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One more "new rifle" thread

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One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 12 01, 2022 •  [Post 1]

Had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while. My .308 savage ultralite is great, but i realized the 22" barrel is just too unwieldy with a suppressor on it. So several months back i started rounding up all the parts id need to make my own savage ultralite clone with a 16" barrel. Wasnt easy. Just finding the action took a long time. Once i got that done, i ordered a custom barrel which took about 4 months. Plus had to round up all the other little parts. In the end though, i have an awesome, lightweight savage .308 with a suppressor on a 16" barrel. Absolutely love this thing. Been doing a 4 shot / clean and cool, repeat repeat routine, and every group i shoot is better than the last. Guess the barrel is just getting broken in. But already more than accurate enough. And even with the can on it, its a little shorter than my factory ultralight with a brake. And an absolute joy to shoot. Pretty silly looking gun, with the short carbon barrel, the big fat high sitting scope on the funky rail adapter, and the high comb to accomodate that, but man it shoots and handles great, and is ideal for how i hunt, all while being easy on the ears. Im just thrilled with how this turned out. The factory ultralight, according to savage, weighs 5.65lbs. This gun is identical, except it has a slightly thicker recoil lug, and the barrel is 6" shorter. Didnt put it on a scale, but in theory the bare rifle should weigh about 5.5 lbs. Of course the suppressor and my ridiculous scope add some weight
Ill call it my savage ultrashort
Forgot to mention, the blast is quiet enough that i hear the bullet hit the plywood at 100 yards. With an unsepressed rifle, the resonant noise is enough to cover that
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby 7mmfan » 12 02, 2022 •  [Post 2]

I really like that. I'm a big fan of short barrel rifles. Theres a lot of studies showing they are generally as accurate and often more accurate than longer barreled rifles, just lacking the velocity. If you hunt closer quarters it's ideal.
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 12 02, 2022 •  [Post 3]

Gotta shoot my ultrashort .308 a bit more to be sure, but thinking ill end up turning my ultralite into a 16" 223
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 12 02, 2022 •  [Post 4]

Man i have no self control already taking the first steps toward turning my factory 3008 ultralite into a shorty 223. Anybody here interested in a low round count 308 proof research savage barrel? Its got a big bear under its belt already ;)
Nice accurate barrel
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 12 03, 2022 •  [Post 5]

If I’m ever able to do an actual rifle build, I’m on your doorstep.
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby Jhg » 12 03, 2022 •  [Post 6]

Love short actions in general and .243 & .308 in particular. I was just talking to my FIL (big gun guy) last week about these two "favorites" that were once everyones darling (for good reason) but now few ask them to dance because Creedmore and Black whatever are wearing brighter makeup.
I can't think of a cartridge more proven than the .308 and the .243 is a fantastic performer as well.
My own guns are pretty vintage but one is a pre-64 Winchester 100 in .243. The trigger is atrocious but I want to spend the money to have a smith build it out so it actually acts like a real trigger and not something inside a kids cap pistol.
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105 grn partitions out of that rifle were deadly on big whitetails.

Nice rifle. How is recoil?
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 12 03, 2022 •  [Post 7]

The recoils not too bad, considering its a very lightweight 308, but without the suppressor on it would be eye opening for sure.

I just ordered the 16" .223 barrel to turn my factory ultralite into a 223, so if anybody wants a deal on a 22" proof research .308 savage prefit barrel with a hellfire brake on it, feel free to holler at me
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby 7mmfan » 12 03, 2022 •  [Post 8]

Where did you order the barrel through? Did you install the barrel yourself or have a gunsmith do it? I have a Remington 700 Mtn Rifle in 7mm-08 that is just a non-shooter, no matter what I put through it. I've been playing with the idea of putting a carbon fiber barrel on it and turning it into my backpack rifle, but I know literally nothing about customizing a rifle.
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 12 03, 2022 •  [Post 9]

I ordered both barrels from carbon 6. Put the barrel on at my dads house, he has the action vice and barrel nut wrech for savages. He also has the 308 go / no go gauges. Pretty easy matter to do on a savage, and i believe if you were to order a "remage" barrel its esentially a prefit remington with a barrel nut like savages. I might be wrong about that, so youd want to research that first.
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 12 03, 2022 •  [Post 10]

Or, if you dont care about being able to add muzzle devices and you just want an accurate lightweight mountain rifle, you could just buy something like this for about the same cost as ordering a carbon barrel for that remington.

https://savagearms.com/content?p=firear ... ry&s=57071
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby 7mmfan » 12 03, 2022 •  [Post 11]

I've thought about a new rifle as well, but I'm attached. Benchmark barrels is about 5 miles from me, I may just talk with them about the project.
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 02 20, 2023 •  [Post 12]

Thinking im going to order one of these. https://www.elftactical.com/ELF-SAVAGE- ... _p_48.html (just need to confirm compatibility) for the savage UL that im converting to a 16" 223. I really like the feel of flat triggers. Run the flat geissele sde triggers on my ars.
Dont know why, just feels easier to shoot than a curved trigger. And the accutrigger blade thing is no benefit when youre wearing gloves, though its great off the bench. If i really like it, ill put one on my shorty 308 also.
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 02 21, 2023 •  [Post 13]

They say the trigger is compatible, so i ordered one. If i like it ill have to get a matching trigger for my other ultrashort, for consistencys sake.
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 06 02, 2023 •  [Post 14]

So after a long wait on my barrel, i went to get this gun put together the other day and the barrel mfg forgot to send the recoil lug. I emailed them and they corrected that promptly. So now no more delays, i can get this new 223 in business right? Wrong.
Got the .308 bolt face swapped out with a .223 bolt face, got the barrel on the action, swapped out the factory trigger with the elf trigger, got it mounted in the stock, bottom metal, trigger guard.... went to put the ejector back in the bolt face after setting the headspace, had a slip up while trying to get the retainer pin in place, and the ejector spring launched that teeny piece of metal into oblivion, never to be seen again. So now im waiting on a new ejector to arrive. And when i went to mount the scope i found out this action isnt 8/40 screws like i thought, so had to order different 34mm talley rings. I do have a rail and normal rings that would work, but since im already waiting on a new ejector, may as well just wait and mount the scope on talleys as i intended. After waiting 5 months for the barrel, i was excited to get this gun going today, but it wasnt meant to be. Made a lot of progress on it though.
Ill say, i havent actually shot it yet, but just dry firing it i do really like this elf trigger, and believe ill be ordering a couple more, so that things are consistent with my savages. It seemed very light from the factory so i didnt adjust it at all, and using my trigger pull gauge, its breaking at 1lb, 3oz. Feels great, but it may be a ittle too light for shooting with winter gloves on, so ill test that once everything ese is in order, and ill adjust if i need to.
This gun is a bit different from the .308 i put together, which is basically an ultralite clone with a short barrel. This one has the same action as the lightweight storm (i didnt convert my factory ultralite, i left it unmolested, just started fresh with a new action) , because the actual ultralite (factory blueprinted, melonite) actions are not available. So this is kinda a short barrel hybrid between a lightweight storm, and an ultralite, with an aftermarket trigger and an aftermarket stainless trigger guard. I have high expectations for this gun. Should be a lot of fun.
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 06 02, 2023 •  [Post 15]

The .223 will be wearing a 1-10×28 sig tango-msr. The .308 has a 1-8×30 zeiss victory v8.
Between these 2 guns i cobbled together, i could (but i wont) sell every other rifle i own, and these 2 would be capable of covering all of my hunting needs, the way i do things. Glad i did this, seems factory rifles are always some kind of compromise, so i just decided to buy parts to put together guns exactly the way i want them. A little extra work, but very satisfying having guns exactly the way you want. Of course now i do believe im going to put an elf trigger on the 308 also.
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 06 08, 2023 •  [Post 16]

Well my parts arrived today and i got the new 223 in action. Im still just getting the barrel broken in but its already exceeding my expectations by a long shot. Between the nearly total lack of recoil, and the super quiet report, plus the 1lb 3oz awesome trigger, this is the easiest gun to shoot ive ever had my hands on. Already putting 4 shot groups into 1 tiny hole at 100 yards. To say im thrilled would be an understatement. I really, really love this rifle. Hope my 444 doesnt get jealous.

As soon as i got home from the "gun range" (my dads house) i installed a new elf trigger on my shorty .308. Its breaking at 2lb 6oz out of the box, exactly double the trigger on my 223, so ill be adjusting it down to match. Not that 2lb 6oz is a heavy trigger pull, but after shooting the 223, it feels clumsy.
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby 7mmfan » 06 10, 2023 •  [Post 17]

Sounds like a sweet setup, both of them. I'm a little jealous.
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby wawhitey » 06 11, 2023 •  [Post 18]

Decided to take the stock off the 308 today to adjust the trigger pull down. A big problem came to light that i didnt notice after the trigger install. Safety wasnt working! 3 position safety, fired in any position. Not good! Anyway, looking at things i eventually figured out what was wrong, and corrected it but also, after lightening up the trigger, everything worked fine until i got the rear action screw torqued down to spec. Between these 2 issues i must have taken the stock off / on an easy 15 times, pulling my hair out, very frustrating. Turns out that by backing the screw out to lighten the trigger pull, it was sticking out just enough to make contact with the bottom end of the trigger guard screw hole, preventing the trigger from engaging the sear when i cycled the bolt. All it took was a few seconds with the dremel shaving off a little bit of plastic from the stock, and now everything works perfect and the trigger is breaking at 1lb 8oz. But man what a headache. Little things like that, when tinkering with a gun, can be so damn hard to spot, even when it seems so simple and obvious in hindsight. I feel like, by the time i finally have the experience (by trial and error) to recognize little things like this, ill be too old to care about this kind of stuff anymore. Kinda wish id taken some gunsmithing courses years ago. Not for any professional / career related reasons, but just to have a leg up on this kind of thing. Learn some stuff recreationally. Getting into this kind of thing in middle age is kind of a headache sometimes.
Thought about getting on the savage shooters forum and asking for help with these issues, but i figured it would be some stupid crap that i should be able to figure out myself, and it wasm
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Re: One more "new rifle" thread

Postby Swede » 06 13, 2023 •  [Post 19]

Great looking guns. A 308W is my favorite caliber, and have an old Sako Forester that is pretty fancy. I think maybe I should adjust the trigger pull as it is still set at 4#. I would not want to go under 3# so making an adjustment does not seem to be worth the effort.
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