Picked up a Savage Model 11 FXP3 in .243 Win today at a gun show in Colorado Springs. It came with a Simmons 8-point 3-9s scope in the rings, which will eventually be replaced. (I have a Burris scope for it and will probably replace the rings, too.)

Don't really need a .243 but at $295 plus $10 for the background check I couldn't refuse - I figured the action was worth that. The stock is a little flimsy, about like a Ruger American and may get replaced as well.

If the rifle shoots it may stay a .243. If not I'm considering a rebarrel to, well, pretty much any short action cartridge except a .243 Win or 6mm Rem. If necessary I'm willing to change to the bolt head and magazine follower. The long list so far:

With no bolt head or mag follower change required:
6.5 Creedmoor
.260 Rem
7mm-08
.308 Win
.338 Federal

With bolt head and mag follower change:
.300 RCM
.338 RCM

I already reload for, among others, .257 Roberts, .6.5-06AI, .280 Rem, 7mm RM, .308 Win, .30-06, .300WM and .338WM so it isn't like I'm trying to fill a big gap somewhere. Frankly, I'm not even certain whether to go for something accurate and fun to shoot or change the bolt head and follower and get more of a thumper. The top contenders are probably the .260 Rem, 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Win.

Here's a photo of the rifle. Not a beauty but it's a Savage and I expect it will shoot. The stock may get changed down the road for something more solid.



Curious what you guys (and gals) would do?

Change the scope then go forth and kill varmints and big game with it.

If you decide to change the barrel I have a Sharpshooter Supply Savage barrel change tools I could sell you.

Doc

I would sell it and hope you can get your money back.

Great platform to play with. I had something similar - started life as Savage's "mountain rifle" in 7mm/08. I can't remember the model, but it had the light contour barrel, pre-accutrigger, black stock. I put a SSS trigger in it, and rebarreled it to 6BR, then to 250 savage. Shot very well with both - did not shoot well as a 7mm/08. If I still had it, I would probably go to a 22/250 AI twisted for big bullets. That is probably my last itch to scratch....

Kaiser Norton

I would x2 Kaiser and say .22-250 or maybe 7/08 or AI version of either?

Just a couple of ideas...Straight rebarrel: .25 Souper

Bolt head change: .350 Rem Mag

Although an 8mm/08 would be just goofy enough to be real cool...

338 Federal is just a 308 necked to shoot 338....

Not sure I get your point. The .243 Win, .260 Rem, 7mm-08 and .338 Fed are all .308 progeny, which is why mo bolt face or mag follower changes are needed.

See if it shots as a .243. If not then change bbl. to what depends on you. You have big game needs covered. Why not turn this into a small cal, light recoil, fun to shoot pinker gun? Any trigger time is good, but low recoil and cheap to feed make even more satisfying. Could even change bolt face to .223 and open up a whole bunch of options. This is the dilemma that makes buying a new rifle so much fun!

Whatever you do, enjoy?

You need a zippy 22. Get a 22-250 barrel and make sure it has a fast twist. My opinion...

Why in hell did you have to pay for a background check?

Why in hell did you have to pay for a background check?

It's the law. Any firearm purchase at a gun show requires a check if any part of the transaction occurs on the premises. Moreover I was buying from a dealer so it was required anyway.

forpest -

I already have a Ruger MKII in .223 and Ruger MKII VT in .22-250. Also an AR in .223/5.56 (Wylde). That said the Ruger .223 is a slow twist and a 1-8 might be fun.

First change is going to be to ditch the factory rings, bases and scope and replace with Leupold rings/bases and a Buyrris Fullfield II 3-9x-40 with Ballistic Plex reticle.

Second change will probably be to replace the stock with a Boyd laminate.

I don't load for .243 now so no dies, brass or bullets. Before I invest in them I want to see how it shoots. If it doesn't do well with factory fodder the chances of a rebarrel go way up. Bullets in 6.5, 7mm, .308 and .338 I have.

Obviously our outlooks are very different. Every Savage I've played with shot very well. The .22-250 I had would put 5 shots into a 100-yard group you could cover with a dime. Dad put about 1500 rounds through it before he gave it to me and I shot it until the barrel went. That was 12 years ago and I sold it for $250 as-is to a guy that wanted the action.

For me the important part of the this purchase was the action - it is like a Tinker Toy set for adults. I'm not worried about getting my money back but I do plan to have a lot of fun with it.

No

Because you have .338 Federal listed with .300 & .338 RCM under bolt face and follower change in your original post.



It is illegal to sell any firearm in Colorado without a background check, unless it is to immediate family members. So it doesn't matter if it happens at a gun show or private treaty, all gun sales must have a background check. The $10 fee is for Colorado to run a second NICS check on the buyer, besides the one the FFL ran. I could go into a long rant about this, but these two issues besides capacity limits on magazines were passed in response to the President's plea for more gun control after Sandy Hook.

I would stay away from the RCM's. Extinct chambering. Why are you interested in those? Just creating problems for yourself, IMO.

If I go that route (doubtful), I'd buy a lifetime supply of brass.

The 6.5 Creedmoor is looking more and more interesting.

Thanks. I fixed it by moving the .338 Fed to where it belongs.

I'd call Jim at Northland Shooters Supply & order one a squared recoil lug & barrel but along with a 20" sporter weight Criterion 1-in-8" twisted tube chambered to Creedmoor personally.

Savage may be ugly but they're a darned accurate platform! A decent stock w/ checkering and all can be had from Boyds for $200 or a synthetic from MWUSA for $250.

Problem I always had w/ these plans is that puts you over the cost of a Ruger American Predator w/ glass. Still, it's sure to shoot & will have a decent, stiff stock.

If you want to look at it from the dealer's perspective, he got about $274 for the rifle. The other $31 went to the state for taxes and background check.

In any case, I was and still am very happy with the deal. This was a dealer I've dealt with before and he gave me a very good price on a Remington M700 BDL .308 Win and H&R Handi-Rifle .308 Win I sold him a few years back.

Hadn't heard of Criterion before. Thanks.

How was the gun show? I've petty much have given up hope for gun shows in the Springs, but if they are actually having useful stuff there I may check them out again.

358 winchester.

Leave it be if it shoots. Fast-twist .22 if it don't.

The show was disappointing in terms of number of vendors and the crowd was much lighter than the Denver Tanner show.

This may be my last Colorado Springs show for a long time unless I get really bored.

That was my last experience. Way to many jewelry and jerky vendors and not enough good stuff. Is the Denver show pretty good?

The Tanner show in Denver is way better. They claim 700 tables and I'd say it's about 4-5x the show in Colorado Springs.

Criterion barrels are the "Kriegers" you hear a lot of Weatherby owners talk about.

First mods are done. The Simmons 8-Point scope and aluminum rings and bases provided by Savage are history. The replacement s are Warne steel bases and rings and a Burris Fullfield II 3-9x Ballistic Plec scope. Much better.


I have a box of Winchester 100g Power Point ammo to zero the scope with. If it wasn't so windy I'd do it today. Instead I think I'll go handload some 6.5-06AI/140g BT blems.

After you swap out rings and glass I'd replace the stock and go for 338 Federal just BC I'd like to own one.

I really can't see any hole in your gun collection that needs to be filled so I imagine it's going to come down to personal taste and whatever flavor you happen to be craving right now.

Now I can sleep....Thanks

Sorry to see you've lowered your standards. Life is too precious to hunt with an ugly rifle... Just sayin..

Laffin...
Daugher #2 kindly called my old 110E in .22-250, with its "walnut finish" stock "homely". Before the barrel went south, thopugh, it was probably the most accurate rifle I've ever owned. (A Rem M700 in 308 Win would be close.)

Once I ditch the stock for a laminate the looks will improve considerably.

I'd leave it .243 and bed it into a Boyds prairie hunter laminate stock. That's what I did with my Savage .223 and it shoots fantastic. The Boyds prairie hunter fits me great and is very comfortable. It also added a bit of weight and a bunch of stiffness, which made a big difference in stabilty off the bipod I use when varminting. I've had at least a dozen Savage 11/110's over the years and so far they've all shot under MOA with very little work.

Took the stock off and looked at the trigger. Some bubba screwed up the adjustment spring. While the trigger doesn't feel bad I would prefer to lighten it some. Will call Savage on Monday to order the spring and proper adjustment tool.

I have never paid for a background check. Gov't doesn't charge for them and cell calls are mostly no charge except the used time.

Other than that, I really don't know why you bought it. The changes you discuss will run the cost to more than value. On the other hand, I find the .243 useful. Give it a chance.

Jack

If it were me, I'd sell off everything but the action and build a custom rifle. I've built quite a few for myself as well as others. I'm partial to varmint taper barrels. Most of them I've bedded into Bell and Carlson Duramax stocks. I built myself a .243 once with a Stainless Fluted factory barrel that shot factory Black Hills Gold ammo as good as any handloads. I foolishly sold that rifle.

Go big or go home. 358, 9.3x308, 375x308 or .411x308.

No

Colorado requires a second and redundant NICS background check. Colorado also charges $10 for said redundant background check. The House tried to do away with the secondary background check because it was redundant and used the same NICS system, but opponents killed the bill. After Sandy Hook the Democrat controlled House and Senate decided they would charge a fee to do this redundant background check, the Governor also a D signed this and several other "common sense" gun control measures into law.

That's why if you buy a firearm in Colorado you pay for a background check.

You're not from Colorado, are you? Although it may (or may not) have changed in the last year or so, Colorado law has required the CBI to collect a fee for background checks. Regardless, a lot of dealers charge for the service and at $305 out the door I don't really care if it was $10 for the rifle and $295 for taxes and background check.

It isn't important to me that you know why I bought it or that you approve my intended changes. And yes, the intended changes will cost more than the original value of the rifle. They will also, however, add to that value and, much more importantly, the Savage action allows me to customize the rifle to my desires without any added expenses for a gun smith.

I’ve already stated that if the .243 barrel shoots the rifle may stay as a .243. Or not, depending on a variety of factors including personal whims. The stock, however, is not long for this world and the scope, rings and bases have already been replaced. If I replace the barrel at a later date I will have much less invested in this rifle than I do either of my other customized rifles and I expect it to shoot every bit as well.

Personally, I think you snagged one heck of a great buy. As you stated, Savages just flat SHOOT! A .260 would be awesome!

They're butt one-rifled Kriegers. Good shooters from what I've seen.

The rifle is an FXP3 with synthetic stock. When I took the stock off I noticed it has steel pillars.

Anyone have a Savage in one of these stocks and how does it shoot if you do?


If it shoots well as-is I may just paint the stock.

Some thoughts on rebarrel options...

Last night I was looking at the ballistics for various short action cartridges and came to the conclusion that, when using 22" barrels for all, 7mm and .270 WSM ballistics beat any factory 6.5 offering I could find except the 26 Nosler and 6.5-300 WBY - and they compares very favorably even with them. Using Nosler #8 data and derating velocities by 25fps/inch for stated barrel lengths over 22", my calculations show the .270 WSM/150g ABLR and 7mm WSM/150g ABLR both shoot flatter and deliver more retained velocity and energy out to 1000 yards than either the .257 WBY/110g AB or 115g BT or a .264 WM/130g ABLR. Not bad for a short-action cartridge.

That said, having the fastest, flattest shooting and hardest hitting cartridge was not my goal when I bought the Savage. If it was, I would have bought a long action instead. What I want is a rifle that is reasonable to use for big game at 500 yards for elk and 600 yards for antelope, yet still be comfortable to shoot. Moreover, although I handload, I am not interested in a wildcat. This is to be a rifle I would use but more importantly a rifle that my daughters will like to shoot.

Again using Nosler #8 data (except as noted) and derating 25fps/inch for barrels over 22", here are some ballistics at 600 yards with 6" MPBR zeros and the 26 Nosler for comparison:
26 Nosler/129g ABLR @ 3371fps = 38" drop, 2398fps, 1647fpe, 18" drift
7mm WSM/150g ABLR @ 3086fps = 48" drop, 2237fps, 1667fpe, 18" drift
.270 WSM/150g ABLR @ 3127fps = 45" drop, 2288fps, 1744fpe, 17" drift
.308 Win/190g ABLR @ 2574fps = 77" drop, 1846fps, 1437fpe, 22" drift
6.5 Rem Mag/130g ABLR @ 3130fps = 48" drop, 2204fps, 1403fpe, 19" drift
7mm-08/150g ABLR @ 2769fps = 65" drop, 1976fps, 1300fpe, 21" drift
.260 Rem/130g ABLR @ 2900fps = 59" drop, 2018fps, 1176fpe, 22" drift
.257 Roberts/110g AB @ 3161fps (my handloads) = 54" drop, 1953fps, 931fpe, 27" drift
.243 Win/95g BT @ 3111fps = 60" drop, 1811fps, 692fpe, 32" drift
.223 Rem/80g A-MAX @ 2700fps (Hornady data) = 80" drop, 1684fps, 504fpe, 32" drift


Every time I look at those numbers I come back to the idea of a 6.5 Creedmoor, .260 Rem, 7mm-08 or .308 Win. The 6.5 Remington Magnum would be interesting except brass is hard or impossible to find.

I'm not familiar with the 26 Nosler, but the short mags won't work. Savage used a large shank action for those. The 223 is gonna be a problem because you'll have to replace the bolt head, mag box and follower.

Without having to replace anything but the barrel, you can go with any .308 based cartridge as well as a 22-250. If you want all the info, go to the Savage Shooters Forum.

Didn't realize the large shank was used for the short mags. That certainly shortens the list of potential chamberings.

The first couple years of WSM and RUM cartridges Savage did were all on the small shank rifles. So building a WSM on a small shank barrel is a non issue, plenty of guys over on Savage Shooter have been doing it for awhile. You will probably need to find a long action bolt head and shorten it down to work with the SA bolt.

Small Shank WSM

I would play with it as a .243 for a while before I made any major changes to it. I got a .243 last year and I really enjoy shooting it. Less recoil than my other deer rifles. There are several threads on here to give you some ideas for different loads to try.

Shooting the donor often causes a lot of unnecessary angst.

But I'll do it anyway.

Won't be selling it any time soon. After changing the rings and scope it turned out to be a one-ragged-holer with 95g SST bullets. Its's a keeper.

I was almost through reading this before I realized it was almost a year old. I'd have probably done exactly what you did. In my experience the cheap stocks shoot as well as most aftermarket stocks. At least for hunting purposes, a target shooter trying to squeeze an extra .1MOA out of a rifle might note a difference. Money is better spent elsewhere.

I don't currently own a 243, but think the round is very much under rated. With what you already own I don't see any need for anything bigger.

The Savages are under-rated, too, IMHO. Every one I've shot was quite accurate. I remember a gun-rag shoot-off from years ago and a Savage came out the winner.

OK, the FXP3 stock is about a purty as the 'walnut-look' stock on my old 110E .22-250 that my daughter graciously called 'homely'. Dad gave it to me with close to 2,000 empty cases and it would still put 5 shots into a group you could completely cover with a dime.

The .243 printed 4 shots into .4" last time I checked it at the range. For the $295 price out the door for the .243, I got a winner, too, plastic stock or not.