SOLD/EXPIRED WTB non factory Savage Barrel 300wsm or 308

[bdl5128]

I have a Savage short action small shank Im looking to rebarrel. First time doing this so any helpful comment appriciated. looking for 308 or a 300 wsm. thank you

 

[Hotolds442]

Your two choices require two totally different firing pins, just so you know. The WSM firing pin is longer than standard.

 

[jbj]

What are you going to use it for?
Length?
Contour?
Twist?
Stainless or Blued?
Threaded?
New or used?

Also, WSM uses a different bolt head.

 

[bdl5128]

I guess I would prefer 308 do to it being I don't have a bolt face for 300wsmand it seams there a bit hard too come by. So with that being said I'm thinking varmint or bull contour with a 1in 10 twist. Length and not totally sure on but i don't want to go over 26 I do know that much.

 

[Engineering101]

bdl5128

There is a little more than was mentioned regards the 300 WSM. There is a reason the 300 WSM is hard to come by in a small shank - Savage changed their WSMs to a large shank because they were getting rifles back with bulged chambers in the small shank (at least that is the rumor). Also the bolt head is taller which is why you need a longer firing pin as was mentioned. Also you need the WSM mag if you want other than a single shot.

Having said all that, I have a 7mm WSM on a small shank short action. I'm running the 180 Bergers out of that at 2,950 fps with no problems. I also have a 300 RUM in a long action small shank. Also no problems. (Yes I've checked chamber dimensions and there are no issues.) So, you can make a 300 WSM happen on a small shank short action and Savage will sell you all the parts you need - if you send them a letter stating that you will not hold them liable if you blow yourself up.

I also have a Savage Model 12 VLP in 300 WSM. That is a short action large shank with all the stuff Savage says you need for that chambering. You can pick one up under $1000 and they shoot great right out of the box (though I would bed the recoil lug). Nothing against the 308 but for true long range work it isn't even in the conversation when compared to the 300 WSM, however.....

I'm guessing you would be much better off with the 308 because you aren't really going to be shooting near as much past 600 yards as you will be under 600 yards.

 

[jbj]

Well, you have a ton of options. Jim Briggs at NSS will probably have a barrel in stock for you, and carries all of the tools to do the swap yourself (you have to call him, and his line is often busy, but a great guy to work with!). McGowan has barrels in stock as well. Apache Gun Works has a blued bull up on eBay right now, or you can order one from him with whatever bells and whistles you want to add on (another great guy). After that, if you have time and money, Shilen, Krieger, Pac-Nor, E.R Shaw, Sin-Arms, Bugholes (sometime later this year) all have Savage barrels.

 

[bdl5128]

I saw the apache gun works on ebay. Thanks for the info might go that route.

 

[jbj]

Apache makes good barrels for a good price. He's very popular on the Savage Shooter forum.

 

[stangfish]

Just for clarification, Jim does not make barrels, he chambers them. He will chamber any barrel manufacture you choose and do it well. I will personally vouch for the quality of work.

 

[wbm]

Savage changed their WSMs to a large shank because they were getting rifles back with bulged chambers in the small shank (at least that is the rumor).

An absolutely untrue rumor.

Savage has large shank barrels on several models in non WSM calibers...even the 243. Their target model receivers also have large shanks. When you go to a large shank on a Savage you don't have more metal on the receiver you have less. The metal around the chamber is thicker but the metal on the receiver is thinner.

 

[Engineering101]

wbm

Everything you said is true and has nothing to do with why Savage changed to the large shank for ALL of their WSM offerings. The rumor about bulged chambers may be true. They put more metal in the chamber area for some reason.

 

[Hotolds442]

Without a Savage engineer chiming in, it's all just speculation as to why the larger shank. The larger the shank the better the support for large high-pressure cartridges. The chamber always expands upon firing. The amount of expansion depends on the shank size in relation to the chamber diameter. This expansion is what causes the brass extraction problems when high pressure loads are used because the chamber returns to its original size and the brass has yielded and does not.
A larger shank will minimize this in large diameter high pressure cartridges. Lawyers and product liability may have played a small part in the large shank upgrade, who knows? I've yet to see a Savage WSM on a small shank platform grenade, but I have seen some Savage muzzleloaders that have been turned to scrap....

 

[wbm]

Lawyers and product liability may have played a small part in the large shank upgrade, who knows?

Actually a large part. To make sure there would never be any "bulged chambers". If there had ever been then you can be sure there would have been a recall on all those rifles.