savage barrel nut question

[twoodard]

I just got a spare nut today and have a spare factory 14" 243 barrel that is in rough shape. Im going to try to use this one as a dummy and go from there. looking into rockset right now thanks. Race retainer would work also huh, but that stuff will not come off

 

[moparman]

If you want a more permenant thread locking compound try the green bearing and sleeve mount from loctite and you won't have to worry about the nut moving at all. It can still be remove easily with a little heat from a butane or propane torch just to soften it up to remove. Carefully heat indirectly and no worrys of damage or cosmetic issues. Caterpillar offeres the same as well as others and is used on criticle fasteners and diesel injector cups all of which are still removable and undamged if a little care is taken. For fasteners I know I want to remove in the future with no fuss but I don't want them to back out or loosen I use an anerobic sealer like loctite 518 on the threads and is enough to hold but will still be easily removed without the effort of the regular blue, red, or green compounds. Cummins uses the 518 on their main cap mating surface to help prevent fretting issues and half a series 60 detroit is glued togather with it as well as other driveline componets on commercial vehicles. Just a couple more options to possibly cconsider.

 

[twoodard]

thanks for the info. I was talking with my girls father last night about it. he told me to look up set screws with a dog point. got on mcmaster and found them. that might be the ticket. im going to order some of them up with the correct tooling and give it a go

 

[fullersson]

thanks for the info. I was talking with my girls father last night about it. he told me to look up set screws with a dog point. got on mcmaster and found them. that might be the ticket. im going to order some of them up with the correct tooling and give it a go

That sounds like a good idea. My concern was that you would accidentally get compound into the action area and end up locking the barrel in place.

 

[PALarson]

If any of you have read the book by John Hennan (may be spelled wrong) he teaches gun smithing, he says to throw the nut away and cut your Barrel with a shoulder similar to any other action. I have not done any Savage's but many Remingtons,Winchesters ect and I see no reason that the nut needs to be there if the barrel were properly fitted.
Paul Larson

 

[shortgrass]

thanks for the info. I was talking with my girls father last night about it. he told me to look up set screws with a dog point. got on mcmaster and found them. that might be the ticket. im going to order some of them up with the correct tooling and give it a go

Those 'dog points' will distort the thead on the barrel tenon and may interfere with nut removal later on. Also, the nut is quite thin which means there won't be alot of threads there for the set screws. If I wanted it 'repeatable' I'd shoulder it, but after every installation I'd still use the head space gauges, just for my own peace of mind!

 

[twoodard]

the dog points will be set into a hole in the barrel. and again I do not have the machinery to install my own barrel so shoulder is not a option

 

[fullersson]

This topic has been down a while. I was suprised to see it resurface. Twoodard, let us know what you do and how it works. I would be interested in hearing the results. Good luck, Brian.

 

[pabloaa]

I am glad the shooting world has caught on to savages for there inherant
accuracy. Been building long range rifles on them for many years. I STARTED USING THEM WHEN SAVAGE FIRST SOLD ACTIONS SEPARATELY.
I have built 338 Lapua on one for Barret, my barrel maker mentioned I was building 338 L @ 32" to chrono it. Barret asked if I would cut the barrel to 29" & then 28" for velocity comparisons the savage worked like a champ, and this was early small thread long action! This action was for a 510 caliber based on a blownout 460 Weatherby magnum case(ala 50 B SQUARE) @ 33"long x 1.200 dia st taper bbl. I made a longer & larger dia bbl nut ("BIGNUT") and 375 thick "BIGLUG" I achieved 2700 fps with 647 grain surplus bullets!
I have used the nut with barrels 1.100 dia, just bore (more correctly counter bore)to 1.105" just don't bore too far. you will have to pay attention to length of shank thread. It needs to be only one turn or so farther than normal, cannot give actual numbers as I always use thicker recoil lug. I have found this combo will support 1.100 dia x 33 or 36" bbls.

"But I'm Much Better Now"

 

[clowdis]

It never ceases to amaze me at how people are led on by the BS they read on forums about how easy it is to change Savage barrels. If you do it properly it is a more complicated job than changing a barrel in a Remington. You need a barrel vise to hold the barrel in place then an action wrench to hold the action in place and another wrench to hold the nut while you tighten it against the action face without moving the action/barrel relationship. If you do it this way you'll never need loctite! With a Remington or similar action all you have to do is hold the barrel in a vise and tighen the action with an action wrench. Somebody tell me how the Savage is easier! Wanna talk about headspace? You still have to set the distance on a barrel from the back of the barrel to the headspace gauge so you have the correct distance there and the barrel doesn't hit the boltface before it headspaces. So, I wonder, how many Savages are running around out there with incorrect headspace because somebody read on a forum about how easy it was to change a barrel? BS!!

 

[pabloaa]

Clowdis,

I agree completly, I read and reread such comments. But no one ever explains the details. There is said about Complexity of savage bolt. I have never had a savage handle come off in my hand!

To do it properly the extractor & ejector must be removed from Savage and Remington. At that point the savage becomes easier, you will not have clean the lock tite or whatever sealant Rem uses from the receiver thds. I always check concentricity of threads and square of receiver, this is necessary with both. However the savage usally requires less attention than the Remington I think this is why they do a "glue in"(even the 40X).

"But I'm Much Better Now"

 

[twoodard]

for those that have helped thank you. I will let you know how it turns out. for those that do not get the fact that savage actions can be changed just as easy as a non barrel nut rifle, oh well. It all comes down to my need, funds and experience. I am not a comp shooter, I do not own a lathe or mill, I am not a machinist, I am a avid hunter, I have very limited funds. all of these lead me in the direction of prefit barrels that I can install and headspace myself. the reason I need to even change barrels is because I can not afford the entire rifle/ pistol and new optics for everything i want to do. so my weak link now has become repeatable headspace without use of a lathe and hand reaming a chamber. that is the only reason I asked that question. I have received some great responses from people who deal with savage actions and some from the crowd that thinks they are no good. to each there own. I was not expecting to see the negative posts last night when I got home from Quebec.

 

[pabloaa]

Twoodard,

It is entirely possible to do what you want. For barrels with nut, For safety sake Headspace should be checked.If found acceptable, fire factory cartridge maybe two. file or turn rim of one case to clear ejector, or remove ejector and use once fired case.

Recoil lug is keyed to receiver, you will need two wrenches. A bbl nut, and recoil lug wrench(I drilled and filed a piece of 3/16"thick x 2"x10" aluminum because had it at the time)to slip over lug, then slip the nut wrench on position wrenches as you would double wrench on router. Squeeze together to Unscrew bbl nut, If you really want to be precise make lug wrench from mild steel with maybe 8" long handle
(the aluminum works fine but marks bluing it will clean off). I made my own bbl wrench, I also put a 3/8" square for torque wrench. I use t/w to loosen bbl nut save reading and re-tighten to same reading when replacing bbl & nut with the o/fired case in chamber & bolt closed, replace ejector if necessary(I leave it out to keep tossing my brass in dirt).

("But I'm Much Better Now")

 

[clowdis]

twoodard,
Not slamming Savage actions or rifles or your choice of using them, but like pabloaa said there is something to setting up the headspace the first time on Savage actions, more than you read about on the 'net. Once you have done it correctly then you can "lock" the nut to the barrel and change it just like a Remington or Winchester or whatever. I suggest pinning because the heat from rapid firing, if you do that sort of thing, might tend to loosen the locktite after repeated cycles. Realize too that you will be drilling and pinning over the chamber area of the barrel so don't push it too deep. Even better, buy a barrel vise and the proper wrenches from Brownells or Midway, or make them yourself if you'd rather, and then change barrels all you want to and be safer about it.