I started toying with the idea of playing with a Savage last year and to see if it was as easy to change barrels as everybody was saying. I had a look at Shilen and what was available in pre-chambered barrels. If I was going to re-barrel a Savage it was going to be something interesting! I went down the list and saw the .35 Rem. A .35 Rem in a modern bolt action would be pretty different.

So I ordered a 19" barrel. Snagged a Savage on another forum(pretty cool little carbine in itself: short action, accutrigger, centerfeed DBM, thin 20" barrel in .308 Win). The only issue is that I had to have a custom made bolt head to accommodate the .35 Rem non-standard bolt head.

A few days ago I finally got around to get all the pieces together. Feeds perfectly form the DBM. Should be a cool little rifle to play with.

A short barrel black rifle in a synthetic stock, detachable magazine, picatinny rail, 1-4 scope. One could almost call it "Tactical"! In a 108 year old cartridge.

i love it. the 35 rem is my favorite cartridge. i have pumps and levers but no bolts. i would like a rem 600 but they are really pricey in 35. that savage looks ideal. i would like to see it with irons just for looks though. that 1-4 is perfect.

You could REALLY push that to WAY beyond lever gun 35 loads, also.

Your pictured cartridge selection shows the versatility of the .35 caliber, the pistol bullet rounds are fun to shoot for plinking and practice. Also try cast bullets in the 200-225gr. range over a light charge of Unique, they are very accurate in my .35 Whelen. Your carbine turned out very nice and should be ideal for whitetails in thick cover.

I think Steelhead has one in a Rem 700.

Awesome rifle!

Should work well with the Hornady 180 grain SSP.

What a great project, a FUN rifle for so many purposes.

I love seeing custom rifles that are not clones of about 300 other rifles here.

Very nice! With just a trimming of the brass, that'd be legal for deer here in IN as well. I've thought long about doing that for hunting here.

I really like it. Who made the custom bolt head for you? Always wanted a short barreled little left handed 35 Rem. You have inspired me.

It looks cool and should shoot well in your gun. For aesthetics only, I'd replace the rail with a couple of nice bases. At least cut the rail off at the front of the action rather than having it stick out. But, that is just my own personal preference.
Good luck with the gun and keep us posted.

Sharp Shooter Supply

Very interesting, I thought about doing this myself with a Stevens 200 but never got around to doing it. Some of the guys here told me that the bolt head would be no problem. Does it feed pretty smooth?

Apparently Remington used the standard .473 head on their bolt action rifles and pistols without any issues. I tried running some .35 Rem dummies in the action when it was still a .308 Win but he extractor would not extract reliably. Maybe the Savage (or at least mine) bolt head are sloppier than the Rem.

With the center feed mag in the Savage it feeds perfectly.

Neat little thumper Steve, should be great for bears and deer.

Hodgdon has a new powder that will make it run next to the Whelen.

Just kidding, guys.

Denny.

...and hogs, and..., pssst, turtles explode like watermelons with 357 mag hollow point pistol bullets loaded in 35 cal rifles. I know..., perverse!

Sweet build! Congrats!


DMc

If he can find hogs and turtles to shoot here in B.C. I would love to know, lol the pistol bullets at watermelons sounds cool.

ACCURACY IS EVERYTHING !!!!

CLASSIC PHOTO! I love it!

The 35 Rem bolt action is cool too. All it needs nnow is a nice piece of walnut...

A pair of 35 Rem bolts:



600 35 Rem bolt:



Pump em up synthetic 35 Rem:



Wood pump 35 Rem:



Single shot 35 Rem:



Hummm, what to shoot?


DMc

DMc, can I have that 600?

LOL, it never hurts to ask, does it Big Redhead?

...but sometimes the answers are painful, NO.


DMc

You're a good sport, DMc.

Thx Big RH,

The 35 Rem 600 is my fav.

Here's it's twin in 223




DMc

Tom's building me a 358 Hoosier... 200 grain Hornady at 2,450 to 2,500. Should be a nice deer killing machine for IN!!!

i hunt with the .35 a good bit, in the TC Carbine and pistol, and a Remmy Model 7KS.....great caliber.

some years ago, Layne Simpson published some "bolt gun only" data in Handloader for .35shooters, think i have that somewhere if anyone wants a scan of the load data.

I would obviously be very interested in a scan. I'll pm you my email address.

That'll work! Looking forward to seeing some pics of it when it's done. Since I have a Savage in 260 that'd be the cheapest route for me. Unfortunately, as usual, my wife and kids are keeping me broke...

BCSteve, that's a cool little salvage carbine. I like it. back when MS had a "primitive" season, I looked pretty hard at getting a single shot in .35. never got around to it, mainly because I was concerned that it could develop into a handloading nightmare with the narrow shoulder for headspacing purposes and lack of a rim. In a bolt gun, though, I can't imagine that it would be nearly as sensitive.

Seems like there was a savage ppc extractor made by Sharp Shooter supply that might help on a normal bolt face.

Steve..i did some google searching and found this scan online which i believe is the data mentioned...i'll double check when i get home to make sure this is the one & same, and i'll also copy the whole article for you.

G~

now, what would the owner of a skookum 35 Whelen bolt rifle need with that contraption?...:-)

I'm not sure!?!? The .260 Rem you re-barreled for me is my deer rifle and the skookum .35 Whelen you built for me is my moose rifle. This one is going to be a toy, although I'll probably bring as a back deer hunting and take it out a couple times, who knows, it may get lucky!

You will probably will bag the biggest buck of your life with that gun

Purchased this Model 7 KS from DMc. Didn't like the stock so we did a trade.



Didn't like the Mannlicher stock so I tried something else.



Settled on an older wrinkle finish synthetic Model 7 stock.



Scope is a Leupold M8-4X which I think is perfect for my area here in NH.

Ken

Would love one in mannlicher like the picture above. Have one in .308

Hey Ken,
Once the plastic stock came back, she became a 250 Savvy! Hard to see but look on the handle bars.



DMc

Mine is on a remington model seven action. Factory 200 gr loads were 2000fps loads in my rifle. Re-7 will do a lot better than that! Enjoy!

BCSteve,
That's a very handy .35 thumper you set up and not a cookie cutter, Nice!
Was the barrel/bolt-face swap as easy as you expected once you got the pieces in hand?

Very easy swap. The bolt head takes about 5 minutes with basic hand tools. The barrel was easy too but your need a barrel vise, either a metal one or a homemade one made with wooden blocks. You will also need a Savage barrel nut.

It was my first time and did it all in about an hour one evening after the kids went to bed.