Savage 110: What caliber/round to make it?

[FJ540]

Since my savage doesn't seem to be finding a new home, I'm going to rebarrel it myself and keep it.

It's currently a skinny barrel (sorry Joe, I thought it was thicker when I told you) .30-06, so I could cut that down and make it .308, but I already have one of those. It's a long action, so making it into a heavy .223 varmint gun doesn't make much sense to me. I could have the chamber recut to another .30 cal variety, but I'm thinking of trying my hand at fitting a new barrel (which will obviously be checked against headspace gages).

If you were looking at adding a tool to your arsenal, and had no intention of ever shooting anything bigger than elk, and already had a .308, .25-06, and 7.62x54r in the stable: what would you get?

I'm leaning towards a varmint gun, even though my .25-06 can be loaded very well for that task. I can put my weaver fine reticle scope on the savage and be set. Hand loads are possible, but not a design criteria at this point (cheap factory ammo would be nice).

[mn_smokeater]

uhh going off a random cal. that popped into my head?

.22-250?

I have no clue if that works or not but its what rattled out.

[Rem700]

Varmints and cheap factory ammo only leaves one answer .223
22-250 is a great varmint round but losses out on the cheap factory ammo.
You need centerfire otherwise 17HMR.
You aint going to find cheap for a long action
Ammo isnt cheap otherwise 220 Swift you can burn thru a barrel quickly and then move on too the next.

[DeanC]

6mm-06? Maybe even the 6mm-06 Ackley Improved?

It's tough because your 25-06 covers so much already. There are lots of nifty short action rounds out there. But it would be moderately silly to chamber a short-action cartridge in a long action gun unless you were just going to shoot whistle pigs off a bench.

[old guy]

.35 Whelen

John

[rukwikenuf]

is it feesable to make a magnum? i have a fascination with the .270s, so maybe a .270 Weatherby Mag? or a .270 Win? you don't NEED to be blasting away at Elk or other critters that aren't typically thought of for MN, you could have a great shooting, non-conventional long-range gun

[FJ540]

I'm with ya Dean, I just can't bring myself to plug the mag and put a bolt extension in that I still have to move through the full stroke to cycle the action. Might as well use it for powder capacity, since I'm already going the distance.

.22- something does appeal to me, but I was also thinking something in the 6.5/6.8 might be fun too. Sadly, I'm drawing a complete blank on the direction I want to go with this one. It's a very smooth action, has a magazine (my .25-06 cooper doesn't), and would be good for p-dogs if I ever made it out to SD, so I don't think I want to go big bore.

Magnum isn't out of the question, but I have my knock-down power pretty well resolved with the .25-06.

[Shipyard]

.950 JDJ

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.950_JDJ

you need a lathe to turn solid brass 3,600 grain bullets - sounds liek a perfect fit



3,600 gr @ 2,200 ft/s w/ 38,685 ft·lbf = WOOF!!!!!

[FJ540]

Barrel threads into the receiver are 1.06" major diameter - that doesn't leave much meat for the chamber Shippy.

Also keep in mind, I'm potentially recoil sensitive now due to 4 herniated disks out of 7 in my neck (two of them are already impinging the spinal cord). I'm looking for something that can be readily tamed with a brake; I don't want to be paralyzed pulling the trigger on a cannon.

[rukwikenuf]

why not just do another 25-06? if you don't like it, put a bigger bbl on (i know, it would require a little more work than that) and make it an 8mm-06! or 30-06 is still the standard in MN

[DanM]

Depends on what you want to do with it. You have some caliber/capability bases covered already, so let's explore some others:
-smaller: (.22 varmint class are mostly shorter cartridges, but will work in a long-action Savage) .222, .223, .22-250, .220 Swift
-magnum: .300 Win Mag
-larger, non-magnum: 8mm Mauser (8x57), .338-06/.338 A-Square, .35 Whelen
-larger, magnum: .338 Win Mag, .338 Lapua Mag, 9.3x62, .458 Win Mag
As I understand it, all of these cartridges will work through a long-action Savage like yours. A good resource for Savage information is the 'Savage 110-based Centerfire Rifles' forum at http://savageshooters.com/SavageForum/index.php. There is both free (limited) access, and paid ($12/yr) subscription available. The paid subscription gives access to the classifieds where there are lots of deals on barrels, actions, stocks, plus videos on how to change barrels. I'll be subscribing when I pick up my Savage rifle (won't be for a while, sorry).

[ex-LT]

... no intention of ever shooting anything bigger than elk...

A lot of elk have been taken with the .270 Winchester. If you're looking for something "a little different", how about .280 Remington? Both cartridges are based off the .30-06, so you don't have the issues of a short-action cartridge in a long-action gun.

[JJ]

220 Swift

[OldmanFCSA]

I have both 25-06's, heavy Varmit Special and Standard BDL, Remingtons.
Both work very well for varmits, small to big.

But to better replace your 30-06, I highly recommend the 280 Remington in the Ackley Improved version, a true "BeanField Rifle" !!!
The variety of 7mm (0.284) bullets is amazing from 100 to 180 grains, without using specials.
7mm has historically proven to be a very accurate caliber regardless of cartridge.
Load down to 7mm-08 velocities or load up to 7mmSTW capabilities.
The 280AI is a wonderful design and easy to load.
Some manufacturers are producing this rifle as catalog items.
Brass is available as 280 or 280AI. Loaded 280 will safely shoot in 280AI chamber to fireform brass.
It can not be formed from 30-06 or 270 without expanding neck to 338 first and then carefully fire-forming.
Do internet search for http://www.jarrettrifles.com/calibers.html

[LongRange]

I would agree with Oldman, the 280 AI is a solid performer and you will have no dissapointments, Ackley simply stole the round shoulder idea and put it on a non-belted case, it gives an increased 150-200fps which can never hurt. The .284 pill is a high B.C area and so loads and ballistics are going to make it far better than the original o6 u began with which is the only reason to rebarrel/rechamber in my opinion. Who wants to replace a good caliber with a mediocre one?

Also be careful on some of the recomendations here, some will have you getting a new bolt or boltface and other additions that can make your rebuild come out pricy. Stay in the .473 RD area.