Savage switch barrel

[MLN1963]

This is what I have done. Spin the barrel nut all the way to the front. Spin the barrel in place against your go gauge so you know how many threads you have to work with. Apply red Loctite carefully not to make a mess in front of the barrel nut. Depending on how many threads I have could change where I put the Loctite. Spin the nut close to the action and wipe off any Loctite that may have gotten on the face of the nut if any has. Set headspace as usual. Let it cure properly before ever taking the barrel back off.

After this I have used a rear entry action wrench and barrel vise as if it was a shouldered barrel. I put marks on the nut and barrel whenever removing or installing it at look for nut slippage. I've never seen any.

When you want to remove the nut after removing the barrel, spray from both ends of the barrel nut with RED CRC brake cleaner to soften the Loctite. A couple sprays and couple minutes is all it takes. Use RED, not the green non-chlorinated stuff. You could also use heat on the nut, it only takes 450°-500° F to soften the Loctite.

YMMV, but it works for me.

 

[Sprocketman]

Why bother drilling or dimpling? Put a PAIR of witness marks on and run it. Action to nut, nut to barrel, done.

I like this! Simple yet effective. And you can quality check it anytime. Sweet.

 

[RB II]

The Terminus Zeus QC action has set screws in the action to retain the barrels headspace. Barbour Creek has a pretty cool video on here about it.

I would not be a fan of the possibility of a barrel loosening, so torque or some solid alternative would be my choice.

For the Savage two set screws, below the scope and above the stock, in the action would satisfy the need for any torque on the barrel and the barrel nut with either a set screw or LocTite would act as the shoulder. The barrel nut is basically sacrificial in most barrel replacements as it gets marred and scratched most times anyway. I am one that generally once I am satisfied with something, like an action, I keep it and repurpose it as needed, so drilling it (especially a lower value Savage action) is not a deal breaker.

So a new barrel nut with the new barrel, drill/tap it at the headspace, tighten up the set screws on the action. Maybe a belt wrench on the barrel to remove/reinstall a little above hand tight. Done.

As with the Zeus action, the same principle would apply to any action/barrel as long as it was prefit to the proper headspace. Likely not popular among the gun manufacturers, doesn't sell new rifles, only barrels.

 

[cdherman]

My issue with set screws is that they will put a different "lateral" pressure on the threads.

OK, to explain. Fancy gunsmith will blueprint and true an action. Why? cause the threads/bore of threads might not be perfectly in line with the rest of the action, or the face where the barrel meets the action.

So in a perfect "true" world imagine all the threads, all the way around, coming into contact with each other equally. That's why smiths true a receiver. That's why people pay extra money for machined recoil lugs for Savages.

Now, you drill some holes in the barrel nut, thread the hole, screw it all together and hope you have have not distorted the geometry too much. Good luck.

Anything, and I mean anything can (but might not) screw up accuracy. I sent a barrel back to Shilen. Was on a large shank Savage. Scope mount screws supplied from manufacturer of bases were a hair too long (since they were planning for standard shank). Shilen saw the damage from the scope mount screws and called me up. They were convinced this was my accuracy issue. I have yet to re-install that barrel and prove them right or wrong, but the fellow from Shilen who I spoke with seemed damned knowledgeable and reasonable at the same time. They re-crowned the barrel, cleaned up the threads all for free, but admonished me to put a shorter screw in the scope base.

I'm not sure about any of my observations. But if I was wanting to create a switch barrel Savage or any other gun using a barrel nut for that matter, I would use lock tight. Not a set screw.

 

[P7M13]

In my last four barrels, the Smith put shoulders on each one. No more stinking barrel nut.

 

[1mechanic]

Replying to cdherman the set screw would be to lock the barrel nut in place which should not effect the accuracy. Now tightening a scope mount in the action where the screw contacts the barrel and puts stress on the action I can see where it could effect the accuracy.

 

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

w

You do not need to drill the barrel nut; a good permanent thread glue will do the same. Regardless of how you decide to secure the barrel nut onto the barrel and act as a shoulder, you still need to check the headspace to ensure it has not moved on you, but that's just me.

hy would you do that if you are doing a switch barrel rig?

 

[FEENIX]

w

hy would you do that if you are doing a switch barrel rig?

Because it's what the OP wants/is trying to do. I do NOT do switch barrels; see #10.

 

[ntsqd]

If you're going to use set screws I'd use something like these to keep from marring the threads on the barrel.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

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Not because those marred threads are going to be a problem in screwing the barrel in and out - they won't, but because at the end of the barrel's life I'll want to reclaim the barrel nut.

 

[RB II]

The Zeus QC is proven to be accurate. I can understand that the scope bolts applying pressure to one side of the barrel could be an issue. Likely that is why the Zeus has three opposing screws, to evenly torque to retain the true alignment.

 

[Buck Fever]

I just bought an American Rifle Company Barloc with a Nucleus style recoil lug. I cut my 1 piece scope rail to interface with the nub on the recoil lug and bedded the rail to the action and the lug to the rail.

You don't have to do the bedding but it puts my recoil lug in exactly the same spot and was easier than pinning since I was doing chassis bedding any way.

I still have to headspace my barrels but I only need an Allen key to do the job because the Barloc works as a jack-screw that's equivalent to putting 150+ ft-lbs of torque on the barrel nut.

Another benefit is that the "toroidal geometry" of the Barloc means the front of your action doesn't have to be faced exactly perpendicular to your action threads. That with the Savage floating bolt head has about the same effect as truing an action.

One last thing, when I install a barrel, I take the cap screw out of the Barloc clamp and put it in backwards so I can put a dime or some other shim in the gap to spread the clamp. That lets me screw in the barrel nut portion of the Barlock a bit more (with zero torque) so nothing moves and the clamp can't bottom out when tightening. It doesn't take much but doing that ensures the Barloc won't loosen.

It won't let you swap barrels without checking headspace but it will let you do it quickly with one tiny tool, no action wrench or barrel vise required.

 

[1mechanic]

I have several reasons I want to do switch barrel rifles.
1 I don't have much space for storage or safes.
2 I blinded my right eye about 15 years ago and quit shooting and sold some guns at the time. About 5 years ago I thought I'm fairly ambidextrous and bought a cheap savage left hand rifle to see how things would go. Have no problems running a left hand bolt.
3 There aren't a whole lot of left handed rifles out there at least not in the chambers I want. So I want to take 3 savage rifles, one with a .378 bolt face, one with a .473 bolt face and one with a .532 bolt face and put together whatever I want.
I still have and want other rifles but to number four.
4 Just like another thread on here now I don't have unlimited funds so changing a barrel but leaving the same scope on the rifle saves money on scopes and for that matter actions and stocks.

And if I ever do manage to buy better actions I still think I would like to use the barrels I've got.

 

[blvette75]

Interesting Thread, I have not had a barrel drift outside what I gauged it at on my re-barreled Savage really put the gorilla grip on it when I tightened down, the other barrel from the factory did not change. But interesting perspectives.

 

[JSHKS]

I have a Barloc and am going to install it when I rebarrel one of my ARC actions. It is a slick idea, much as their scope rings which I have not tried yet.

Buddy of mine did switch barrels on a couple of his Savage rifles years ago. He used lok tite and he made some nylon tipped set screws. He did both to allow the nut to be removed and reused easily. He did three set screws. Reason was to allow a soak in acetone to be able to reach the lok tite easier, and if heat was need it could be applied through a screw hole.