Savage 340 barrel nut is off - 357 Herrett project proceeds

so to do on the project

chamber reaming (need reamer)
determine what barrel length is going to be then cut and crown
figure out what sorts of sights I want on it
finish metal - blue or parkerize or ceracoat
 
tiriaq said:
Perhaps the easiest way to mount a scope or red dot is to use a Weaver sidemount.
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well it is an early one so there are no factory drilled mounting holes for a scope mount so anything is possible

I have a later production Savage 340 that is factory D&T with 2 holes for some sort of weaver peep sight

lots of choices to still make on what this will end up looking like
 
With some stubborn barrel nuts you need the hold the barrel in a barrel vice and position the nut wrench for a good blow with a heavy hammer... and as you do that you need an action wrench to hold the action from turning with the nut...
 
Raton57 said:
My 340 is my rifle of choice for the last few years. Just cost me more then the guns worth to scope it but it shoots like a expensive gun now.
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I've been looking at the side mounts that PR precision is making, (he is on the site here under the specialty firearms components) I will need to drill and tap the receiver to mount it but then I'll have a picatinny rail and can mount whatever I want. But I will need to do a good job bluing the rifle to match the scope mount and rail
 
Can I ask why you chose a .35 Herrett vs. a .35-30, or even a .356 Win.? Seems like the reamers for those, as well as the dies might be a bit easier to source than a Herrett & IIRC, the rim would work with your .30-30 bolt head. Presume you're going to be hand-loading so you can load them to the rifle's original pressure design limitations.
 
jamesharrison said:
Can I ask why you chose a .35 Herrett vs. a .35-30, or even a .356 Win.? Seems like the reamers for those, as well as the dies might be a bit easier to source than a Herrett & IIRC, the rim would work with your .30-30 bolt head. Presume you're going to be hand-loading so you can load them to the rifle's original pressure design limitations.
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I was playing around with 30-30 cases and did up a 6mm-30 and a 6.5mm-30 and then some .35-30AI wildcat and after mocking up some rounds to see how they would work in the 340 magazine and adjusting for length so that they would feed easily I started looking for something similar to try to figure out what sort of load data I would be looking at.

That's when I opened up an older reloading manual to the page that said 357Herrett.... :eek: and I realised that what I had mocked up was very close to the 375Herrett. Then shortly after I picked up some 357Herrett reloading dies.

I had the .358" barrel blank in my bin of random things, it was already profiled but not threaded for a receiver

so now I'm well down the road of building a 357 Herrett on a Savage 325

why the 325 Stevens... well I had one that was converted to 30-30AI and it would not feed from the magazine very well, one round would work but if you tried to put a second on in it would jam up, also the headspace was a little generous. Perfect candidate for rebarreling

so here I am :)
 
kamlooky said:
357 Herrett sounds just so kewl..........................:cool:
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looking at load data again.... :) it is cool

most load data is worked up for a 12" barrel I suspect that a 19" barrel should give me a significant increase and the ability to use a little slower powder to better effect.

so the data for a 180grn Hornady XTP listing IMR4198 and a 1900fps out of a 12" barrel, out of a 19" I should get another 50fps/inch so perhaps 2250fps with 180grn bullet

a 158grn bullet I'm confident that I will be able to push it over 2200fps

those velocities and bullet weights are easily equal or better then a 30-30
 
Perhaps a recoil pad might be worthwhile...

These are interesting rifles. I think it was Brewer who designed them at Savage. They were intended to be real economy rifles. Even with their odd bedding system and low cost manufacture, they have a reputation for shooting very well.
.22Hornet, .222, .223, .225, .30-30. Any other factory chamberings?
Some were drilled and tapped for a rear peep sight; others are drilled and tapped for a scope sidemount. The really inexpensive stamped Weavers were often used, but these don't allow much in the way of fore and aft adjustment. Sometimes you see Dockendorf rear open sights - screw adjustable, rather than a notched ramp. Good idea.
 
I’d leave the receiver as is and mount a forward rail on the barrel for a scout scope or reflex sight/red dot. But I also don’t have the tools or knowledge to do that!
 
I'd rather drill and tap through holes in the side of the receiver for a side mount than a row of blind holes in the top dead center of the barrel. And that decision is based on having the tools, skill and experience of having done both.
 
tiriaq said:
I'd rather drill and tap through holes in the side of the receiver for a side mount than a row of blind holes in the top dead center of the barrel. And that decision is based on having the tools, skill and experience of having done both.
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yeah holes in the receiver are a lot more forgiving then holes in the barrel :)

I have a No4 enfield that bubba really had a go to, drilled the top of the receiver all the way into the chamber
 
That would certainly be a straightforward conversion. Probably be a real fun shooter.
One catch with 340s is the shortage of magazines.
 
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