I have built and accurized rifles on Mausers, Rem 700's and Savage action into custom varmint/target/hunting rifles for over25+ years. My main go to hunting rifle of choice, was Carls Gustaf, unissued 96 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser that I sporterized in 1985. I tapered the barrel, bent the bolt, checked the headspace, installed a Timney Featherweight deluxe trigger, drilled and tapped, Parkerized, and glass bedded into a custom stock. After hunting with it from then till now, it is like an extension of me, has accounted for over 600 chucks here in KY, over 50 coyotes and around 40 deer here in KY and Tenn.
Over the last few years, I had built 2 6.5 x284's for myself, after doing some for others, and liked the caliber. so I built up 2 on Savage actions, on a repeater, with a varmint weight 26" Shilen blued barrel, 8 twist, bedded in a BVSS SAvage stock, with a 3 screw trigger, and a Nikon Moncarch 4x12x40. The other Is in a A5 type stock, with full bedding block, Benchmark 30" full bull, stainless match 8 twist barrel, SSS Trigger set at 12 ounces, Single shot adapter I made, dovetailed into the mag box to make the action stiffer, Burris Signature mounts and a Vortex Viper, 6-20x44, with Mil-Dot reticle. Both these guns shoot in the .3's at 100yds, and the later an honest 1 inch groups, at 300yds benchrested, using the same load and components.
I had decided to build a hunting weight rifle, and traded for a 1991 Savage long action, round top, with Warne Weaver style steel bases, silver soldered on at the factory. They only made these one year that I know of, had them when I ran a shop at the same time. Anyway, I came across this one, with syn Choat stock in 30/06, which was a good shooting rifle. I kept watch on Classifeds at Savage Shooters website, member there, and finally found a unfired sporter barrel in 6.5x284, 8 twist, for a steal and promptly bought it. Today I took off the 30/06 barrel, and trued the action face up on my mandrel, in my lathe. I added a thicker recoil lug, and installed and head spaced the new barrel, and remove some material floating the barrel. I then added Millet extended windage adjustable steel, weaver type rings to give me plenty of room to get the scope where I wanted it for perfect eye relief. I mounted a Nikon Pro staff 5 , 4.5 x18, with mil dot reticle. Got it all ready to go, test fired 3 different bullet weights, fed smoothly from the mag, extracted and ejected smoothly. Hope to get some range time in the next few days, will tell you how it shoots. I am running a 120 gr. Sieera SP, right at 3380fps out of my 30 Barrel, will loose some velocity out of the shorter sporter, but should be a laser. The 142 Matchkings, zeroed 2.5 inches high out of the 30" barrel, at 100yds, are dead on at 300yds. The 120s will be flatter.
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