Savage 110 question

[JimFromTN]

I have the opportunity to get an older model Savage 110, probably 15 to 20 years old, 30/06 for a good price.  I was really wanting a 308.  How difficult is it to convert a Savage 110 30/06 to a 308 considering the 308 is a short action and the 30/06 is a long action?  I was doing a little research on Savage drop in barrels and I came across a site where a guy said he bought a Shilen barrel in 308 for his Savage 110 but it would not work because his rifle was built back in the 1960's.  Is this true?  All I could find is that the barrel threading changed for some of the magnum calibers around 2002 or 2003.  Why would the older barrels be any different if they have the same threading?

Any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

[efremtags]

it doesn't make much sense to convert a short action cartridge in a LA action and vice versa. It is begging for problems. A good deal on the  wrong action size will soon be an expensive pet project. I would stick to something in LA if custom is what you desire.


I am not sure when Savage started using the barallel spacer for setting headspace, but it may be related to that. I believe that is a late 80;s thing, but I am not a Savage expert, so I would hope some others can confirm.

[chutesnreloads]

I don't think you'll find the swap difficult but 30-06 to .308.Why?It shoots the same bullets.You can load to .308 velocity.Just a few days ago i saw 30-06 ammo considerably cheaper than .308  of same manufacturer.So again why?

[Mosinman]

I happen to have a .308 Long Action which is a great shooter, but has a feed problem every time I put a shell into the chamber.  The internal mag is just too short or fails to position the cartridge properly.  I traded a pistol for it, and recrowned the barrel before shooting it, so its accurate as all hell, but just really doesn't like to feed properly.  Since I bought it to shoot paper, I can work with it, but like the previous poster stated, "its a project"...

It's got a Savage barrel and I don't know if it was an "original" or a project gun, but the accuracy is great... the feed mechanism just sucks.  I also have a Savage .300 Win Mag  that never misses a lick... it just requires shoulder surgery after shooting a couple of boxes of shells.  They're excellent rifles... even the old ones.

[Mikey]

IMO if you decide to get that Savage, leave it in 06 or get another rifle in 308.  The difference in weight is a matter of ounces not pounds and, in the field you will never notice the difference in chambering one round or the other in the same length action. 

efremtags and Mosinman are both right and shorter rounds usually have problems feeding from longer length magazines.  jmtcw.

[Catfish]

I buy every Savage I find that are to cheap. Get it. As for it being an 06 instead of a .308, so what?? The 06 is just alittle more and none of the game you shoot will be able to tell the difference. I have 1 Savage that has 3 barrels for it, but does not use the barrel nut, and a couple of spare barrels for the others. I love to play around with wildcats and different rounds. BUT, I would never take a good 06 barrel off just to go to a .308 on a hunting rifle.

[JimFromTN]

I emailed the guys at sharp shooter supply about it and they said it would be no problem to swap out a 30/06 barrel with a 308 and the bolt face would not need to be changed.  I responded back asking them about feeding issues.  They have not gotten back to me.

I figure it is an old factory barrel so I am going to buy a new one anyway so I might as well get one in a caliber that I want.  I can buy bulk 308 cheaper than I can reload it.  This is not strickly going to be for hunting where I might shoot it a few times a year to get it sighted in and then maybe a couple of times a year at deer.  I plan on shooting it allot.  I want to shoot it so much that I need to replace the barrel every few years.   

I also looked into the new stevens and they changed the magazine so that the savage stocks not longer work with it so I would have to find an older model stevens if I want to be able to take advantage of all the different stocks available.  Unfortunately, I can't find an older stevens in 308 as cheap as the savage 110 that I found.  If I did, again, I would probably buy a new barrel so going with the stevens isn't going to save me any money.

[wtroger]

There where no SA savages in that era the just used a different magazine, with a shell block in it. Get the correct mag and go for it.

[jlwilliams]

I'd go for it.  Once you get the barrel nut wrench you can change Savage barrels very easily.  If you get this gun and for whatever reason can't get it to feed properly (which should just be a matter of getting the right size magazine spacer)  you can pull your 308 barrel off, replace it with the 30-06 it came with, and resell it.

[helmickarms]

I emailed the guys at sharp shooter supply about it and they said it would be no problem to swap out a 30/06 barrel with a 308 and the bolt face would not need to be changed.  I responded back asking them about feeding issues.  They have not gotten back to me.

I figure it is an old factory barrel so I am going to buy a new one anyway so I might as well get one in a caliber that I want.  I can buy bulk 308 cheaper than I can reload it.  This is not strickly going to be for hunting where I might shoot it a few times a year to get it sighted in and then maybe a couple of times a year at deer.  I plan on shooting it allot.  I want to shoot it so much that I need to replace the barrel every few years.   

I also looked into the new stevens and they changed the magazine so that the savage stocks not longer work with it so I would have to find an older model stevens if I want to be able to take advantage of all the different stocks available.  Unfortunately, I can't find an older stevens in 308 as cheap as the savage 110 that I found.  If I did, again, I would probably buy a new barrel so going with the stevens isn't going to save me any money.

We make stocks for the new center feed Stevens/Savage. Let me know if I can help.

[mitchell]

the guy you email is the savage "GOD" if he says it will work it will. you shouldnt have a problem people have been shooting 308 in long actions for a long time and they work very well. humm just so happens i have one setting next to me right now "black betty" sure doesnt mind shooting those little 308 rounds in her long action but she's more for look anyway freeks the hell out of iraqis when i bring her out.

[helotaxi]

During the 110 era when all Savages were built on a long action, the magazine box didn't have a spacer.  The magazine for the short action cartridges was in fact shorter.  In addition the magazine opening in the bottom of the action was not machined to the full length in the short action cartridges.

[av-doctor]

thats how mine is LA with short mag well bought new in fall 97 currently a problematic 243 soon to become 308

[helotaxi]

thats how mine is LA with short mag well bought new in fall 97 currently a problematic 243 soon to become 308

I just made that exact barrel swap on my .243 lefty bought in '93 or '94.  Mine was far from problematic, though.  It was a hell of a shooter but I wanted a little more umph and the original gun shipped with irons.  Removing the irons (the front sight ghosted badly in the good scope I finally put on it) left some nasty wear marks and several open screw holes that I wanted gone.  I sourced the barrel from a model 10 package gun that I got at WalMart for under $400.  The action from that gun is getting a nice barrel and new stock and being morphed into a bench gun.  I'm about 99% that I'm going to get another M10 package from Wally World in .243 to build another custom rifle on and give me another .243 sporter barrel without provision for irons.

The new .308 barreled rifle got its initial shakedown at the range yesterday.  With factory Federal 155gn softpoints, it put 10 rounds in an inch at 100yds off a Rock Jr. rest and rear bag.  Scope was a 2.5-10x50 Bushnell Elite 4200 and the group was shot in just over 1 min.  More than accurate enough to take any realistic shot, and that's without working the loads at all.