I was enthusiastic about the barrel nut approach on my Savage (avoids gunsmith wait), but now, with a Savage based 6mmBR (w/barrel nut), I am less enthused. Perhaps this will be the case for others (maybe not), but for those contemplating a barrel nut gun, perhaps my experience will give some insight.
I decided to build a 6mmBR using a Savage Precision Target Action. I did not use a prefit barrel, because the chamberings (reamer dimensions) were not to my liking. I wanted a tighter neck, and short freebore for my light short range bullets. Some prefit makers will use your reamer (but in one case, that was an extra $50, and it would take a while to get it done). I also wanted a cut-rifled barrel and a specific twist rate. I could not find any pre-fits that met my requirements.
I got a Brux barrel blank (cut-rifled), and had a gunsmith prepare it for my Savage, using a borrowed reamer I liked. That was sent off to the gunsmith, as he did not have a reamer with the specs I wanted. I did save money on the barrel work as there is no fitting to the action. But, the wait was long.
Once the barrel showed up, I bought a barrel nut wrench, a custom barrel nut, and an action wrench (used to hold the action while I screwed the barrel on w/nut) and a GO gauge. Close to $150 with shipping.
My total investment was now about $650+. And what did that get me? A good barrel, but one that does not have the bore curve timed to 12 o'clock, and takes more time and effort to switch barrels vs a shouldered barrel. I don't intend to switch barrels until it wears out, but the point is, a CUSTOM barrel on a Savage w/barrel nut may not make much sense vs a custom shouldered barrel. The overall costs may be closer than it would first appear.
It seems to me that the barrel nut approach is fine for those that want an off-the-shelf good button rifled barrel available in twists and contours that will suit your needs and where reamer specs are not critical and allow you to fit the barrel, at home, with a modest investment in tools. The more barrel nut rifles you have, the better the investment in tools becomes.
I am building a 6.5x47 on a Howa action. I can do this with a barrel nut, but it makes little sense. A custom fitted shouldered barrel will be exactly as I want it, not just what happens to be in the shelf. There will be no investment in a headspace gauge, barrel nut wrench, and custom barrel nut. I do not expect to have to buy a custom reamer in this case (thankfully). My round hole action wrench that works for the Savage works on the flat bottom Howa if I flip the action wrench cap over (it has a flat side).
Moral of the story? Know your wants and needs and what it will take to get their for both approaches. You might be surprised.
Phil
I decided to build a 6mmBR using a Savage Precision Target Action. I did not use a prefit barrel, because the chamberings (reamer dimensions) were not to my liking. I wanted a tighter neck, and short freebore for my light short range bullets. Some prefit makers will use your reamer (but in one case, that was an extra $50, and it would take a while to get it done). I also wanted a cut-rifled barrel and a specific twist rate. I could not find any pre-fits that met my requirements.
I got a Brux barrel blank (cut-rifled), and had a gunsmith prepare it for my Savage, using a borrowed reamer I liked. That was sent off to the gunsmith, as he did not have a reamer with the specs I wanted. I did save money on the barrel work as there is no fitting to the action. But, the wait was long.
Once the barrel showed up, I bought a barrel nut wrench, a custom barrel nut, and an action wrench (used to hold the action while I screwed the barrel on w/nut) and a GO gauge. Close to $150 with shipping.
My total investment was now about $650+. And what did that get me? A good barrel, but one that does not have the bore curve timed to 12 o'clock, and takes more time and effort to switch barrels vs a shouldered barrel. I don't intend to switch barrels until it wears out, but the point is, a CUSTOM barrel on a Savage w/barrel nut may not make much sense vs a custom shouldered barrel. The overall costs may be closer than it would first appear.
It seems to me that the barrel nut approach is fine for those that want an off-the-shelf good button rifled barrel available in twists and contours that will suit your needs and where reamer specs are not critical and allow you to fit the barrel, at home, with a modest investment in tools. The more barrel nut rifles you have, the better the investment in tools becomes.
I am building a 6.5x47 on a Howa action. I can do this with a barrel nut, but it makes little sense. A custom fitted shouldered barrel will be exactly as I want it, not just what happens to be in the shelf. There will be no investment in a headspace gauge, barrel nut wrench, and custom barrel nut. I do not expect to have to buy a custom reamer in this case (thankfully). My round hole action wrench that works for the Savage works on the flat bottom Howa if I flip the action wrench cap over (it has a flat side).
Moral of the story? Know your wants and needs and what it will take to get their for both approaches. You might be surprised.
Phil
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... choose wisely!
