Been looking at the savage in 308 for a while, and was considering getting it instead of the Tikka. With that said, what caliber barrels can I use if I buy a 308 savage?
If the action is a medium length, the magazine dimensions will dictate the caliber. 7mm-08, .284 Rem, .243, .22-250, or anything in that class of cartridges. If it has a long action (many Savages were built on the long action and chambered in standard/medium length cartridges) then .30-06, 7mm Rem mag and anything shorter.
It will work with the 7mm mag but you would have to change the bolt as well, since the 7 mm has a different head size than the .30-06. To keep it simple, you would have to change out the barrel to similar head sizes, like the .30-06, .270 Winchester, .243, .280 Remington, etc. so you can use the original bolt. I have an old Savage 110 in .243 that I've thought of changing out to .308 but just never got around to it. And it's killed so many deer, I probably never will. I haven't checked but Midway used to carry a nice selection of Savage after market barrels and the wrench to remove/reinstall them. Then all you need is a set of GO/NO GO gauges.
I was looking at a link on savage shooters, and it seems that the 308, 22-250, and the 243 will all use the same bolt head Login
.300 Savage is the parent case for .308, and .308 is the parent case for .243. .250 Savage is the parent case for .22-250, so that is where they are similar. I'd imagine there are a number of other cartridges out there that work. I think the rim diameter is .473. I just remember it as 12mm, which is just shy of 1/2" .30-06 is a good case to base off of too.
