I was thinking instead of the factory gun, just replacing my barrel on an older 110 .270 and turning it into a 6.5*284 from SSS. I looked up the barrel from them and doesn't sound too pricey. A lot cheaper than buying a new gun. I already have a Model 70 300WSM that I hunt w/ now. I just was looking a the heavier barreled Savage ones. What would you guys suggest, Swapping the barrel on my older 110 or just buying the new Savage w/ the same caliber that I have. If so is it very hard to to the swap myself?
Hard to offer a suggestion, but let's look at the pro's/con's. If you use your 270 you'll have to swap the barrrel back and forth. Not a big deal, just takes some time. If you buy another action, you're spending money that could have been spent on more barrels.
Either way It looks like you are thinking about swapping the barrels yourself. It is very easy. Can you change the oil or brake pads on your car/truck. If yes, you easily have the aptitude to swap a barrel. Get the wheeler action wrench, or make your own. Forget the barrel wrenches, they don't work as well as the action wrench. You'll also need a nut wrench. The Wheeler one works but the SSS one is better. Put the action in the wrench, put the nut wrench on the nut and give it a whack with a hammer. Don't use a cheater, or try to muscle it, it will just spin. The whack with a hammer has a better jolt force to break the nut free. Sometimes it'll take a couple whacks but it will come loose.
Then all you got to do is put in a go gauge and thread your barrel on, don't forget the nut. Snug the barrel down on the gauge. Then snug the nut down. You only want hand tight, no more. I just lean on it a bit and call it good. Now it's best if you use a no-go gauge and make sure the bolt will not close, or you can apply a couple layers of the clear masking tape on the bottom of the go gauge and also check that the bolt will not close. You may need to make a couple adjustments with the barrel/nut. After that you are good to go send some down the range.
In the length of time I took to type this, I could have changed my 220 swift to 308 and back.
If you are going to swap yourself. Check out the Shilen barrels and Mcgowen barrels. They are as good as the Douglas that Fred sells but are about $40 cheaper. Jim Briggs with Northland Shooter Supply will sell you an extra Savage or Stevens action as well as a Shilen or McGowen barrel.
Good luck, let me know if you have any more questions.
