[litman252]

Hello all,
I have a 99F in .243 that I would like to have a new barrel installed on in .260 Rem. Would there be any problems with feeding??? Can anyone point me to a good smith to do the work, I'd be intersted in a triger job as well.

Thanks,
Tony

[Onmilo]

You would have to have a barrel blank turned,chambered, and threaded to fit your action.

The .243 uses the same rotary magazine parts as the .308.
Since all three cartridges have the same overall loaded cartridge dimension and the .260 is only .006 difference in the base dimension, I don't see any problems with feed issues.
The bolt face should require no modifications either.
Good choice.
Try River Bend Sports in Waupauca.
If they can't do the work they should be able to suggest someone who can. HTH

[45crittergitter]

Gonna post the old barrel on here for sale? ;)

[litman252]

I stay at the hotel next to river bend for deer season, I'll give them a call.
As for the barrel, you never know. :)
Thanks,
Tony

[rbernie]

As an aside, given the need to mill a new forearm stud dovetail and shape the breechface, rebarreling a Savage 99 is actually a wee bit more complicated than most from a machinework standpoint. Also, the 99F has an odd barrel contour (slimmed down fore/aft of the rear sight band) that would need to be duplicated in the barrel blank; there is no analagous aftermarket contour.

In other words, expect to pay a bit more than you'd pay to have a standard bolt-action rebarelled. But it's a neat action, and the choice of caliber is outstanding.

[Clark]

Tonight, I have been working on a Savage 99 rebarrel.
I have a Shilen Stainless 6mmPPC take off from a benchrest rifle.
Just making the fixture to grind the tool bit took hours.
I have yet to cut the extractor relief or the relief for the cartridge top guide.

[litman252]

In keeping with this thread, I've been shooting 100gr PMC factory loadings with OK results. The action is "sticky" to open, much harder than my '94. One shot punctured the primer??????????? Any thoughts????????????????//


Thanks,
Tony

[Clark]

I don't think you will notice any big difference with the .260.

Your factory loads may be too hot.

[iiranger]

O.K. I think they say that a bolt action has a 15 to 1 lever ratio in the force turning down the bolt (to "shove in" dirty ammo some soldier may have gotten stuck with. Important when someone is shooting at you. Brit Smellys are notorious for sloppy chambers. Great on the battle field, lousy for reloaders...) , and extraction forces in opening the bolt. No such help with a 99. .243 and all the .308 family are loaded to modern pressures. 55K CUP or so in many cases. I can GUESS that you might just have a barrel with bore a bit tight or any one of a dozen things that push your pressure up enough to make the action sticky. Chamber might be on the tight size. One obvious option, reload your own and cut the top loads a grain (or three) and see if this stops. Or you might have some tool marks on parts that "hang up" a bit...

Whatever the problem, screwing on a new barrel in any caliber is not going to fix the problem all by itself. Good chance that any 'smith worth the name will see the trouble and fix it in testing the new barrel...

Bottom line, as they say, you have a gun awful close to the .260 now. You really want? Need? the .260? A trip to the gunsmith and your .243 might be everything you ever wanted with a bit of polish or adjustment or ??? You could slug the barrel yourself and/or make a cast of the chamber and measure. Your $$$ Your call. luck.

[Clark]

I am trying to gut the relief for the feeder on top and the extractor on the right.
It looks like in 1918, Savage used a saw to make the top cut, but I am trying to do it with a tiny end mill.

[Clark]

I got the barrel on and the scope on.

I had to:
1) put barrel between centers and cut concentric for steady rest on lathe
2) cut square threads on 6mmPPC benchrest take off barrel on lathe
3) cut chamber with reamer on lathe
4) cut bolt head relief with boring bar on lathe
5) cut chamber with reamer on lathe
6) cut extractor relief on right side of barrel breech with mill.
7) cut feed finger relief on top of barrel breech with mill
8) make tooling for holding receiver behind the cheeks in the mill vise
9) drill and tap for scope.

[litman252]

Are we having fun yet???????????????:(


Tony

[Clark]

http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/view/mb/file?username=6mmbr&id=473656

I am now:)