

 

[Capt45]

Yes

You should have bought a tikka

Or

Just gone with a custom action and prefit

Savages were awesome in 2010. Now they’re outdated

Wrong; they're still pretty awesome.

 

[bsalbrig]

I doubt they use a die to thread their barrels. There's no way to accurately cut the threads concentric with the bore since a die registers from the OD of the barrel shank. You might be seeing crystal remnants from the exterior phosphate treatment that wick into the threads.

To get the gun to zero I had to crank the windage adjustment all the way to one side so something wasn’t straight on it. It had to be cranked beyond what I’d be comfortable doing on a good scope. I’ve heard from friends the same problems with some they bought.