Rebarreling a Savage to 6.5x55

[Fullchoke]

How hard/costly would it be to rebarrel a Savage rifle to 6.5x55? Also, what would be the best caliber to rebarrel from, would 223 Rem or 308 Win work? Or, would I have to go with something in a long action model like a 270? I'm still in the planning stages but I'd like to try and figure out how I could do it.

I like the looks of the Savage 10FP or the 110FP. There is a cheaper 110FP in 25-06 at my the local shop but I'm afraid the barrel is shot out. Would this be a good one to work from?

Thanks,
F-C

 

[brian923]

i would say that you would have good luck with the cheaper rifle that you said had a shot out barrel. the 25-06 rifle. your going to change the barrel anyways. the long action would be better in my opinion because of the fact that the 308 is 51 mm long, and seems to use up most of the space in a medium action. the swede Mauser 6.5 is 55 mm long. the long action would allow you to seat heavy bullets long so you can maximize the powder capacity, and still fit the round into the mag well. again, just my opinion. Brian

 

[drano38]

If you're going to seat the bullets long to touch the lands and be able to remove an un-shot round, you need a long action.
I've got a Savage 111,was .270, now 6.5x55).
If you go w/ a short action, you can single-feed shells, and eject empty cases. But if you don't shoot the round, you have to take the bolt out to get that long round out of the chamber. Fred from Sharp Shooter Supply ,a Savage gunsmith) tested long and short actions for accuracy, and said there is an unrecognizable difference.
Best bet may be a pawn shop or go to wally world and buy the cheapest long action you can get, and put a Sharp Shooter Supply,he buys Douglas barrels) PacNor, Shilen barrel on it and have fun.