My first build. More questions than answers.

[Bob Wright]

I am purchasing a SA Savage 12 target action, new in box as my baseline.
Would like a curly maple stock.
The basic use is for target work.
Since I can switch barrels readily, my second barrel would be for hunting, along with a second more purpose built stock for wear consideration.
I plan on using a brake on each barrel, appropriate for each chambering.
Its a single shot action, three takedown screws.
Since I have clean slate, where would you go with a pistol design with the above?
Barrel length for each
Chambering for each
Maker of barrel
Stock maker
Any ideas I haven't outlined.
Thanks,
Bob

 

[Ernie]

Target work...How Far?
Big game...What would be the largest animal to hunt: Longest distance for hunting?
Types of hunting styles you plan to use?

 

[Bob Wright]

Target as far as I can go. To start say 500, then stretch it out over time
Deer sized game at 500
Spot and stock always an option to get into a capable range
Calling varmints into close range.
I have a pic rail, so switching to an appropriate distance optic is considered.

 

[Ross1147]

Not much knowledge on the gun itself but I can give you an idea on the stock. I was just in the market for a maple stock and could only find one place that made them for Ruger M77s. I'm sure there are more (Richard Microfit comes to mind) but I went with Stocky's. Wait time was about 2 weeks total. Stock quality is eh, ok. I was expecting more for their "highest" grade of maple. As you can see the forearm is nice, but the butt end is kind of plain. Still pretty expensive though. After all the upgrades and pillars it was around 550 I think?

 

[Ernie]

Jim Rockwell ( [email protected] 810-845-4543) makes awesome laminated rear-grip and center-grip stocks for Savage, Remington XP-100's, XP-100R's, and the 700 SA footprint actions.
I have rear-grip stocks and center-grip stocks from Jim-He is a great guy!
One cartridge that will get you for everything you want from the get go is the 6.5-284.
I have killed deer past 600 yards with my XP's in 6.5-284, and prairie dogs out to 1800 yards and steel past a mile. Get a 7.5 or 8 Twist quality barrel and a good solid bottomed brake (Holland's Radial Baffle) and go have fun!

 

[codyadams]

I believe the target actions are large shank? In that case, a WSM or Sherman Max / SS cartridge would be high on my list, at least for the hunting set up. 12-14" barrel, in a 7.5 twist 25 WSM/SS/MAX, with a MBM Beast brake would be a pretty slick deer killer with a 131 blackjack, or a 6.5 WSM/SS/MAX would be just as well, with a little more bullet, and with that brake (if you can handle the concussion) would be very easy shooting. Any of those would have a limited barrel life, if that is of concern at all (it may not be) you could get a second barrel and bolt head in say, 6x47, 25x47, or 6.5x47 Lapua for your high round count/target barrel, and would also have very little recoil and would be easier on powder. As far as a stock, I defer to Ernie, he knows pistol stuff. As far as barrel, it would depend on how heavy you went. If you wanted to save some money, you could get a strait contour 1.120" 30" long barrel and have both your barrels, then just have a smith half them and thread them ha ha. Other than that, decide if you want a single point cut barrel or button rifled, and pick a pre-fit.

 

[Bob Wright]

Thanks, the info all of you guys is greatly appreciated. Gives me some good ideas. The hunting barrel would be shot less, the target barrel a lot more.
The Savage prefits give me a lot of flexibility.
It is a large shank, with 3 takedown screws, so accuracy with pillars would be a plus.
Everything is waiting on getting the receiver, then I can get either a maple slab, or do it thru a stock maker you have mentioned. Will start looking at barrel makers as well.
Ever use a McGowan prefit?

 

[Ernie]

I have not used theirs

 

[codyadams]

Thanks, the info all of you guys is greatly appreciated. Gives me some good ideas. The hunting barrel would be shot less, the target barrel a lot more.
The Savage prefits give me a lot of flexibility.
It is a large shank, with 3 takedown screws, so accuracy with pillars would be a plus.
Everything is waiting on getting the receiver, then I can get either a maple slab, or do it thru a stock maker you have mentioned. Will start looking at barrel makers as well.
Ever use a McGowan prefit?

I haven't used a pre-fit, but I have developed multiple loads for two different guns that used McGowen blanks, a .270 Sherman and a .338 Norma mag, both shoot right around .5 MOA give or take a tenth. If I played more I may be able to get a little better accuracy, but to me it wasn't worth the barrel life.

 

[Ernie]

Thanks, the info all of you guys is greatly appreciated. Gives me some good ideas. The hunting barrel would be shot less, the target barrel a lot more.
The Savage prefits give me a lot of flexibility.
It is a large shank, with 3 takedown screws, so accuracy with pillars would be a plus.
Everything is waiting on getting the receiver, then I can get either a maple slab, or do it thru a stock maker you have mentioned. Will start looking at barrel makers as well.
Ever use a McGowan prefit?

I am not a prefit fan, but I am a fan of McGowen barrels.
Bartlein, Brux, Krieger, and Lilja...In no order, are ones I use the most

 

[Bob Wright]

Prefits more trouble than their cost?

 

[Ernie]

I have seen a number of them work great and I have seen disasters

 

[BallisticsGuy]

If you're thinking of the barrel nut as a switch barrel enabler, it's quite the opposite. It makes a switching barrels a bigger pain in the booty. Switch barrel should be done with a shouldered barrel on an action that's had the face trued and which is equipped with a pinned recoil lug or Barloc type setup. You don't torque them down. You go hand tight. When you use the barrel nut you need to put enough torque on the barrel nut to not let the barrel screw IN anymore which it'll try to do each time its fired (assuming right hand thread and right hand twist). Once you start shooting it it'll want to cinch the barrel in tighter so it walking out is almost a non-concern. You might check out the Barloc system by ARC. It helps with the pesky recoil lug problem. I'd still use the shouldered version and get your barrels set up with shoulders and eschew the barrel nut. That way headspace is set by the shoulder location and you don't have to carry gauges with you and you don't even need tools to switch barrels.

I've had mixed results with pre-fits and it really does come down to who you get them from. Some shops take great care, some don't. The most consistently fantastic pre-fits I've always gotten from Columbia River Arms (formerly Black Hole Weaponry). I'm running 5 of them right now on various match rifles. Fantastic stuff. They're polygonally rifled so they swage the bullet instead of engraving it. I get longer throat life since there's no sharp edges in the throat to erode, and on the rare occasions that I might clean one, they clean super fast and easy with just patches and solvent.

 

[Bob Wright]

I have seen a number of them work great and I have seen disasters

Thanks! I needed to know that. I don't need to waste money.