Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors M1920 swap barrel system

Rather than hijack oldtimer303's thread re: a .250 barrel for a M1920, I thought it better to throw this out on a new thread.

Since the 1920 barrel threads are the same as 1899/99 "square" threads, what's to stop a guy from building a swap barrel system on the bolt gun using the takedown system used for the lever guns? Hand thread a different barrel on (interrupted threads or not) to where two notches line up (at the same point the barrel draws up tight), and have a permanent steel key set in the stock that meshes into said notches to hold everything in battery. One fly I see in the ointment would be the extractor cuts in the 99 barrels, but possibly the only thing needed would be re-cutting of same.

It wouldn't necessarily make for an easily dismounted gun for ease of transport, but it would allow a fellow to have multiple calibers on the same frame, and could be done on the cheap (relatively speaking) by using cast off 99 barrels. Obviously, in order to retain magazine feeding and extraction with the original extractor, one would have to stick with .250 and .300's (or their respective wildcats), but one could also shoot things like .30-30, .303, .22HP by going single shot and sticking a modified extractor on the bolt, and would open up the possibility of adding .35 Remington and .243/7-08/.308 (if they're not too hot for the old girl). Shoot all the calibers you can dream of off of one platform.

IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME!


Gary
It Can Be Done. I've seen other Stuff Done with Different Bolt actions and Stuff
I Have My Engraved 3 Barrel Set in Savage 303,22H.P. and 410.
I Just added a 250 to It.

I have enough on my plate at the moment, not the least of which is a hip replacement in the next few weeks. But, I have a couple junk 99 TD barrels that might make a diversion onto a 1920 instead of the multi-barrel 1899 TD project (which is nearing completion).

As always, another one of your interesting ideas and observations. Years ago I asked if a 99 barrel could be used on a 1920 frame and was told yes, though I was left wondering about the different extractor cut locations. Best of luck with your hip, it is amazing what they can do with hips and knees these days, and I look forward to reading more on your proposition for a 1920 take down/switch barrel.

PS - could you make a two piece stock with a junction block at the breach and the forearm attached to the barrel. Finn Aagaard ran an article in Rifle magazine years ago with a Mauser 96 takedown built on this configuration .

Thank you. Yes, a two piece stock could be done. I too have seen several different systems built on that theme. It would require a lot more work, but would be viable if a compact takedown was the goal. Since my proposition is for simply a swap barrel system for the 1920, I wouldn't consider it necessary.

The reason I'm zeroing in on the 1920 is obviously because of making use of pre-existing 99 takedown barrels. It could be done with any number of other actions, but the cost would escalate when having to procure multiple fresh barrels of the same contour.

This is just an idea I'm throwing out there for discussion at this point.

Very interesting problem and I look forward to reading your responses.

Did not know the threads were the same. Good information.

You go gnoahhh!

Actually, some of the factory barrels were the same. It's widely known that 1920/26 barrels and M1899/99 barrels interchange and M20/26s show up with M1899/99 barrels. Several years back Numrich was selling M20 barrels and folks were buying them to install on M99s. All you have to do it examine the barrel markings. It's all in the back posts.

Would the breach of a 99 barrel have enough integrity to function if it also had an extractor cut added for the 1920 Mauser claw extractor, or would it end up being too "Swiss cheesed"?

Yeah, Skid. Hence my thoughts of taking it one step further to create a bolt gun with a handful of interchangeable barrels. Using a 99 barrel by threading it in "normal" tight as a simple replacement for a worn out barrel is one thing, setting the gun up with multiple different caliber barrels in a hand-tight scenario is quite another.

I must be nuts to consider building a swap barrel system on a collectible 94 year old platform. Anybody got an orphan 1920 action lying around? Ha ha.

Something else I never had reason to think about: what about the barrels on the 40/45s? Don't tell me they used 99 barrels too. (I don't own a 40 to compare.)

Interchange is in no alterations required?

Savage Arms came up with this switch barrel idea 55 years ago...it's called the model 110

The barrel on my 45 looks a lot like an orphan 99 barrel I have. The 40/45 bolt is basically an enlarged 23 bolt, so it has two spring loaded extractors on opposing sides of the bolt head.

Since I don't know, I'll go ahead and ask the stupid question. Will a 110 barrel thread into a 1920? Or for that matter, can a 340 barrel be made to work?

Not familiar with 110s, never owned one, never cared to own one. Do they not utilize a barrel nut like the 340 as a means to lock the barrel in place versus the notch-and-key system of the early levergun takedowns? If so, it is not germane to the discussion of using 1899/99 takedown barrels on a M1920. Apples and oranges. (Nothing against 110s per se, just never cared for them.)

Don't those two rifles utilize V-threads, which begs the question "Would a post-mil 99 barrel fit a 110?" All those new fangled post-war designs have escaped my attention.

nope they're not even close;
post-mil 99 = .8955 x 12 tpi
110 (small shank) = 1.055 x 20 tpi


And I get that this is not germane to the original question (..and I know germane, my last name is Germain), just trying to add some levity

Looks like I now know the answer. I've never owned a 110.

I've also never owned a 1920. So it looks like it comes back to 99 and 40/45 barrels? I'm going to venture a guess that the 340 uses a similar thread and barrel diameter as a 110.

Given that these days most of the available barrels are used of course there most likely will have to be an alteration. Since most of the used barrels available these days have one form or another of an integral ramp the fit of the barrel may well have to be adjusted to allow the ramp to index properly. Given that there will also need to be some attention paid to the forearm as if the barrel has to be set back a thread then the gap between the forearm and the barrel will increase. Thus a barrel that has already been fitted to a rifle will also have to be fitted when installed on another rifle. The threads and shanks are the same but once they've been installed on a rifle all bets are off.

Thanks George. Specifically I was wondering about the threads, shank, and any cuts.