Savage Small Shank and 30" Barrel

[jesilva]

I would like some real world experience about the pros and cons of using a 30" heavy barrel on a Savage small shank action. Is it doable or not.
Your input is appreciated.

 

[Bill K]

Doable, yes, if you want that long of a barrel. The longest I have put into building a savage s/a is a 26 inch and I thought that was too long, as I prefer 22-24 inch one's.
But if you want a 30 inch go for it. You can always cut it down and re-crown.

 

[dminn1]

Running a 30" bull profile CBI in 6.5 Creedmoor on a 10 ba stealth which is a large shank. Pros are I can run 140 Hybrids at 2910 fps with a mild charge of 41.4g of 4350. Barrel is very accurate and does not heat quickly. Cons are it's heavy but balances on the bipod pretty well. It's not very agile by any means but I am happy with it.

 

[1885Winman4590]

Never had any troubles with my 30" very accurate in 6brx. Full bull, quite heavy, but it is a bench gun/ what the heck, go for it.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Yes it's doable. My .308 FTR rifle is a 30" Criterion Bull Barrel on my model 12 single shot varmint action. It shoots very well, no issues what so ever.

 

[teele1]

i have one like Donnie's. Not a problem and Shoots better than i can

 

[tobnpr]

There's no correlation of which I'm aware, that would suggest a nutted barrel would "behave" any differently than a typical shouldered barrel on a receiver.

This has always kinda puzzled me, as conventional smithing "wisdom" mandates we cut perfectly perpendicular surfaces at the receiver face and barrel shoulder to "lock" the barrel correctly to the receiver- when no such surfaces exist for a nutted barrel whether a Savage, Remington, or other (hell, I've built a nutted barrel on a Mosin-Nagant receiver...).

I'm assuming your question relates to concern over the weight of the barrel and the "fulcrum effect" on the receiver.
Whether a 30" Palma contour, or a 24" full bull contour, there's definitely stress on the receiver- but I'm not aware of any empirical evidence suggesting it's detrimental. Goes without saying, that the receiver needs to have precise fitment to the stock or chassis (bedding preferred) or it would likely introduce stress/bending to the receiver itself.

I'm in the camp that often beds an inch or so of the shank of exceptionally long/heavy barrels and have never had it be detrimental, other smiths free-float all...

 

[nmkid]

I'm running a 28" hvy varmint on a Savage SS and haven't had any problems. I did have to add some weight in the butt stock though.

 

[DennisH]

I would like some real world experience about the pros and cons of using a 30" heavy barrel on a Savage small shank action. Is it doable or not.
Your input is appreciated.

SURE! I have Small Shanks with 32" barrels on them. Make sure your Stock Channel has room for your new barrel.

I shoot F/TR and F/Class. I add weight to all the Stock butts with additional lead. I remove the pad, "carefully" drill 1" plus holes in the Stock, either use melted lead, or fine shotgun shot with 2 part expoxy. I had no problem getting my rifles right at 18lbs., plus the COG was just about right. Be careful when drilling your Stock.

 

[MikeMcCasland]

I've got a 30" Heavy Palma on a Savage small-shank action using a Bugnut (Bugholes/Southern Precision Rifles) system. It shoots very well, as good as any shouldered setup.

As far as install goes, not really any different than installing a shorter varmint contour barrel on the same action.