Savage barrel swap - complete :)

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prosper

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Well, a while back I bought a Stevens 200 with the intention of putting a 7.62x39 (.308 bore) barrel on it. I had no success getting the barrel nut off with a simple v-block and a bench vise. So I shelved the project for a while, and did some research (on CGN and the rest of the Internet). A few different methods were suggested, but this is the one I settled on. And it's basically free :)


First, I rounded up a 4x4 from the firewood pile:
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Dug out the drill and a big-ass drill bit I had. The block wouldn't fit under the drill press (in the background)

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So, I cut off a chunk of the 4x4 and drilled a hole in it. Then I sawed it in half lengthwise. I only had bondo on hand for a bedding agent, and a can of Lyman spray lube functions well as a release agent.
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I slid the gun out of the block with no hassle, and sawed the block apart again
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There ya go. Perfect match to the barrel
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See:
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I tried the block & barrel in the bench vise, but it just slipped. Fortunately, I happen to have a big-ass bench press lying around:
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And a big-ass hammer...
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Couple of whacks later, off it came :) Here's the action with the new barrel installed
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Headspacing a savage is a snap :). I threaded the barrel in until the bolt was very stiff to close. Once I tightened the nut up and torqued the barrel a bit, the bolt closes just fine.
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7.62x39 headspace gauge. Closes perfectly in the barreled action
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All I've got is the 'GO' gauge. A spot of masking tape on the headspace gauge, and bingo. A poor-man's no-go gauge. The bolt won't close on this.
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All good. Some coyotes need busting this winter :D
 
Next up - installing a bigger extractor. I was hoping that the factory one just MIGHT have enough to grab the slightly smaller 7.62x39 case head, but that's not the case :(

On the plus side though, feeding from the magazine seems fine
 
OK, did you miss a step? You made a pair of barrel blocks, clamped the barrel, showed us your BFH, applied a few whacks where(?) and then got on to headspacing. What was the hammer for? Any particular barrel nut wrench tips?
 
I notice that you also have an "EBFH" - Even Bigger Fu**ing Hammer with yellow handle. Good thinking, when there is a will, there's a way.
 
gotta love ingenuity;) .....the block idea with the bondo is a good idea...

I gotta post pics of my "portable" Rem 700 barrel/action wrench setup:D....the two inch receiver on your truck hitch is good for more than pulling trailers:)
 
Just a bit of rosin (like baseball pitchers use) in that barrel channel will allow it to grip the barrel just that much more.
I use rosin to stop barrels from slipping when ever I have to take a barrel off.
 
Great pics and explanation, but it seems like an awful lot of hassle... hardly a switchbarrel system for the traveling man (unless you drive a shop truck:D ).

I'd imagine you'd have been further ahead to buy another rifle in 7.62x39 by the time you've purchesed the wrench, guage, new extractor, time....

280_ACKLEY
 
Where did you get the barrel(or was it custom by a gunsmith)? Im thinking of doing the same thing. What twist did you get? Please, if you could let me know how it shoots when you get around to it?

The wench probably didn't cost more than $20, and realy a sized shell casing would work for headspacing if your going to go with handloads only right?

It would be nice if more companies offerd a 7.62X39mm rifle, There is the odd used ruger, and CZ does make a mini in it, but thats not verry many options. And if this thing has a custom barrel, its going to be allot better than the ruger I would think?
 
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Well, once you've gotten the factory barrel off, the nut is a lot easier to get off the next time around.

The barrel was a 30-06 take-off from a winchester model 70, cut & crowned at 20." It was set back and re-chambered for a 7.62x39, threaded for Savage in a 1 in 10 twist. Cost me $75 from a fellow I know. This twist is a little fast for a 7.62x39, but works well with varmint bullets. It's a .308 bore, which is its key advantage over other 7.62x39 bolt guns. And, because it's a much stronger action than an SKS (the 308 is spec'd at 53,000CUP vs 35,000 for the SKS), it'll handle milsurp .310 ammo and still be within acceptable pressure.

So far, accuracy seems acceptable ~2" with military ammo. I haven't had a chance to install the PPC extractor, or do any load work yet.

The wrench was around $20, and the headspace gauges were also cheap. Economy wasn't the goal here, but it was <$500 total anyway. And I have a 308 take-off barrel that I could (but won't) sell.
 
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The factory puts on those nuts with way more torque then necessary, but then no lawsuits or customer complaints. I almost always have to use a hydraulic press the first time. After that, I put the nut on hand tight so it is easy to remove.

I use some left over walnut blocks. I don't bother with bedding or rosin as the force of the vise or press applies enough pressure.

Once you get the barrel blocks made, switching barrels can take a whopping 5 min if you take your time. You still need a pretty decent bench top vise. Most 4 to 5" vise will do the job.

Jerry
 
Hmmm, a fixed 30 round mag, a stripper-clip guide and a scout mounted scope... yummy!

Even better would be 10 round mags, clip guide, scout scope and 6.5 Grendel !
 
Very cool....:dancingbanana:

Who did the rechamber? Or did you buy a reamer and do it yourself?:)

Always wanted a 7.62x39 Bolt gun, the Stevens may just be the way to go!
 
Actually, I found the 762 barrel on ebay a long time ago and just had it sitting in the closet. Because of that little barrel nut, it's possible to pre-chamber and thread a Savage barrel (without fitting/timing it - headspacing - to the action)
 
That's was some fantastic do-it-yourself work there prosper;) Good on ya mate! How difficult would this kind of setup be to perform on a Remington 700 action? I don't think you have the advantage of the barrel nut setup with the Remmies:( I would love to try one for myself.
 
Taking the barrel off of a Rem700 is no big problem, but it would have to be threaded then chambered and headspaced to your gun. I have not seen a Rem700 take off barrel yet that went on to another action and indexed and had correct headspace. It may happen but in the 20 or so I've tried, this hasn't been the case.
 
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