New member with an ultralight savage build

Joined
Mar 30, 2017
Messages
58
Location
Nevada
[ATTA20170402_083811.jpgCH=CONFIG]49419[/ATTACH]20170402_083741.jpg20170402_083206.jpg20170402_083142.jpg
Hello all, I'm a new member after dozens of my Google searches landed me on this forum I decided to join. So here is a project that was inspired by some threads I have been reading lately .

I recently bought a savage lightweight hunter in 6.5 creedmoor but after shooting it for a while I decided I didn't like it , and was actually all ready to sell it. Then after reading a few threads on here about people modifying their polymer stocks I decided to give it a try and turn my gun into something I'm happier with . I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures as I built but it didn't occur to me anyway .. the original was 5 pounds 12 ounces, which I wasn't quite happy with and furthermore I hated the stock, it seemed twice as big as it needed to be. So I cut 3 inches out of the forearm and reshaped it to something more slender . I cut an inch off the butt and replaced the HORRIFIC buttpad with one that I made out of a flip flop (another idea I got from this forum ) and it turned out great , i attached a picture with the old buttpad just to show how much weight the flip flop one saved, soooo much better than the marshmallow soft and sticky one that came on the savage. I also replaced the bolt with a carbon fiber one and cut the barrel down to 17 inches. I managed to get the whole thing down to 5 pounds 1 ounce and couldn't be more happy with the result. It's exactly the gun I wanted when I bought the thing. The only problem now is that the 1 ounce is pecking at my OCD and I'm playing with the idea of sending it off and getting the barrel fluted to shake that last ounce. I love reading about all the lightweight builds on here keep them up guys...cheers and if anyone knows of some lightweight savage parts I could get to save weight please let me know. I was thinking titanium barrel nut and recoil lug but couldn't find any online. Or if there is anything else I may be missing.
 
Joined
Mar 21, 2017
Messages
364
Nice, I have the same gun. I want to cut my forearm behind the swivel. I don't use slings. Glad you did it first....now I know what it looks like...lol. I'm gonna do it now though. Finding light savage parts is hard...good luck. I'm going to full the butt with expanding foam to make it not so flimsy and noisy. I'm going to have oversized action screws made to take the slop out of the pillars and the screws. It just bugs me.
 
OP
statikpunk
Joined
Mar 30, 2017
Messages
58
Location
Nevada
if you are going to cut it, I used regular two part epoxy and had it fail twice then I found an epoxy called "plastic bonder" and it seemed to harden up just as good as the stock material itself. if it breaks I will let everyone know but it seems pretty tough. Also I hear you on the action screws, the whole bedding job on this gun is a joke. I'm going to shoot it first to see how it shoots but if its not impressive its probably getting a few ounces of bedding compound poured into it.
 
OP
statikpunk
Joined
Mar 30, 2017
Messages
58
Location
Nevada
Yes I replaced it a while ago but as I recall it saved me 2oz. although I think the weight savings has less to do with the carbon fiber and more to do with the fact they got rid of that big chunk of steel at the "bolt shroud" area.
 
Last edited:
OP
statikpunk
Joined
Mar 30, 2017
Messages
58
Location
Nevada
They shoot good, it's just the stocks are a joke.

Mine didn't, best I had gotten up to now was about a minute and a half. but to be completely fair I didn't try very many loads in it, because I just didn't like it. Now that I like it, I will do some more load development, between that, a shorter (stiffer) barrel and a new crown, I'm sure I will be able to find something that will shoot under a minute, and if not then some bedding compound will be in order.
 
Joined
Mar 21, 2017
Messages
364
Have you messed with seating depth much? It makes a difference. What bullets and powder are you using?
 
OP
statikpunk
Joined
Mar 30, 2017
Messages
58
Location
Nevada
yes a little, my last load was superformance (cant remember the charge off the top of my head) and I shot both barnes and berger bullets. I do use seating depth to find accurate loads but like I said I didnt do much playing around with it because I didn't like it. No doubt with a little more effort on my part I can find something that shoots acceptable. Im thinking about loading up some cheaper hornady 120s and using the gun as a "truck gun" good for coyotes and still enough poop to use as a back up deer rifle if I had to.
 
OP
statikpunk
Joined
Mar 30, 2017
Messages
58
Location
Nevada
I'm thinking of swapping out the plastic for actual metal bottom metal and dbm.
I was contemplating sending the whole gun to oregon gunsmithing and having him whip up one of his ultralight stocks for it, but I was afraid he would have to get the bottom metal to make the magazine work and thus negate any weight savings his stocks may have gotten me. As it is I got within 4 ounces of a pendleton stock, allthough in not nearly as nice of a package as a pendleton stock. I did save myself 650 bucks though, and that buys a lot of powder :D
 

brushape

WKR
Joined
Nov 13, 2013
Messages
879
Location
rohnert park, Ca
I was contemplating sending the whole gun to oregon gunsmithing and having him whip up one of his ultralight stocks for it, but I was afraid he would have to get the bottom metal to make the magazine work and thus negate any weight savings his stocks may have gotten me. As it is I got within 4 ounces of a pendleton stock, allthough in not nearly as nice of a package as a pendleton stock. I did save myself 650 bucks though, and that buys a lot of powder :D

There is a little clip you can get from savage to hold the center feed mag box in place to be used as a blind/adl setup if you are still thinking about it I can dig up the part number


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Joined
Mar 21, 2017
Messages
364
I think it would be worth the trip. A better stock design and good dbm but stay at factory weight.....sounds like a good trade off to me. Factory weight isn't bad at all.
 
Joined
Mar 21, 2017
Messages
364
To be honest....for the price of these.....I have $400 in mine......if it still doesn't shoot.....put a new barrel on it. For the price, a Krieger, Hart or Lilja barrel wouldn't be a bad edition....just sayin.
 
OP
statikpunk
Joined
Mar 30, 2017
Messages
58
Location
Nevada
There is a little clip you can get from savage to hold the center feed mag box in place to be used as a blind/adl setup if you are still thinking about it I can dig up the part number

no Im happy the way it is but if I change my mind at least i know the part exsists now thanks.
 
Top