I have been thinking about doing a savage build for a long time and I now have a stevens 200 on the way that I am going to use as a donor. I cant decide, do I do an extreme budget build in a 260 and see how accurate I can get and for how little or build a nice long, heavy barreled 260 bench/varmint type rifle? I dont need either but want both. so based on cool factor which way would you guys go?
Option 1: Accurate rifle build for very little money
Option 2: Nice bench gun built from a cheap donor action
Just a thought, but it's gonna be a bunch more hard cash outta your pocket.
* time and true the action as best you can
* order in two barrel blanks. One would be about 25" finished, and in a #5 contour. The other would be a #7 contour 23" long finished.
* buy a good flat bottomed stock stock, and later opt for a second stock built to shoot off a bench. Then bed the action for both stocks
* use a Sharp Shooter EVO trigger and inlet both stocks for the trigger group..
The shorter barrel will group the best, and the difference in velocity will be minor when you look at the group consistentancy.The real problem your going to encounter is the recoil from shot to shot off the bench when using a faster twist barrel. I notice this in big cased 6mm's, and you should see it even more with the 6.5
A good factory stock to start out with is the laminated varmit stock that comes on the BVSS. Not perfect, but better than most all factory type stocks. Sharp Shooter sells an ayssemetrical forend stock that is made to counter act the recoil from the bigger cases off the bench. How well it works I don't know, but the idea seems liike a good one. Whatever stock you choose; pillar bed it.
I have a Rifle Basix trigger installed on one of my 112's, and it's a zero inlet setup. Not as good as the EVO trigger, but stiil a lot better than the factory trigger. Mine is set at just under two pounds, and have never had an issue with it. You can buy it for about one third the price of the EVO, and I'd put it at 85% as good.
Buy a Hollands recoil lug! Bed it and be done with it. I use a barrel nut on all my Savages, and woudn't think of doing anything else. Others like the shoulder setup, but I prefer the nut for engineering issues alone. I would not use a Speedlock setup in the short action. There's little to be gained here and the lock time on the Savage is very fast from the factory (only the Remington 788 is faster). I did install one of a 112, and have never reaslly been fond of it. I would change the firing pin spring for a better one. In the long action the lock time is faster, but you also encounter harmonic issues. Primer strike is much more consistent if that matters a lot.
gary
