Rebarreling a Savage tastes sweet LOL

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Newtosavage

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Finally cracked my first nut - removing a 1:11.5 twist factory Stevens 7mm-08 barrel to install a Savage model 10 7mm-08 with a 1:9.5 twist.

Thought I'd never keep that barrel from slipping, and my little town doesn't have any rosin to be found. So I got a tip from someone here about using regular table sugar instead and I'll be darned but it worked like a charm!

Once that nut came loose, it was easy peasy from there. New barrel went on, headspacing was a cinch, and it shot well this morning at the range.

Trouble now is I'm looking at more barrels. LOL

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Pine blocks? If so that's the problem with the slipping.
Also I've found that setting the wrench well then whacking it with a hammer breaks both nuts and barrels (on nutless guns) free better than just applying increasing torque.... That's just my limited (5 rifles) experience tho.


Nice work getting your barrel swapped out! One of the nice things is your old barrel can help fund another barrel!!!
 
LoonWulf, it's all I had and the nearest oak lumber source is an hour's drive away. It eventually worked out.

I did what you said - set the wrench, held the action with my hand and whacked the wrench with a rubber mallet. 2nd whack and it came loose. This was a factory nut, so I suspect it was tougher than I'll face the next time.

Old barrel is without a mark. I'm really happy about that.
 
Yeah the factory nuts are on there, it took a wack from a 4lb sledge to get the nut off the .243 i turned into my .250AI.
 
Wait wait wait...I've long thought of doing this with a 111 and for some reason I thought It'd require lathe work and was thus outside the scope of what I was willing to attempt. My 111 is a 300 Win Mag and really unpleasant to shoot. I've wanted to change it to 30-06. What are the essential steps? What specialized tools do you need? I think I'd need a new bolt head but not necessarily a whole bolt.
 
you'll need a new bolt head, new barrel, and new magazine assembly. Savage barrel nut wrench, some way to hold the action or barrel securely while I break the bolt free, and headspace gauges....I've been known to just use a go gauge.

basic steps are replace bolt head but leave the extractor and ejector off till after head spacing. some guys headspace with the bolt fully assembled but I was told to do it stripped so I do.

remove barrel, move barrel nut to new barrel and reinstall. At this point I usually replace the barrel nut with a smooth one just because I like them better, and I also usually replace the recoil lug. that's just personal preference

swap out your magazine assembly.
 
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LoonWulf summed it up nicely. There are excellent tutorial videos on YouTube as well.

I also stripped the bolt head to set head space. I wanted to be able to feel the whole thing as well as possible.

Only difference from his advice is that I used a No-Go gauge only. I used a freshly resized case as my Go-Gauge. Reason being the No-Go is the more critical of the two, and if you're only going to buy one gauge, that is the one I would recommend. That way you KNOW the headspace is not too lose. If it's too tight, you'll feel it when chambering a round.

Since I was rebarreling to the same caliber, I just checked the bolt closure on the No-Go gauge before I disassembled, then made sure I had the exact same position when the new barrel was installed. That gave me a lot of peace of mind. Had I used just the Go-Gauge, I would probably always wonder if the No-Go would be correct.

I read this from someone who posted it years ago, and it made sense once they explained it like that.
 
Thats probably a good way to do it if youve only got one guage, then atleast youll know your not long.
I generally set the barrel tight on the go guage wether i have both or not.
Reason being is if I have to remove the barrel later using the go guage as a "stop" means the barrel sets in the same position it was when i took it off. Also in my mind it aligns every thing into as im setting the nut.....could just be me tho i honestly tried playing with screwing the barrel in and out to see if it changed accuracy and it didnt really matter untill the bolt was closed to closing on the no go.

If you do only have the go guage, you can make an improvised no go by simply shimming, or adding tape to the base of a go guage. Ive never done it, but ive read about it and it should work ..... actually i i want to take my .250 apart again to do some work on the action. I may try that.....
 
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I figured I'd try just the No-Go first, and see what happened. If I really needed to spend another $30, I would. I got lucky and was able to set the barrel nut to the spot where the bolt closed exactly the same amount (about 1/4 inch) as it did on the factory barrel.
 
LoonWulf said:
you'll need a new bolt head, new barrel, and new magazine assembly. Savage barrel nut wrench, some way to hold the action or barrel securely while I break the bolt free, and headspace gauges....I've been known to just use a go gauge.

basic steps are replace bolt head but leave the extractor and ejector off till after head spacing. some guys headspace with the bolt fully assembled but I was told to do it stripped so I do.

remove barrel, move barrel nut to new barrel and reinstall. At this point I usually replace the barrel nut with a smooth one just because I like them better, and I also usually replace the recoil lug. that's just personal preference

swap out your magazine assembly.
Click to expand...
Excellent advice. Especially stripping the bolt.
 
Well that didn't last long. That Stevens action now wears an Axis .308 barrel that shoots lights-out. :D

I timed my barrel swap from the 7mm-08 to the .308 Axis. 12 minutes start to finish, and I wasn't even hurrying. ha, ha.

Only the stamp on that Axis barrel is completely hidden now - turned under facing the stock. So it looks smooth but you can't even tell what caliber it is!
 
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Congrats, Newtosavage! Also just pulled my first barrel (Savage) over the weekend. As you and Loonwulf mentioned, the 4# hammer worked better than the 3 foot cheater pipe. Used the wallycooper vise from ebay.
 
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