Savage Long-Action Model 112 Retroit

It all began while making up an earlier Savage Model 112 single shot rifle for switch barrel use. The rifle would have two bolts, including .223 and .308 size bolt faces. Two barrels for each bolt were planned. There was, however, a major intervening problem in finding a standard size bolt face to serve two of the barrels. I searched diligently, to no avail. Numrich Gun Parts Corporation (gunpartscorp.com) hadn’t had a bolt for the old Model 112 Series "J" in some time.

Parts were no longer made, as communication with Savage Arms alerted me. Other sources painted the same bleak picture. A close comparison of the more current long-action Savage Model 112 bolt showed a striking resemblance between the two. These quite complex bolt assemblies are made up of 22 parts. Then it occurred to me to shorten the long action bolt body as a means of setting back the removable bolt head. The bolt bodies are essentially the same, aside for a 0.544" difference in length.

Cutting off from the front would just remove the laterally opposing holes for the bolt head retaining pin. This would leave a clear section of bolt body to work with in drilling anew pair of bolt head retaining pin holes. Of course, the firing pin and mainspring would also need to be shortened the same amount ( 0.544") which I will cover later in this text.

Repositioning The Bolt Head The long action bolt body, stripped down with the bolt head, bolt handle and rear bolt assembly screw removed is 0.544" longer than the bolt needed for the Savage "J" series action. Cutting this down leaves a clean section of bolt body to work with, just clearing the bolt head retaining pin holes. Bolt disassembly and reassembly, even with its 22 From left, Model 12 short-action, Model 112 Series "F" in .223 bolt face size and long-action Model 112 bolt.

The bolt to be duplicated in standard bolt size was done by shortening the long-action Model 112 bolt on the right. Below center: Face of the added bolt (on left) that was shortened for the switch barrel project. parts, is not complicated. Removal of the bolt assembly screw allows removal of the entire inner working parts, including the firing pin and mainspring assembly which comes out as a unit. Removal of the bolt head retaining pin, which is held in place with the firing pin, frees the bolt head assembly.

It is important to keep track of all the parts of the bolt. I put the parts of each bolt in separate shallow boxes so they wouldn’t get mixed up. I decided to make a special drill jig that would serve as a perfect drilling guide in making the two ¼ inch bolt head retaining pin holes. These two holes must be positioned the exact correct distance from the front of the bolt body (0.275") and at precise bolt body center. The 0.695" diameter Savage 112 series bolt bodies are

On left are the original Savage Model 112 Series "J" and parts, on right area long action Model 112 Savage bolt in the process of shortening. The bolt body is cut to length and firing pin disassembled. case hardened and will require high grade carbide drills and facing tools to do a proper job. The other option would be to anneal the end of the bolt body for easier cutting, facing and drilling. This would be a wise choice to consider.

I used a drill chuck in my milling machine to drill the two bolt head retaining pin holes, making certain the drill jig was securely attached and perfectly square in the vise. You only get one chance at this or the bolt body is trash. I faced the end of the bolt body to the exact length in a lathe. Actually drilling and machining of the bolt body went very well and the parts were cleaned of burrs and the bolt body polished.

Firing Pin And Mainspring The firing pin cocking piece head unscrews from the firing pin, which is under considerable spring pressure, with a cocking piece link washer between the spring and cocking piece. I held the firing pin stop nut in a padded vise for disassembly and put a punch into the cocking piece pin hole to form a controllable T-handle during separation.

The cocking piece link washer is free floating, so don’t lose this as the cocking piece separates from Precise hole drilling would have been very difficult without the drilling jig. Below center: The assembled firing pin shows the amount of mainspring removed in the bolt shortening process. A ¼ -28 NF die was conveniently used. the threaded firing pin. It is well to wear eye protection while working on this and to place flexible, transparent tape around the spring and cocking piece link washer.

On separation of the cocking piece, I was pleased to see a ¼-28 threaded shaft to work with in shortening the firing pin. I added 0.60" of new threads and reduced its length by the amount I shortened the bolt. At this point the firing pin protrusion should be checked and adjusted as required, protrud-

The amount cut from the firing pin matches the bolt cut-off length. Above center: Before and after likeness of the shortened Model 112 Savage bolt. Top view shows the shortened bolt where the bottom bolt shows a Savage Model 112 bolt before shortening. Top bolt shows the original bolt with .223 size bolt face and the modified bolt in the Savage Model 112 Series "J" action. ing about 0.060". If adjustment is required, turn the firing pin stop nut as needed.

It will lock in place by the notched firing pin stop nut washer. The firing pin can then be reassembled. The firing pin is again placed firmly in a padded vise and the mainspring slipped onto the partially threaded shaft. The spring is then compressed sufficiently to place the cocking piece link washer on top of it and turned on the threaded cocking piece. A proper spring compression clamp is useful here unless you have very strong fingers.

With the firing pin re-assembled, check it for length by dropping it into the bolt with the cocking piece sleeve in place. The cocking piece pin hole should align squarely or just a few thousandths short of the forward aspect of the bolt cocking pin slot. This permits full and free cocking of the firing pin. With the cocking piece pin in position, the rear baffle and bolt handle can also be installed. The bolt assembly screw is then turned firmly into position, ready for use.

This screw starts much easier if the cocking piece pin is fully forward in the fired position. With any complex gunsmithing project there may be a bit of trepidation as the new work is tried and this bolt was no exception. The feeling quickly dispelled as the bolt slid smoothly into position as the locking lugs engaged, sear cocked and the trigger functioned smoothly. I lost no time in fitting and headspacing a .220 Swift varmint-weight barrel and trying it out.

Accuracy was most excellent with a good number of half-minute groups. Below center: Two bolt handles used in the Model 112 Savage Series "J" rifle conversion. Note the difference in bolt assembly screw heads. The older, original bolt has a slotted head compared with the new Allen head screw. Top bolt is the original bolt for the Model 112 Savage Series "J" action. Bottom bolt is the shortened bolt, as described in text, with standard .308 size bolt face.

The two bolts set the stage for a most versatile switch-barrel rifle. Conclusion The Savage 112 series rifles have an excellent reputation for accuracy and this rifle was no exception. With no available bolts for this rifle, the switch barrel project hinged on the prospects of successfully altering a longer bolt. In shortening a bolt in this way there is precious little room for error but the results were good. A good measure of satisfaction goes along with the successful completion of the work. AG