Posted this over on Savage Shooters, but I figured I would here too since it has to do with lightweight rifles and someone might know something about this...
I have a Stevens 200 short action build I put together in 358 Win that I am thinking about switching over to 308 and make it into a lightweight hunting rifle for climbing mountains out west. I thought it would be a fun experiment to find a cheap take off wood stock for a savage short action and see how light I could get it and then paint it. Problem is, finding a cheap take off stock to fit my action, which is a center feed 4.4" screw spacing action, has been difficult. I have seen several deals on stocks for the Gen 1 4.5" spacing, and I'm wondering how difficult it would be to modify the stock to fit my action. My initial thoughts were to to fill the front action screw hole with a wood plug or epoxy, and then drill a new hole. I imagine the recess for the recoil lug might also need extended to the rear a bit to account for the slightly shorter action length. What I'm not sure of is the magazine. Those 4.5 actions were all staggered feed, right? What kind of magazine mods will I need to do if it is a bottom metal type stock, or a blind mag? Anything else I'm missing?
Thanks guys!
I have a Stevens 200 short action build I put together in 358 Win that I am thinking about switching over to 308 and make it into a lightweight hunting rifle for climbing mountains out west. I thought it would be a fun experiment to find a cheap take off wood stock for a savage short action and see how light I could get it and then paint it. Problem is, finding a cheap take off stock to fit my action, which is a center feed 4.4" screw spacing action, has been difficult. I have seen several deals on stocks for the Gen 1 4.5" spacing, and I'm wondering how difficult it would be to modify the stock to fit my action. My initial thoughts were to to fill the front action screw hole with a wood plug or epoxy, and then drill a new hole. I imagine the recess for the recoil lug might also need extended to the rear a bit to account for the slightly shorter action length. What I'm not sure of is the magazine. Those 4.5 actions were all staggered feed, right? What kind of magazine mods will I need to do if it is a bottom metal type stock, or a blind mag? Anything else I'm missing?
Thanks guys!
