I am looking at getting a Savage 99 in 243 or 308 for my daughter and rebarreling it to .260 -- any suggestions on gunsmiths or barrelmakers? It should just be a barrel swap, right?

The 308 I am looking at on Gunbroker has a horrible yellow stock but I see Cabela's sells Herter walnut replacement stocks -- any synthetic stock makers for the 99?

My doughter is left eye dominant so i am teaching her to shoot left-handed -- going hunting in January -- she is the only girl in her sorority at UT who hasn't shot a deer so she's feeling pressure.

Present theory is that switching to another cartridge is by far easiest on a 99C - clip model.

The internals of a 99 with a rotary mag can be very difficult to get working with a different cartridge. It can be done and might be easy, but you might end up with a single shot due to loading or feeding problems.

The 99C's all have a tang safety, so your daughter will appreciate that.

PS: MPI makes synthetic stocks for 99's, I believe. But I think they run as much as a 99C does. Stocks from any other source will probably require significant final fitting.

Can a .243 be bored out to .260? Would save a rebarrel.

OK PacNor makes prefit barrels in .260. I've found a nice one on Gunbroker in .243 -- and a nice .250 Savage as well. So I have a decision - get the .250 for around $500 and go shoot, or get the .243 for $500 and then spend another $500 rebarreling it.

Get the .250 and go shoot.

Sounds like a no-brainer...

That .250 will put a hurt on any Texas deer. Check my avatar. Took that one on a ranch out near Del Rio.

If you like the 260, then you almost surely reload. Get the 250, pick up a supply of 87gr Speer Hot Cores and go hunting.

If it's a post-1960 250, then you can expand the bullet selection to pretty much anything.

Put the money into a good .300 EG. Load it down if you need to.

You could over pay for one and still be ahead on the dollars.

Just my $.02...

Well now there you go again - being all practical and such.

130s in the .300 make a good round for beginners alright.

Dave Mazy; I haven't done one yet, but Dave has been very helpful in conversation and planning.

http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/Chino+Valley-AZ/Mazy%27s+Custom+Gunsmithing/199364

plus 1 good caliber ,and she,ll get it done this year

Oops, missed that option...yea, .250 and shoot!

Or get the 243 and go shoot. Completely fine for Texas deer. Ammo everywhere. Very light recoil.

Yep