Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 1899 TD BARREL SHIM?

I have an 1899 TD in .250-3000 Savage. The serial number indicates it was manufactured in 1917.

It is in very good shape and, carefully held, quite accurate with 87 gr Hot Cores. 100 grain loads go a little over an inch for three rounds.

The barrel is slightly loose. I have to be fairly careful to hold the rear of the forearm for best results.

I ubnderstand the barrel connections can be tightened by shimming. Does anyone know anythiing about this process?

I would appreciate any help.
Thanks,
Gary

Check the pinned thread entitled "Misc Good Info". In there is a post describing how to tightening up threads on takedown barrels. Haven't done it myself, just as a disclaimer.

If you shim the barrel with a paper thin washer between the barrel/receiver interface, A) it won't index properly, and B) it'll hold the breech face that much farther from the bolt face thus increasing headspace. Don't do it.

Best bet is to follow Calhouns directions to the above sticky. Peening the barrel threads has its merits. Just don't get carried away with it. Back in the "olden days" guys put all manner of crap in the threads to tighten them up - epoxy-like substances, plumber's tape, and in extreme cases solder. I'll not recommend any of them but, well, if the problem is as egregious as you make it out to be, maybe something like that - which can be reversed if necessary - may be the answer, and then live with it as a solid frame gun and not a takedown. I would try the peening trick myself first. Just be be doubly-dammed careful not to go too far and end up with a barrel you can't hand tighten to its proper index point.

These gun's barrels need to bear solidly at two places: the barrel shoulder/action interface, and the breech end of the barrel must simultaneously bear solidly against the C-ring in the receiver. If that is achieved, and the takedown mechanism is reasonably tight and indexed, it doesn't matter a helluva lot if the threads are a little sloppy. In fact by their very nature takedown barrel threads intended to be manipulated by hand will be somewhat loosey-goosey, at least in terms of a machinist's concept of thread fit. In retrospect it's kind of amazing to me how well Savage achieved that on a mass production basis.

Thank you.

I had a G that was slightly loose and was successful in peening them. It's not hard and didn't take much to tighten.

My 300 G went from shooting 8" groups to 1 1/4" groups after peening. However it no longer is a takedown.