New Member from NC

[Cgraham97]

Hello! Super excited to join the community here. As a southpaw, I have kind of been drawn to Savage out of necessity. I enjoy tinkering and making things my own and have enjoyed working on the two savage rifles I own. One is a 93r17 and the other is a 110CL in 30-06 that as best as I can tell was made in the mid-late 60s.

I have been working on the 110 for a little over a year trying to get it to shoot but have had issues. Ive glass bedded the action, free floated the barrel, checked torque specs on the scope base and rings, tried different scopes, and spent more money than I care to admit trying to find a load that it will shoot well. I’m currently in the process of considering a re-barrel as it would be cheaper than purchasing a new rifle (especially since left hand rifles can be hard to come by in the configuration I want.)

I am a DIYer at heart which is part of why I enjoy Savage rifles because they are friendly to modifications. I look forward to hopefully getting some wisdom and guidance in making this old rifle the best it can be!

 

[Kudzu]

Although I am new to the forum myself, I welcome you from South Carolina.

 

[ONE-TEN]

Welcome.

You said you think your 110 is mid ‘60’s? Do you know if it’s Pre or Post 1966? This was the big change in the 110 line. Easy to tell by looking at the Bolt Head. Below I linked a picture of the difference. This makes a difference in getting a barrel. The two are not interchangeable.


On accuracy, it does sound barrel related. Which is not so strange on a Savage 110 of this age. Barrels are a perishable item. If you do have a Pre-‘66 rifle, your barrel choices are more limited. Shaw barrels is best bet for Pre-‘66 option.
https://www.shawcustombarrels.com/shop/category/savage®-contours/9

 

[rwilky78]

Hello and welcome from NE Indiana!!!

 

[CFJunkie]

Welcome from Northern Virginia.
You have access to a few very knowledgeable guys who know their old Savages.
I'm sure you'll get the help you need.

 

[Alan]

Hello! Super excited to join the community here. As a southpaw, I have kind of been drawn to Savage out of necessity. I enjoy tinkering and making things my own and have enjoyed working on the two savage rifles I own. One is a 93r17 and the other is a 110CL in 30-06 that as best as I can tell was made in the mid-late 60s. I have been working on the 110 for a little over a year trying to get it to shoot but have had issues. Ive glass bedded the action, free floated the barrel, checked torque spec...

Welcome to the Savage Owners Forum! Feel free to post your new build in the forum and don't forget to add pictures.

 

[Cgraham97]

Welcome.

You said you think your 110 is mid ‘60’s? Do you know if it’s Pre or Post 1966? This was the big change in the 110 line. Easy to tell by looking at the Bolt Head. Below I linked a picture of the difference. This makes a difference in getting a barrel. The two are not interchangeable.


On accuracy, it does sound barrel related. Which is not so strange on a Savage 110 of this age. Barrels are a perishable item. If you do have a Pre-‘66 rifle, your barrel choices are more limited. Shaw barrels is best bet for Pre-‘66 option.
https://www.shawcustombarrels.com/shop/category/savage®-contours/9

Thankfully, it is the newer bolt head design. Best as I can tell based on the research I have done on the barrel markings and the bolt head design, I believe the rifle was made in ‘68. I am eye-balling a shillen barrel possibly. The biggest question is whether to keep it in 30-06 or change calibers while I’m at it.

 

[ONE-TEN]

Thankfully, it is the newer bolt head design. Best as I can tell based on the research I have done on the barrel markings and the bolt head design, I believe the rifle was made in ‘68. I am eye-balling a shillen barrel possibly. The biggest question is whether to keep it in 30-06 or change calibers while I’m at it.

Ahh, good. On the barrel there will be a stamped oval with a number followed by a letter. If yours is 1968, the letter stamped after the number will be a “V”. If it’s a different letter, let us know what.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Welcome on board.

 

[Frontiersman]

Thats a beautiful part of the country. Bet its hot down there.

Welcome!

 

[ONE-TEN]

Thats a beautiful part of the country. Bet its hot down there.

Welcome!

It’s actually hotter up here in the Tri-State area this week. We have a high pressure Heat Cap so the next few days will be 100°+! We are ROASTING here in the lower Philadelphia area!

 

[Frontiersman]

Indiana is the same. The air is heavy with humidity. It feels like the S/E without the ocean.

 

[Cgraham97]

Ahh, good. On the barrel there will be a stamped oval with a number followed by a letter. If yours is 1968, the letter stamped after the number will be a “V”. If it’s a different letter, let us know what.

I just checked and the stamp I see says “23T”

 

[ONE-TEN]

I just checked and the stamp I see says “23T”

Ok, so your 110 was produced in 1966. You have a First Year new 110.

 

[Cgraham97]

Ok, so your 110 was produced in 1966. You have a First Year new 110.

Wow thanks for the info. Do you know if I would run into any other parts compatibility issues other than the barrel? I tried to install a rifle basix sav-1 trigger into it and the trigger would not allow for enough movement to remove the bolt. Just wondering what else I could run into before I spend some money to fix it up.

 

[ONE-TEN]

Really? Hmm… did your trigger parts look like this one below? Does it have the bar spring? Or is it the older trigger?

I’d expect to see this one.


In which case, the SAV-1 trigger should work. I’m not exactly sure what you mean by not allowing enough movement to remove the bolt. Do you mean the Bolt Release isn’t dropping down far enough?

 

[Cgraham97]

Yes the trigger assembly looks just like this. The issue is the Sav-1 trigger piece itself had too much material on the top compared to the original to where it would not swing down out of the way for the bolt release to be fully depressed.

 

[ONE-TEN]

Oh.. ok. Well, it needs to be adjusted. The Two rear set screws are the Safety and over-travel stop adjustment screws. My guess is, the overtravel Stop adjustment screw was too far out, which limits the travel of trigger.

What you want, is to turn those two back screws ALL the way flush with the top of the trigger. Install it then adjust accordingly. If I was near you, I would take a look at it for to get it squared away. I’d recommend searching online for maybe another member or possibly someone on another Forum who knows trigger adjustments very well. It’s always the little things that get ya.

 

[Cgraham97]

I appreciate the offer! I believe I checked that and was unable to get it to work. I laid the old trigger over the Sav-1 and found that the contours on the top curved line were vastly different. To the point that a good bit of material would be needed to be removed in order for proper function. I could have been doing something wrong or looking at it the wrong way, but I ended up getting rid of the Sav-1 trigger and just adjusted the original down to 2.5 lbs and am pretty happy with it. My plan is to get all the info on the rifle and make a build post in the 110 thread. I have ideas of what I would like to be able to do with the rifle, but I dont know what the possibilities are considering it is that old.

 

[ONE-TEN]

It’s a post ‘66, so barrel, bolt & all are GTG Replacement are readily available. No biggie on the trigger. In fact, I prefer the factory 3-screw to a SAV-1 trigger. Just a bit of work and it can easily be under 2lbs., smooth as Silk & Break like glass!

If you want, I can send you one of the lighter bar springs I make. Here’s a picture of the factory Savage spring over one I make. I don’t charge anything. It’s my pleasure to give these away to anyone with an earlier 110. Just PM me your address and I’ll pop it in the mail.

Factory spring on top. The spring I make on the bottom.

 

[Cgraham97]

Great! PM sent.

I was looking at another post you made about a bolt lift kit. Unfortunately, the universal one that I have seen made by Desh is listed to be compatible with 1999-present models. Do you know if it will indeed not work with these older models? If not, what would you recommend looking into?

 

[ONE-TEN]

The one Desh sells will work fine. However, the kind with a single bearing ball is better. Like the picture below. Many people make their own from a spend 38sp case head and SS bearing ball. The ones I made were the best ones ever. I machined a Titanium plate and pressed in a small Silicone Nitride bearing ball. Then I machined the BAS (Bolt Assembly Screw) in the back, to make it shorter and drilled for a piece of Tungsten Carbide rod in the center, for the surface the bearing ball to ride on. The harder the materials, the better.

So there are several guys out there from Savage Shooters with my Lift Kit. Unfortunately, I haven’t made any in some years. Otherwise, I’d give you one. If I make some more, rest assured I’ll make a thread. And it will be first come, first served.