Savage 99 Barrel swap

[jaguar]

Gentlemen.
What would it entail to swap a 250 Savage barrel onto a mid '30's Model 99 that was originally equiped with a 300 Sav barrel?
Cheers
Jaguar

 

[tiriaq]

This is an original Savage barrel in .250 with the correct threads? You would have to confirm that the barrel would time correctly, and that headspace is correct. If timing and/or headspace need to be adjusted, this could also affect forend attachment. You would also have to confirm that the rotor would function correctly with .250 rounds. This could be determined before any barrel work is done. If the .300 rotor is not usable, then a .250 one would have to be installed.
If it is a new barrel blank that is going to be fitted to the action, the job is more complicated than rebarrelling most bolt action rifles, and this is going to affect the cost.

 

[jaguar]

Thanks for quick reply Tiriaq. Yes it is an original Savage barrel and headspace check is a given for sure. My main concern is bolt & mag differences that may not be obvious. Rim area of cartridges being more or less the same and case(1.91 vs 1.87) and cartridge oal (2.52 vs 2.62) I was wondering if bolt and feed mechanisms were the same during this era or would I be looking at swapping out various parts.
Cheers
Jaguar

 

[tiriaq]

Try some .250s in the .300 magazine, see if they work. Be very careful if you are using live rounds. Cartridge base diameter is the same, as are breech face and extractor. Here's where there might be a catch - Savage 99 locking is a bit complicated. There are critical surfaces at the top of the bolt, lower tail of the bolt, the tip of the lever, and upper and lower surfaces of the receiver. If there is wear, the rear of the bolt drops a bit when its locked, and because the main locking surface is slightly angled, headspace increases. Older Savages have a barrel shank with square threads, so they are a bit trickier to work on than never ones with V threads. There are also two cuts in the breechface - for the extractor and the finger at the top of the bolt which must line up. If there is excess headspace, and if the barrel must be set back one turn, the barrel breech must be refitted, as well as the chamber recut. This would also shift the location of the forend screw stud closer to the breech. Similarly, if the barrel turns in past index, the shoulder and shank must be recut to set the barrel back. The barrel might index, or could pull up short of index; this would be the best case scenario. I do not know if older 99s have uniformly timed barrels.
No harm would be done if the .300 barrel could be removed without damage, and the .250 tried. Then a decision could be made whether the conversion is practical.