45 ACP Savage Model 112, Series-J Bolt Rifle Project Update

[Dthunter]

Hello guys!
Just a bit of an update on a project I have underway.

I am taking a Savage Model 112, Series-J rifle that was originally chambered in .222Remington, and converting it to a 45 ACP rifle that should give me the opportunity to squeeze as much accuracy out of the 45 ACP as I can. Just to see what it is capable of.

Why? Because I enjoy shooting big, slow bullets like this, and would like to create a great 100 yard gopher/plate/rock etc. smacker!
The trajectory should be close to the 22lr, and would be more fun to see hits with a 230 grain bullet than a 40 grain bullet.

I may even try to shoot a deer or two with it sometime.


The barrel I am using is a custom job that I am still waiting for. It should be complete and on it's way in about a month +/- a week. The wait is unbelievably painful! LOL!

The barrel is going to be 20.5" long, and a full 1" bull contour.
- .451" diameter
- Stainless
- 1:16" Twist

So far I have:

- Obtained another bolt head for .308win case head size, and fitted it yesterday to the bolt.
the pin protrusion is at .053", so that is fine.

- The trigger was set to around 10-12 ounces (safely) when shooting bench rest with the .222 Remington barrel. So that will help wring out the smallest groups.

- I have set up a Bushnell Forge 2.5-15x50mm scope with Burris 30mm Signature rings.
- Installed a +.010" shell in the bottom rear ring and a -.010" shell in the front bottom ring to bias the scope alignment vertically.
- Installed a .015" Brass shim under the rear scope base to further give me scope bias for the vertical plain. This should allow me to site the rifle in at around 80 yards, and leave me nearly all the vertical adjustment of the scope available for longer shots. (100-200 yards LOL!). Small adjustments may need to be made to fine tune this bias value.
"If the developed loads are accurate enough to take advantage of this option".

I am hoping to shoot 230+ grain bullets primarily, but will try everything I can in time.

I tried to upload some photos of the rifle project, but this site doesn't appear to allow me to upload from my computer direct.
So I created a google photo album and created a link to the photo album. Hope this works for you guys.

Note: The barrel presently on the action is still the original .222 Remington barrel. The barrel was left on for sake of the pictures.

here is the google link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8h75oYA36SK3KuzH9
I can hardly wait for the new barrel to arrive!

[roverboy]

That's gonna be a very neat project!

[Dthunter]

I am pretty excited about it as well!

One of the cool things is that this particular action set up was designed as a single shot for a variety of calibers like 6mm rem, 220 Swift, and 22-250Rem. So the trough is exactly the right dimensions to support and self align cases the same diameter of the 45ACP.

The bottom of the whole action is non-inletted /machined and still blind,solid steel, with a perfect concave axial groove machined in the action floor.

This centers the 45ACP case perfectly every time! I have tried about 100 times, just tossing test rounds into the action.
they just smoothly slip and align themselves for the chambering operation.

This platform will be a simple single shot system, but it should be a super slick, smooth process!

If the extra barrel length doesn't get any significant gains in velocity, I will likely cut it off to 18.5" at a later time. 18.5" is the shortest I can legally shorten a barrel to here in Canada. If it were manufactured (such a stupid law) at 16", it would likely be perfect!

[samari46]

Think you are going to really have some fun with the 45acp Savage. Something to watch out for. Bunch of us were shooting 1911's and all of us were shooting 230 hard cast round nosed cast bullets. I was standing behind one shooter at at their low velocities you can actually watch the bullet wobble down it's way to the target. Especially if it's sunny as the light reflects off the base of the bullet. That and you can see the bullet rise up and then drop down to the target. First time I saw this couldn't believe what I was seeing. I assume you are going to put a scope on the Savage. If so no problem with what I just typed. You'll get a good laugh out of seeing the bullet. Have fun. Frank

[Dthunter]

Think you are going to really have some fun with the 45acp Savage. Something to watch out for. Bunch of us were shooting 1911's and all of us were shooting 230 hard cast round nosed cast bullets. I was standing behind one shooter at at their low velocities you can actually watch the bullet wobble down it's way to the target. Especially if it's sunny as the light reflects off the base of the bullet. That and you can see the bullet rise up and then drop down to the target. First time I saw this couldn't believe what I was seeing. I assume you are going to put a scope on the Savage. If so no problem with what I just typed. You'll get a good laugh out of seeing the bullet. Have fun. Frank

I am familiar with what you are saying with being able to see the bullets path to the target. It is so cool to see!
I have been very lucky to see allot of different bullets like this. Like 308Win 168 grain Berger VLD's at 7-800! I was spotting for my buddy and the sun was on my right shoulder behind us. The bullet came into sharp focus as it traveled along the viewing path of the high powered spotting scope! It was so unbelievably clear we kept switching back and forth to watch each others bullets crash into the target.

I plan on putting a good scope on this project for sure. Here is a google photo link to the rifle in the project. The barrel that is on the rifle in the photo is the original .222 Remington barrel. The barrel is not tightened down, as I have it prepped to take off and install the new barrel immediately when it arrives.

Hope you enjoy the photos!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8h75oYA36SK3KuzH9

[tbx-4]

Lets see if I can post your photos?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dVbO2hvcj67AtFh5vjt2L3WD53q0LZsQg9xV-VR3a0T1G8-QkbY6hmmpSTansCz93jkokaneBzX4pjBXVcf3t9AxChcuSsGgG LvGDZcvxuvNuisiTbmIXE1aE13KKHRuoJVq6vXT=w910-h682-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lsZWlhnEDexdBAoYdDb7QctuhdnLuSHR9y46XqSpYTrCTCtBSU VugZK5Hn1yD79qGRxhmDWnwKVp3RLYv78SsmfHEVt2srMTSunX C3tmGWquNpKKgGWkxA-_iBy0Xp5xLYQhXpUv=w910-h682-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ClALfTF3BFao9ktjXlBkfxLsFq_VpEK6eo5JZtJuwsJXkNreiQ S325_KZXjgaRCl9b6NQ92e0UI9_mYvG3mzab1muDvQKNGqToO2-2uy-hsh2kXX2nhp37VkDzJpOA_d96dacYrv=w512-h682-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QQzKIyrkcNNI7XHwfhlgbfItsRsHX2dCLPLgBd0m7p1XfS9VIx lRzc8QO9u1dqdtGzCEQiTY49dI2x3YSJ_c7R_PLsXiOSY8uZbb rS8I6dFkP5joLd24_4ESSuxJJBt1jqDC_yAX=w910-h682-no

Ok, that worked pretty good!

Nice rifle too.

[dk17hmr]

I have a Savage single shot with a 16.5-17" 45 acp barrel. It's alot of fun and actually pretty useful for killing small varmints and pest. Mine is suppressed which makes it even more fun.

[RU shooter]

If your looking for something with a bit more vel a simple solution would be ream it out for 45 win mag . I believe you can still use your 45 acp dies to reload it think starline still sells brass also

[GARD72977]

More case capacity would kill this project in my opinion. I have always wanted to do a 38 super single shot bolt action.

[Good Cheer]

I've wanted one too. Just haven't pursued it hard enough to make it a reality.
But then I'd be sorry over the short barrel because of wanting to use it for 450 grain paper patched muzzleloaded boolits.

[Isaac]

Excellent project.

To the guys who have these .45 acp conversions, where did you purchase the barrels?

Were they pre-chambered? Pre-bored?

Thanks,
Issac

[405grain]

With barrel lengths beyond 16" you actually begin loosing velocity. The rifle barrel can gain you up to 100 fps faster than a 1911. With a rifle action you can use slower powders and higher pressures to get faster velocity, but experience has shown that when you start increasing the powder charge above standard 1911 loads the accuracy starts to fall off. Powders and loads that work best in 45acp pistols usually work best in these rifles. Most 45acp rifles (at least all the ones that I've seen or heard of) generally shoot around a 2" group at 50yards with either cast or jacketed bullets. A 4x scope is more than adequate for these short range rifles. Though it could certainly be lethal, I would not consider a 45 acp as deer cartridge if you have better choices available. 45acp rifles are fun to shoot, and have very little report and almost no recoil. They would be ideal for those places where suppressors are legal. With cast bullet loads they are about the most inexpensive way to have shooting fun. Youngsters and ladies have no problem shooting them. They are great for short range target shooting, and with reactive targets. I have even used mine to pick off ground squirrels out to 40 yards.
Here's a link to show what velocities to expect: http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/45auto2.html

[Drm50]

What is the price range of 16" + .451 barrels. Several years ago we were going to put together a 45acp on a 03. Bolt would have been right. The only barrels we could find were mil Surp SMG barrels. We didn't look into custom because of expense. At the time it was just a whim but now would be legal deer gun here in Ohio. I don't have a 03 donar know but have a Enfield action that should work. When we were tinkering with the idea we decided to use something with correct bolt face as money saver. Not interested in building target gun just nice 100-150yd deer gun.

[ASSASSIN]

1" diameter chrome moly barrel blanks 20" long are $45 for 45 Auto .451 barrels.

1.200" diameter stainless barrel blanks 27" long are $155 for 45 Auto .451 barrels.

[roverboy]

1" diameter chrome moly barrel blanks 20" long are $45 for 45 Auto .451 barrels.

1.200" diameter stainless barrel blanks 27" long are $155 for 45 Auto .451 barrels.

Is this from Green Mountain?

[ASSASSIN]

Is this from Green Mountain?

Yes it is.

[rockrat]

I have a 24" MGM 45acp barrel for my contender. I really should get it threaded!!

[onelight]

Dthunter that looks like it is going to e gobs a fun to play with , nice project !

[dk17hmr]

If you want to up the juice just get some starline 45 Super brass and load it up to 460 Rowland powder range.

165gr Hydra shock with Longshot powder loaded in 45 super brass.
http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg542/dkrusk01/Screenshot_20190526-094140_zpsvxxrvhj5.png (http://s1243.photobucket.com/user/dkrusk01/media/Screenshot_20190526-094140_zpsvxxrvhj5.png.html)

45acp from a rifle with a 265gr wfn loaded to 950 fps is a killer and would be just fine at putting meat on the table.......I mean 45lc revolvers work don't they?

Mine with the right loads is a sub 2" 100 yard rifle. I use it for blowing up varmints. 165s at 1920fps are pretty awesome but even standard pressure 185gr at 1350fps work amazing also.

[Dthunter]

Thank you guys! I am really looking forward to doing a wide range of bullet and powder tests, to see what works best for this platform.

I have already done extensive load development for my JR carbine in 45acp. 230 grain hollow points at 1085fps shoot into 1- 1 1/4" at 50 yards fairly consistently. The higher the pressure, the more accurate the jr carbine was shooting. Needless to say, I could only go so far before I started to experience evidence of pressures nearing their limit.

This bolt rifle will allow me to advance past this range and discover what I can achieve with slower powders, for a longer, progressive push.

I have heard that barrel lengths past 14-16" yield little to no velocity advanantage. This is where the slower powders will take over and progress past this velocity range.
Make no mistake, I will not push things into the dangerous range. I want this combo to last and yield some game smacking fun!

As far as the 45 ACP being enough to kill deer, I am not at all worried about it! I have shot game with many different handgun cartridges, archery equipment (LONG BOW, RECURVE, COMPOUND). Never encountered any problems, because I am aware of the limitations of what ever weapon I have chosen to do the job. That is more than half the challenge and fun.

[roverboy]

A lot of people put down the .45 ACP as a deer cartridge but, woods ranges should be fine. Especially from a carbine with 200 gr. and up.

[Isaac]

Thanks for the information.

Isaac

[jmorris]

Why? Because I enjoy shooting big, slow bullets like this,

It is fun. Like a 405gn bullet leaving around 1050fps making its way to the 300 yard gong.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwhM5ywY4gM

Who is making your barrel?

[Baltimoreed]

Love the delay, neat build. Cool video.

[Dthunter]

Ordered my Savage barrel nut wrench today. I do not want to be dependant on local gunsmithing stores.

I just hope that the wrench will make it to me in Canada in a reasonable amount of time with all this Corona virus crap!

Now if the weather would turn better, we could go outside to enjoy some sun! But that's is not going to happen for a week or so darn it!

I am impatiently waiting on my barrel still...….. A hard wait during all this indoor isolation stuff!

[Dthunter]

Wohoo! Just got word that my barrel is fi ished and in the mail today!

I can harldy wait to start the load development, and see what this little stubby case can do!

[ASSASSIN]

From a reloading standpoint, stay with a longer barrel! I shoot a 16 1/2" barrel, 19 1/2" barrel and just finished a 23" barrel in 45 Auto / 45 Super and pushing Hornady's lighter weight FTX bullets @ over 1,500 fps. will keep bullet holes touching at 75 yards!

In my Savage bolt gun, I load Speer's 250 gr. Deep Curl in 45 Auto brass at 1,300 fps. and 45 Super brass is loaded with FTX bullets at just over 1,500 fps. is going to make an excellent deer round!

I put the same scope and rings on my Savage, but set it up in one of those Choate Varmint stocks, set up as a single shot. It's a HEAVY GUN, but groups out to 200 yards are running well under 2 inches and should do anything I would ever need for a "close range" gun.

I have not shot any factory loads through this gun, so I have no earthly use a what they will do, save one, and as loud as it was, I won't shoot another one! Even my fastest loads are not that loud, but they are not loaded with pistol powder either.

[Dthunter]

Well boys and girls, here she FINALLY is!
After waiting just shy of 4- 1/2 months after deciding to go ahead with the project, it is now a reality!

First range visit was a great learning tool! The only load I tested today was pretty darn good to start! I put the first 2 rounds onto a target at 25, then put another 2 on a target at 75yards. I then took the bull by the horns and went right out to someones old target at 136 yards. Photo of the target and rifle are included in the photo link below.

So far it is really fun!
Hope you like the photos.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UPNd3zvpCzFVK9Bk7

[tbx-4]

Well, that came out nice! Good job and good shooting!

[samari46]

Yeah,really good looking rifle.One thing to talk about it,but definitely something else when the project is finished. You definitely did extremely well. Frank

[roverboy]

Yep, turned out really nice.

[405grain]

I'm really impressed. All the other 45acp bolt actions that I've seen are based off of the Rhineland/Troupesystem kits. Your rifle is easily twice as accurate. Really nice. As for a deer cartridge, I thought about it and no body would think twice about using a 45 caliber muzzleloader to hunt deer. Your rifle is actually more accurate and more powerful than that, so it should work well.

[kbstenberg]

Dthunter I have a question please? Concerning the bolt face. You said you used a 308 cal face. Did you have to do any mods to the face so it would cycle the brass through the barrel?

[mdatlanta]

Really nice. Enjoy!

[murf205]

Dthunter, I'm liking me some of that rifle. Now, what about a 44 mag bolt gun! I know Ruger makes one but the magazine is restrictive as far as heavier boolits. Congrats on a cool build.