So I have to blame Savage. Quite some time ago, I decided my first rifle 1968 Savage 110C 22" needed new barrel. It was bit beat up. Guilty as charged. Found 24" SS Shaw barrel at Midway on stupid clearance due to little bottle of JB missing from bubble pack. Came with wrench and gauges. Took it to couple different local gunsmiths, nobody had time to do it. They all said "EZPZ" and described how to do it. Hmmm, really that easy? Can't be, its a rifle! Soooo, I took the action out of stock, placed in vise between heavy rubber conveyor belting, put wrench on nut and off it came. Yeah, I know how lucky that was now. Or was it luck? Or just the entry into the big rabbit hole? I think there is some sort of curse that kicks in once you do a Savage. Its like the old commercial; "So easy, even a Caveman can do it!". Well that was true. Or maybe in my case; "So easy, even a Sasquatch can do it?" Cleaned threads, spun barrel on with go gauge and went "perfect". At least to what I thought I knew then. Both go and no go worked as I thought? Torqued with torque ratchet from good old Harbor Freight. Cycled some brass fine, cycled some factory rounds fine, took into backyard, fired couple rounds fine. Brass looked fine. I measured brass headspace with comparator and was same as the factory barrel. Talk about luck or curse?
So now with Wheeler barrel vise bolted to work table, Wheeler Action Wrench and several builds later, I look at my old Savage 110C and say "Thanks a lot"! BTW, it shoots pretty darn good in old walnut stock.
I often wonder how much different or simpler things would be if that rifle was not a Savage?