Friday, November 10, 2023

Cutting a Barrel

 In 2007 I bought a Savage Model 10 FLP as a gift to my youngest son.  That rifle is the law enforcement version, .308 cal, heavy 22-inch barrel, synthetic stock.  Back in the day it was quite cutting edge. He has shot it and hunted with it ever since, and lately he's been thinking it's time to lose some of that barrel and make the rifle a bit more handier, and a bit lighter.

Second son happens to own a lathe.  Today they decided to unscrew the barrel and bring it down from 22 to 16.5 inches.  They planned this little soiree, and had assembled the tools, to include the headspace gauges.  This afternoon, we met at the shop and the boys did the deed.

The thing about the Savage is that it is really easy to take the barrel out, and if you have a modicum of knowledge around a fairly well-equipped garage, swapping a barrel is not a problem.

I was impressed with the way the boys used the lathe to crown the muzzle.  A nice 11 degree crown was an easy job. I hung around until they headspaced it.  I'm convinced it's safe.


2 comments:

Bob said...


Pawpaw you know firearm building or modification is forbidden. And even if it was it should be done by no one below the Mason Dickson line or in the fly over states deplorable's should not possess such knowledge. Bob In B. R.

Old NFO said...

Nice, and that will be a handy little rifle now, but will definitely need to be rezeroed!