1985 223 Savage Varmint Rifle Barrel

[Johnch]

This is one of the 26" long Heavy old small shank sized barrels on a 110 action with a bolt head for the 223 case head
The chamber was LONG , so I neck sized only and worked up a load of H335 and a 50 gr varmint bullet
I have had a steady increase in group size for the last 2 or 3 years
So I finally borrowed a bore scope and took a look in the barrel

Well most of the barrel looks OK
BUT over the last 38 years of shooting a lot of groundhogs
There is now a noticeable area of throat erosion
Love the rifle for simple plain shooting

OK first I am going to first see a gunsmith I know
To see if he thinks the barrel is good enough to cut 1/2" or so off the chamber end and re cut a new 223 chamber

But if not
I plan on replacing the barrel
But I am thinking 22" long as that 26" barrel add a bit of weight on some of the mile each way walks in

If I need to replace the barrel
I have no clue as what to get

Douglas was always good , but would I have to have it threaded and chambered ?
But a guy I hunt with told me he would just order a E R Shaw barrel
I have a Savage barrel nut wrench , so a pre chambered would be easy and might be a lower cost

What would would you get ?

Thanks
John

[Texas by God]

Check on the bay for Savage take off barrels.
I’ve had good luck there with Tikka barrels.
Setting the original back and rechambering might be the cheapest route; or not.


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[jsizemore]

There's a whole bunch of barrel companies that make pre-fit Savage barrels. You can pick your barrel contour, twist rate and type of 223 chamber. Barrel interior finish gets better as the price goes up. Barrel blanks go for $250-$500. Gunsmith thread, chamber, and crown is $250-$600.

I had a local gunsmith that builds a bunch of long range hunting and target rifles cut, rechamber, and recrown an older Douglas barrel that hadn't seen many rounds. Price was $300 but after a year he had a price increase to $400 and not all the agreed work wasn't done. I never went back. My last 223 barrel was a Krieger 8 twist heavy sporter I got for $325 on sale and my current smith threaded, chambered, throated in a separate step, crowned and bead blasted the exterior in 223 Wylde for $250. Turnaround time was 2 weeks for the completed action. He's more a hobbyist that competes at 1000yd BR.

The lesson I learned was not to throw away the gunsmith fees on a questionable barrel.

[Hannibal]

There's a whole bunch of barrel companies that make pre-fit Savage barrels. You can pick your barrel contour, twist rate and type of 223 chamber. Barrel interior finish gets better as the price goes up. Barrel blanks go for $250-$500. Gunsmith thread, chamber, and crown is $250-$600.

I had a local gunsmith that builds a bunch of long range hunting and target rifles cut, rechamber, and recrown an older Douglas barrel that hadn't seen many rounds. Price was $300 but after a year he had a price increase to $400 and not all the agreed work wasn't done. I never went back. My last 223 barrel was a Krieger 8 twist heavy sporter I got for $325 on sale and my current smith threaded, chambered, throated in a separate step, crowned and bead blasted the exterior in 223 Wylde for $250. Turnaround time was 2 weeks for the completed action. He's more a hobbyist that competes at 1000yd BR.

The lesson I learned was not to throw away the gunsmith fees on a questionable barrel.

I'd say that last sentence is sage advice.

[floydboy]

I have found Savage barrels to be very good and definitely a bargain to most aftermarket barrels.

[15meter]

This shop is not far from you:

www.sharpshootersupply.com

Picked up a 260 Remington barrel from them a number of years ago, nice guy to deal with.

Might want to give him a call.

And it shot very well.

[nicholst55]

Most gunsmiths will charge you the same price to set an existing barrel back, rethread, and rechamber, as he will to fit a new barrel. IMHO, the smart money is on buying a new barrel. With a barrel vise and your barrel nut wrench and the appropriate headspace gauges, you can change your own Savage barrels.

[Tripplebeards]

Try scrubbing all the brass and copper fowling out of it and try again. Load your pet load OAL a hair longer or shorter and see if it improves accuracy. I have a Remington LTR 223 and 26” heavy barrel 700 in 243. As soon as accuracy starts going I clean the barrel and it tightens my groups back up.

[deltaenterprizes]

Most modern barrel manufacturers have figured out how to make good barrels unlike 20 or more years ago where certain manufacturers had better quality than others.
Kreiger has a 6 month backlog according to a friend that tried to order one.
I have heard that Green Mountain is a good fair priced barrel.

[M-Tecs]

I do a lot of barrel setbacks mostly for myself doing all my own work. Unless you are doing your own chambering and threading it's generally not cost effective since you will only get 1K to 2K more usable barrel life if you are lucky.

I have heard good things about https://northlandshooterssupply.com/prefit-barrels/

more options here

https://modularrifle.com/savage-rifles-savage110-rifle-savage-axis/savage-rifle-barrels-savage-110-barrel-axis-barrel/

https://mcgowenbarrel.com/savage-pre-fit-barrels/

https://www.x-caliber.net/savage-pre-fit

https://www.savageshooters.com/showthread.php?67487-Highest-quality-aftermarket-Savage-replacement-barrels

What do you think the round count is on that barrel?

[country gent]

ER Shaw, Douglas, shilen, Mc ***** all carry good reputations most make a drop in replacement for the savages. A lot of gunsmiths dont want to do the shorten and rechamber the burned throat is harder on the reamers. As M Tecs stated you dont get a lot more life for the effort / cost.

How did you inspect the barrel? If you can mount it in a vise and go thru it with a bore scope. Look it over good full length some ball powders actually burnt the barrel out farther up the barrel. You may find wear where its isnt as visible.

The other area to check is the bedding it wears also over the years, it may need a touch up. Oils and solvents soften wood and bedding over time , recoil can compress wood over time. You might bring it back with a little accra glass.

[rockrat]

Northland Shooters Supply and their Criterion barrels are excellent. I have one on order from them right now. They sometimes have factory Savage barrels for sale. You might also give a shout out to Brad at Urban Rifleman barrels, he has a great product. I am shooting one of his 22 Br barrels right now

[Three44s]

I have had very good luck with buying take off barrels at the Savage Shooters Forum.

Most are used but some are new take offs.

Three44s

[Johnch]

Thanks
I guess I will just look at the links you good people supplied

Thanks
John

[firefly1957]

I think Match Grade Machine will make a barrel for that gun look them up .

I got a barrel made by them for a 357-44 B&D for a early Contender frame it is more accurate then I would have thought possible !
The short neck and design of the 357-44 do not lend themselves to accuracy but with Hornady 140 FTX bullets over AA 1680 powder it shoot one hole groups at 100 yards ! I do have a 27" non tapered barrel and 4-12 X scope on the gun . Shooting some bullets I swaged from 9mm brass in .223 reloading dies averaged about 1 1/2 inches at 100 yards .

[elginrunner]

Ive used Hart and Krieger. Spend the money, get Krieger, you will not regret it.

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[Tripplebeards]

If you’re gonna spend the money on a barrel, you might as well have fun and get a funky caliber with it just as long as it’s something easy enough to make brass for. How about a 17-223? I’m still partial to plain old 223 because it’s easy to load a lot hard on barrels usually unless you shoot millions of rounds.