Im going to purchase a bolt action rifle. Im kinda intrested in savage,due to the modular designe. How hard is it to change calibers? Can you change between long and short action calibers? I like the idea of beaing able to swap out barrels. If you burn out a barrel you dont need a gunsmith

The whole barrel change out is 100% over rated.

If you buy a long action, you can put a barrel on for a short action caliber, but not the other way around. As long as the bolt face is the same for the caliber you intend to change to, you can change to it.

I agree w/ Mattsbox. Bought a 308 w/ the idea of being able to put a 243 barrel or a 358 Win barrel on it.

Changing barrels is quite fun and easy, but unless you plan on running a scout rifle setup for the scope or using the iron sights, you'll have to rezero after every barrel change.

I agree with the other two. For a switch-barrel rifle, buy a H&R Handi-Rifle or a T/C. You can do it on the Savages very easily, and some switch barrels on them A LOT, but personally I don't care for POI verification every time just to be sure.

Savage Arms Bolt Head Long Action Model 110 to 116 Push Feed Small Firing Pin Hole Right Hand Standard 25-06 Remington, 270 Winchester, 30-06 SpringfieldProduct #: 461219
Status: Out of Stock, Backorder OK
Our Price:
$19.79 Midway you can change the bolt head on Savages for $20 so you can use any cal barrel that will work with that action. faucettb had a good write up on how to rebarrel Savages on this forum but I don't know how to find it.

Here's the whole scoop from Brownell's tech section. Tells you how to from start to finish. Bolt heads are interchangeable. Take a look at this article it will answer most of your questions. It takes all of 15 minites to change out a Savage barrel with nothing more than a barrel nut wrench, barrel vice and a go headspace gauge for the caliber your rebarreling to.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/GunTech/NewsletterArchive.aspx?p=0&t=1&i=540

thanks bob.. now i can just buy a barrel rather than a backup 30 06 ,,110..
you never know. ,i may outlast this one. its my understanding they don t last like 22s an such..slim

Be aware: Someone I know well has had 2 receivers be destroyed during the barrel switch process. He's not a fool (an idiot, perhaps, but not a fool! :) ), they sometimes just bugger up their threads. Sometimes you can recover them, sometimes not. He tends to get neglected guns for super-cheap and work on them, so that may be a contributing factor or it may not. Current-production models shouldn't have this issue, IMO.

I have 2 Savage boltguns that I use as switchbarrels. One is a 1959 M110D and the other is a 70's vintage M116. The 110 is a long action and I have '06, 35 Whelen, 280, and 220 Swift barrels for it. The 116 is also a long action and has a magnum bolthead. I have 7mm Rem Mg., 338 Win. Mag, and 416 Taylor barrels for it. It is great to be able to pick up a take-off barrel from a 'smith or one of the Adams & Bennett barrels that Midway sells and for $50-$100 + ammo you can try a new cartridge. Most of the barrels have been pretty accurate and some are real tack drivers. I've been particularly happy with the 35 Whelen and the 280. The only barrels I haven't yet taken game with are the '06 (because I have another) and the 416.

If you are interested in the switchbarrel aspect, go to the savageshooters.com forum. I would read their instructions before you decide to start switching barrels, so you know what you are getting into. There is more information there than you will ever use and lots of experienced people to help you if you get in a jam.

Switching barrels is not difficult, but you need to get the right tools and pay attention to what you are doing. Recently some of the new Accutrigger rifles have gone to a different receiver thread pattern than the old 110s so you need to be careful matching some barrels and receivers. Also, be careful with stainless guns because they are prone to galling which can lock the threads when you are installing the barrel. I have Leupold QD mounts on the receiver so I can easily switch out scopes and have each barrel calibrated to a sight picture on my Leupold boresighter. It usually only takes one shot to make sure the rifle is on after I get it set up.

It's interesting that the new Stevens boltguns (M200) have the same barrel nut setup as the Savages and they should be adaptable to the same switchbarrel technique.

Yes ladies and Gentlemen I am that idiot, as previously noted by my esteemed colleague. The issues have been the hardening/ heat treatment of the recievers. This current gun that has died, started as a 7mm, and has been a 22-250 for the better part of a year. Some portion of the Threads have stripped from the receiver tube and "crash" into the rest. Needless to say that this receiver will be cut and the barrel saved.

Switching barrels and bolt-heads is VERY easy, and VERY inexpensive compared to any other make; the exception is now Marlin's XL7 is a modular designed Savage. Nut, trigger, bolt.