Savage model 340 .222 to .223

Howdy all,
 I picked up a Savage model 340 bolt action rifle in the .222 cal. at an auction this weekend. If I understand this correctly, to convert it to a .223 calibur all that is needed is to ream the chamber a little with a .223 finishing reamer for proper head space. Is this right? I have a .223 chamber finishing reamer already and several thousand rounds of .223 for my AR-15 on hand sooooooooo.
bruski

I believe that to be true. Just watch for a groove at the old shoulder radius, if the existing chamber is large, it may not completely cleanup and leave a line at best and extract hard at worst. The only option then is to set the barrel back a turn.

My only similar experience was with my Remington XP100. It was built as a shortened version of the .222 when I bought it - the .221 Fireball. That lasted about week and I zipped it out to .223 Remington. It has fired mostly military stuff since and the accuracy is inspiring, 5 shots in a coffee cup at 200yards.

The only drawback is that the muzzle blast is INCREDIBLE (but fun). Everyone has a good first shot, the weak at heart have a little more trouble with the second.

nitewatchman

Be sure to use a headspace gauge! Don\'t rely on headspacing to a cartridge.

nitewatchman

Thanks a lot nitewatchman, I will order a .223 headspace gauge from Brownell\'s and then give it a whirl. Thanks again,
bruski

Does the magazine need to be changed over to a .223 size? After trying to load the mag with .223 it looks as though it needs to be changed to the .223 calibur size. I hope that these .223 mags are still available for this gun. :shock:

Shouldn\'t have to, the length should be okay unless you are using golf pencil bullets 70-75gr.

nitewatchman

The bullets are 55 gr. fmj, but where the shoulder on the brass case is, there is a preformed rib on both sides of the magazine that prevent the cartridges from fitting. bruski

Yes it is most likely there to keep the cases from moving forward during recoil.

Have photos?

nitewatchman

Here is a picture of a .223 round in the stock .222 mag.

 

[attachment=9390:Magazine 002-id=556.jpg]

I would bet that you could remove or reduce the height of the rib with no ill effects.

nitewatchman

Thanks, I was able to locate a mag. from Brownell\'s in the .223 calibur, but I will try some reshaping on the old mag. as I don\'t suspect that I will ever need it in the .222 calibur any longer.
bruski

Good news everybody  After dialing in the scope with about 10 rounds, I was lucky enough to nail an exploding target at 125 yards with the first shot. bruski

Does anybody know of a way that I can change the .222 to a .223 on the barrel of this gun. I would like it to be nice looking in the end if possible.

bruski

 

[attachment=9391:RG-G Gatling Gun (Small) (2)-id=683.jpg]

Bruski,
Would this work?
Remove all three 2s by cutting a shallow key way in the barrel.
Prepare a blank the same diameter as the barrel long enough to fit in the lathe.
Cut a key way in the blank the same depth as in the barrel but a little longer so you can pry the new key out.
Prepare a key to fit in the barrel length ways only.  No grinding or filing on the barrel.  It must be higher than the barrel enough to grip with a pliers to pull it out.
Secure the key in the blank and turn to size on the lathe.  Grind and file but do not over cut.
Pry the key out of the blank.
Clean the key.
Secure the key to the barrel.
Stamp new numbers.
It should look like a name plate.

Thanks for the reply Steve. That sounds like a good idea, but how would I secure it to the barrel?
bruski

Bruski,
Friction and Loctite 620
If a little loose, a metal epoxy like Devcon Aluminum Putty

It may easier to make the key first and then cut the key way in the barrel instead of making the key to match the key way.

[Dave]

If you plan on re-bluing , you could tig that last 2 up. Make you a appropriate 3 stamp out of tool steel...

Thanks Dave, I have a number 3 stamp that matches the size of the 2\'s coming from Brownell\'s. Tig welding the 2 might be the way to go with this. I use Perma blue paste made by Birchwood casey quite often and it is easy to work with and gives good results.
bruski

If you Tig weld you likely need to Post Heat the heat affected zone. The barrel is likely made of AISI 4140 which contains 0.40% Carbon. This is a possibility of forming Umtempered Martensite in the Heat Affected Zone around and underneath the weld. The layer that can be very thin (.005-.015\") is formed when the relatively cold base metal around the weld quickly quenches the base metal. The hardness of this zone can be as high as 63-64 Rc and the elongation is less than 1%, glass is about 2%.

This can be avoided by Post Weld heat treating at a relatively low temperature. If the barrel is heated to 500 to 700F and held for a hour or so the Martensite will be Tempered, the hardness knocked down to 30 to 35 Rc and the elongation pushed back up to 12-18%.

This is part of my daytime job.

nitewatchman

[quote name=\"Dave\"]If you plan on re-bluing , you could tig that last 2 up. Make you a appropriate 3 stamp out of tool steel...[/quote]
How about stamping the 3 after the last 2 and filling in the first?