Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 99 takedown vs. solid frame

To the best of my knowledge, I haven't handled a solid frame barrel that was removed from the receiver. What are the differences between take down ( with non-interrupted threads ) and solid frame barrels? Are they interchangeable?

Next, are there any differences in takedown vs. solid frame receivers of the same era?

Just that notch in the barrel and receiver for the latch on the forearm metal to fit into.

Can a gunsmith modify a solid frame barrel to be used on a takedown receiver and have takedown ability?

I've asked those questions a couple times over the last 20 years and I can't give you an answer. Where is CTW when you need him...missing since 10/12/22.

Thanks. I thought there were bigger differences but started looking closely at receivers today and only saw the notch as being different.

I don't see why not.

It would be a matter of dressing the barrel to draw up snug at top dead center with hand pressure, simultaneously bearing snugly at both places it needs to, then milling the key slot in both the receiver and barrel simultaneously taking care that the slot lines up perfectly with the lug on the forend iron when the iron is snapped into place. Not a terrible job, but not for the faint of heart either.

Then when all that is done, you get to start mixing and matching bolts to create good headspace because the likelihood of headspace being perfect with a bastard barrel is slim to none..

Solid vs TD... one the barrel screws in hand tight and the other takes more force. So, what dimension is different and on what part (barrel or receiver) and to what degree?

I have done it on a few solid frame barrels,making them fit a takedown receiver. the differance is in the barrels. Basically you are removing metal where the barrel meets the receiver,and where the chamber end butts up against the loading ramp area.I never actually measured the amount but it was minimal maybe.005. when you do this you are tightening the chamber toward the bolt face creating less headspace. i have only did this on rimmed cases and had no trouble closing the bolt on the barrels.Don

WOW.

I have a question about rimmed cartridges. Is it possible to resize these to a point that the firing pin doesn’t cause the primer to ignite?

Or does the rim hold the cartridge tight and in reality the firing pin is weak?

Thanks

Well put, Don. Whether or not headspace is effected enough to matter is dependent on how much one has to remove from the barrel to allow it to snug up hand tight. I had one that took a helacious amount of steel removal to achieve that (mainly due to the receiver face being atrociously out of square and needing to be trued before barrel surgery took place). After all that, headspace was frahundtsed and the mix-matching of bolts began. (Could've just deepened the chamber, a .303, but that would've meant renting/buying a reamer. By then I had a collection of bolts and it was relatively easy to select one that was short enough, thanks to the Savage protocol of using different length bolts at final assembly to mix-and-match for achieving tolerable headspace.)

John, the rim is the determining factor. Light strikes probably due to gunked up internals. That, or someone substituted a too short bolt sometime along the way without confirming headspace and the firing pin simply can't quite reach far enough.

I've wondered about that Savage protocol of mixing-and-matching bolts at final assembly in an effort to circumvent the need for working to tighter tolerances at all building stages. On the one hand it was an innovative approach (if a bit sloppy) and an effective means to increase production and reduce scrap. On the other hand it was certainly within the means of industry methods at the time to work to tight tolerances and achieve true precision which has the same end effect at the assembly points. Case in point: Springfield Armory. You can pick a M1903 bolt at random and stand a pretty good chance of it dropping it in a gun and having acceptable headspace. Don't try that with a Savage.

I’ve got a 99 takedown receiver that was originally chambered in 250/3000 and I have a .300 Savage barrel from a solid frame 99 receiver.

Neither are rimmed cartridges. Can the .300 Savage barrel be adapted by a specialist gunsmith?

Does the rotary magazine need to be swapped? Is a 250/3000 magazine incompatible with a .300 Savage cartridge?

Weak spring. I have seen them obviously compressed from being stored in the cocked position for a long, long time.

Pretty sure a real gunsmith could fit the 300 barrel to the 250 frame. the headspace would have to be checked with go-no-go gauges and the chamber might have to be cut deeper. the 250 rotor would have to have the neck area reworked to fit the 300 bullet. A 250 case would work in a 300 rotor but not reverse.I have only worked with the rimmed cases as its pretty easy. Don

Sure, and it doesn't take a specialist gunsmith, just someone who knows their way around a lathe and understands the dynamics involved. One way to find out if the rotor will feed - stick a handful in and work the lever. May well have to open the neck cradles on the rotor with a rat tail file or if you're daring, a Dremel. The cartridge guide may well prove a stumbling bolck too. Again, one way to find out...

Used to be in America there was always an old guy in town who had a decent set of machinist tools and the knowledge to use them, and loved taking on projects - sort of an outgrowth of the village smithy concept. Most all those old guys are gone now, and their tools have been converted into Hondas and refrigerators. For that matter, how many people do you know who embark on projects requiring the help of "that old guy" anymore? Few people tinker on stuff - we've become consumers of the first order, not makers of things. The country was built on the likes of our own Mike, Lightfoot, who saw a need/niche and filled it, people who could actually create stuff out of raw materials with their heads and hands.

So, am I correct that the threads on the barrel and receiver are the same on a solid and take down rifle? It is only the length that makes a difference?

I cannot echo that loud enough. As the folks who come here well know, our country today is nothing like the one we grew up in. The Greatest Generation style of living and values have evaporated. Most look down there nose at blue collar work. They would rather live in their parents basement and on the internet. If there is ever another World War it will all be gone. I have no confidence we could do it again.

Sigh...

Threads are the same. Nominal length of threads is the same. Only difference is in the interference/crush fit of the barrel/receiver interface requiring toque to achieve final indexing of the solid frame gun, versus the ability to index the barrel with hand pressure on a takedown.