Savage large shank to small shank

[kyreloader]

Considering selling one of my Savage actions to fund the purchase of a Shilen DGV action which accepts Savage small shank prefits. (I like the idea of Remington footprint and easy accessibility to Remington components, ie triggers/stocks, etc.) My problem is that I have mulitple Large shank Savage barrels and do not want to have to sell those barrels.

How hard is it to convert a large shank Savage prefit to a small shank prefit?

Thanks, sorry if this is a dumb question.

 

[Terry]

In theory you cut off the threads and retread. Might be cheaper to sell and repurchase.

http://www.switchbarrel.com/Savage%20FAQ.htm

 

[placek59]

Any competent smith should be able to indicate it in and turn it down and re-thread them to the smaller diameter. They are the same pitch, just different diameters. If you are not using a nut, then it will be a touch more difficult but not bad.

It still might be cheaper to sell and re-purchase depending on what the smith may charge.

 

[jo191145]

My quess is most smiths would recommend going nutless. Should be cheaper and faster. Much less metal to remove.
Of course you lose the ability to swap them around to different actions that way.
Unless all your actions were recut to the same length. That would also require removing material from the recoil lug slot in your stock and rebedding.

Just a quesstimate from looking at average smiths prices. Should be around $150 to go nutless.

Now you got me thinking. Maybe it would be easier/cheaper to convert the Shilen action to Large Shank dimensions.
The Sav small and large shank actions have the same outside diameter. The Sav large shank is thinned to allow the thicker barrel.
I would bet Shilens warranty department would hate that idea though.

 

[fredhorace77]

i have had this done before...i purchased a large shank .223 1-9 twist and had it rechambered to 22-250AI and also had the shank turned down for small shank receiver...Everything went just fine...its been a great shooter...my gunsmith whom i do alot of buisness with charged me $125 to rethread and rechamber plus he installed and headspaced the barrel...dont know if this was low or high on price..but to me it was worth paying for...if i had several to do i may just do as the others recommened and sale those large shanks and purchase small shanks instead...its really a toss up to me

 

[savagedasher]

Turning and cutting the thread is simple. But to do it right is another story.I feel it's best to cut and re chamber. any large shank savage barrel you have will have to be turned for the small nut.I personaly believe the nut is by far the best way to install a barrel. Race engines they always use stud with a nut instead of bolts.Head spaceing doesn't require machineing.Chambering and threading must be done off the true center of the bore. If the barrels you have is aftermarket with low round count they should be fine. My recondmation is Bostrom gunsmith area code 941 322 2487 his prices and services is the best you will find.He will bore scope and give you his opinion before he does anything Good Shooting Larry

 

[Randfal]

I know this is a long dead thread but somehow I stubbed into it so I figure maybe someone else might too. I thread large shanks for use in small shank actions all the time. It's a bonehead simple operation that can be done two ways without touching the chamber. If you have a sporter, magnum or one of the lighter heavy barrels, just turn down the OD of the barrel to small shank diameter and re-thread. It's that simple, don't over think it.
The second way is what I prefer to do when a customer or I have a big bull or a heavy contour barrel the you want to use on your small shank savage BUT want to keep the diameter big. You could shoulder it but then you lose the great nut features of a Savage. So here's what I do:
If you already have a threaded large shank, I turn down just the amount of shank needed to thread only the length needed to screw into the small shank action and leave the large threads and large nut in place to set the headspace. So it gets dual threaded; small shank threads then a little step up to large thread. You can use either a large or small shank recoil lug. You just need to know at the time of threading so some adjustment can be left in the right spot. I started doing it so guys could could use used bench rest barrels on their small shank savages for varmint guns etc. there are a lot of great used barrels out there that a guy can use on Savages because of their nut system and it doesn't require the guy to send the action with the barrel to have it done. They screw on like any other prefit barrel. If you still have some of those barrels and want them threaded, PM me and I can help you out or thread them for you.
Have fun and don't let the Nay Sayers discourage you. Just gotta think outside the box sometimes.