Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Need Savage "Expert"......

I built a Tensioned Barrel rifle on a Savage single shot action in 300WM a while ago. I want to rebarrel it to 243WSSM. The case heads fit the bolt head fine. But I read on another post that there is a difference in firing pin and shank dimentions for the WSSM line of cartridges. Can someone elaborate on this.....

http://public.fotki.com/Rbertalotto/tension_barrel_project/

The newer WSM came out with a larger shank and the new firing pins are smaller. Neither will create a problem unless you are trying to buy a factory barrel if they make them yet. If you order a custom barrel you just need to tell them your shank diameter or send them the barrel nut. The only time the firing pin will become an issue is if you swap bolt heads for a differant caliber then you will need to have it drilled to the old firing pin size or order a new firing pin. PM me if you have more questions.

If you need an "expert", try over at www.savageshooters.com . They live and breathe barrel nuts there.

Savage doesn't make WSSM guns, but thier CRF WSM bolts can be swapped into an older reciever like yours. Some of the early WSM guns were built with the smaller shanks. I'd think the CRF bolt head would be a must have for the shorter WSSM case. The reciever will have to be machined a bit for the ejector IIRC, but otherwise it should be a fairly easy swap.

How well does that Savage shoot? Nice work. There isn't much information out there about tensioned barrels, especially when they are bedded instead of the action like that one. Interesting. Did you thread the aluminum and use it as a barrel nut? I dont see any wrench marks on the brake either, how much pressure is on the aluminum?

I'd like to do have something similar done, only with much less steel in the barrel.