I have a Savage 116 in 300 win mag with the controled feed bolt and standing ejector. Has anyone done a bigger bore conversion on one of these? Savage once made the 116SE model in 375 H&H and 458 win mag, so it can be done. It can be done inexpensively on a magnum action. Replacement barrels don't cost much and can be installed without too much fuss.

That is an interesting rifle. I haven't seen a 300 win mag with the controlled feed bolt head. I thought that they only made them for the 116SE (338 and 375), and the Ultramags.

First, measure the length of the mag box. It should be be in the neighborhood of 3.45" inside length. If this is the case, your action is the standard long action and is too short for the 375 without some machine work, but it will fit the 458. The Ultramag actions are longer, by the way.

To fit a 375, the action has to be lengthened to the rear and have a new magazine fitted. I am not aware of any aftermarket 375 length magazines for the Savage, and Savage doesn't sell them either, so that will have to be custom or taken from another rifle brand (Ruger RSM magazine would probably work).

For the 458, the original magazine is OK, but only holds 2 down.

Feeding can be a pain in these action, at least in the few that I have worked on. The bolt face needs to be smooth and may need polishing (not usually the case, but should be mentioned).

The extractor should slide smoothly in the slot, and not have excess side to side play. Meaning the slot may need to be CAREFULLY peened to tighten it up. Then the extractor is worked/lapped in so it is tight. If it has a lot of play, it can cock at an angle, and can hang up in the slot making it hard to chamber a round.

The bottom corner of the extractor should also be angled and polished, but just the very bottom front corner. You don't want to lose any rim contact, so a tiny bevel is all that is needed. You just don't want a sharp corner digging into the cartridge groove.

Past that, you'll need a barrel, nut wrench and headspace gauges. Go to SavageShooters and check out their information on rebarrels as well. Lots of info there.

Other cartridge options are the 375 or 416 Ruger, or one of the AccReloading cartridges.

Last thought, make sure you know which barrel thread you have. Small shank, or large shank.

Jeremy

I made a 375 h&h out of a 110 push feed. I got a long magazine box from either brownell's or midway. The mag opening did need more clearance to the rear and adjusted the feed lips, I think the box was for Rem ultras. The crf savage looked interesting.

I used a lh 110 300winmag to make a 450Marlin(with the idea that i can rechamber to 458WM if it did not workout)but its pushfeed. Was my first self build and I had a great time doing it Clint

Savage made a limited run of 375 H&H guns about 10 years ago and they chambered some guns in the RUM cartridges.

Was this the rifle called the model 116 Safari?
I try to find one in .375 caliber,are they still them?

I have controlled feed Savage 116s in 7MM Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag, and .300 RUM/.404 Jeffery. The conversion from .300 RUM to .404J was (is) a simple barrel change. I also have 116SEs in .338 Win Mag and .425 Express. They are very accurate reliable rifles. I have not encountered any feeding issues with Savage's version of controlled round feed.

Do Savage still make the contol feed 116 ?And how many were made in the .425 caliber? And is this .425 called the Savage .425 Savage or what?

I believe Savage currently only uses the controlled feed bolt head for rifles chambered for the .300 WSM and .325 WSM. The .425 Express was developed by Cameron Hopkins. It is the .300 Win Mag necked up to accept a .423 bullet. Ballistics are basically a 400 grain bullet at 2400 fps. I asked Savage as to the quantity of .425 Express rifles built. They said they really didn't know.