Rifle Assembly Question

[Honay]

I am looking at a Stevens 200 and am thinking of getting a barrel chambered in 7mm STW. I would like to do the work myself if possible and keep hearing how easy it is to set up a Savage barrel. Just wondering your method used to headspace correctly and the proper torques for barrel nut etc. I know to use the go-no go guages but have not been too involved in this part of guns yet. Also is the 200 series rifle magazine long enough to feed a STW round or will it need to be single shot?

Thanks

Jonas

[LaOtto222]

I am not familiar with the 7 mm STW and I do not have my books with me to see the size. I am guessing you will want the long action 200 to accommodate this cartridge. That is a 30-06 or 7mm Magnum case. If your overall length is not more than the 30-06 or 7mm Magnum it should cycle through your action. I just thought of the head size. If it is not a standard head size, 30-06 or 7mm Magnum then you will have to have a head machined to fit it. Again I do not have a book close to check. If it is very much longer than a 30-06 then you may not even be able to single feed the 7mm STW. I have changed out a few barrels. Having the go - no go gages is all you need for head spacing your barrel. I have set head spaced with a full length sized case, but prefer the go gage. I set mine to the minimum so I have felt no need to have a no go gage. As far as torque - when I set a barrel, I use anti seize grease on the barrel nut, barrel and receiver threads. I then assemble it, a little above snug. Not very scientific...But I try to remember what the torque was when I took off the original barrel and when setting the new one go just a little less than was set at the factory. Over torque the nut and you can distort the barrel/receiver and it makes it harder to take off the next time. To change barrels, a barrel nut wrench is a necessity. A good bench vise is nice to have as is an action wrench. I have a barrel vise, but a good bench vise will work. I have done several barrel switches including a Remington 700 and those tools sure make the job go easier, but Like I said you can get by with just the barrel nut wrench, padded bench vise and some kind of home made action wrench. The vise just hold the whole assemble in a position to make it easier to work on. The real action is between the nut and receiver. You just work one against the other.

[LaOtto222]

I have access to some information now. The Stevens 200 you get will have to be either the 7mm Remington magnum or the 300 Winchester magnum so you will not have to change the head size. The case length on a 7mm Rem Mag is 2.500"; the 300 Winchester mag is 2.620" For the 7 mm STW the case length is 2.850" long. The 7mm STW is a full .330" longer than any cartridge chambered for the Stevens 200. I do not see any Savage rifles chambered in 7mm STW. I am guessing that the action will not accommodate a cartridge that long. Even if you single feed the cartridge, you may have to seat the bullet so deep into the case as to make it impractical for use. I have a Savage model 40. It is a single shot and if I seat the bullets out very far I can not cycle them through the action. I suspect the same thing will occur with the 7mm STW. To be sure you should get a 7mm STW and see if it will even start into the chamber of a 300 Win Mag or 7mm Rem Mag. It will not cycle all of the way in, but it will let you know if you can lay one in and start it into the chamber and the back the bolt out to see if it will eject it. I would not be a bit surprised if it will not cycle out of the port with a bullet seated in it. In other words if the OAL of the case and bullet is longer that the distance from the the bolt face to the front of the port, you are going to have problems, even single feeding. The OAL for a 7mm STW is some where around 3.645", if the distance from the bolt face to the port edge is less than that distance on a long action 200, you are going to have problems. You can expect about a 200 fps advantage with a 7mm STW over a 7 mm Rem Mag, if you can seat the bullets out to standard length in the 7 STW. If you get to the point of seating the bullets in so far as to match the 7 Rem Mag in OAL then you will not see much advantage.

[STexhunter]

Go to savageshooters.com  they have worlds of info on barrel swapping etc.  Even the savage bolt heads can be changed to accommodate various calibers.  Its the action length that you have got to watch.  I swapped a 270 out to 35 whelen, no problem with a go guage.  I also used a resized piece of brass and a new piece of brass to get a fell for headspace.  Give it a try and you will be hooked on barrel swapping

[Honay]

Thanks for the info guys! I have a Savage 111 in 300 win mag and the port opening is 3.8something. The STW case from the nosler manual is 3.60inches. Have not tried to cycle a case but when I get some I will try!

Thanks again!

[LaOtto222]

Remember that it will not chamber fully, but will go in partially. That will give you an idea if it will work. You can find out if it will fit your magazine and if it will cycle in cleanly and eject. It would be best if you could do it with a "dummy" case. No primer, no powder, just the case with a seated bullet. If you only have live ammo, proceed with extreme caution. Good luck