Hi,
Would it be difficult/costly to modify typical bolt action rifle such as Sako/Tikka or Weatherby to facilitate quick and easy disassembly for travelling? I am not concerned with the highly desirable but very expensive switch barrel modification but simply the ability to remove the barrelled action from the stock on semi regular basis without using any special tools or professional expertise. I would love to be bit more informed before talking to the gunsmith.
Thanks

I have a takedown custom mauser, it shoots at worst 0.75moa taking down between shots. Before I went that route I checked around.

A properly pillar bedded rifle is going to reassemble to around 0.5" of where it was. With a good accurate rifle that is going to be 1moa.

I would get a standard accurate rifle pillar bedded telling the (good) smith that it is going to be in and out a lot so he can put a steel plate at the front of the recoil lug bed to stop it being shaved. I would also get him to change the action screws to allen heads and to make up an allen wrench into a screwdriver handle to more easily replicate the correct tightness.

1894mk2 gave you some good advice. if you were my customer i would tell you the following.
1. go with a synthetic stock. put in either hardened steel pillars or i would machine aluminum pillars to accept hardened inserts. use allen head or torx screws. get a small inch pounds torque wrench so the screws could be tightened the same every time.
2. bed the barreled action so it only touches the pillars at the top and the bottom metal at the bottom. put a plate at the recoil lug. i personally would bed it in devcon titanium, but to each his own.
i would be surprised if it didn't return real close to zero upon reassembly.

You also want to make sure you have steel bottom metal or at worst hardened steel flat washers in aluminum bottoms. Torquing and re-torquing will eat out the aluminum screw holes in short order. In steel bottom metal I would also switch to flat bottom screws instead of countersunk for the same reason Washers may be overkill at that point; maybe not. Even steel will wear to some degree and the more bearing area the better.

tiggertate, that is the idea i was trying to describe. it needs to minimize wear at the bearing surfaces.

i also believe that using burris posi rings will help the scope issue of twisting as the bolts are tightened.

Talleys, Warne, Leupolds and ERAs all work well at varying costs. I'm not too familliar with the Burris system but I would prefer a thumb lever over a screw just for the convenience of it.

Sounds much easier to get a Blaser R 93.
They go back together with no zero shift, and you have the added advantage of being able to change calibers.
Their scope mounts go on/off without a zero change as well.

T3,

What you are describing is exactly what I do.

Both of these "traveling" rifles are in synthetic stocks, and they fit perfectly in a (short) Winchester brand aluminum case I bought from Cabela's.

That case in turn fits into the bottom (zippered) section of a Cabela's rolling suitcase....in the top section there is plenty of room for clothes, boots, gear, etc.

One tiny problem: the Cabela's suitcase I bought (canvas) isn't light. I guess it weighs 20 lbs. or so empty.
Airlines are attempting to pick up revenue any way they can these days. About 50% of the time I get charged for an overweight bag (50 lb. limit).
Still, the gun and ammo now always arrive together (with clothes).

Both rifles have allen head screws to attach the action to the stock. The Sig SHR came that way, the Mauser I had to buy screws for from Brownell's.

Garrett

Thanks for your kind replies, at least now I can pretend that I know what I am talking about when discussing the requirements with the gunsmith.
Cheers

I have travelled quite a bit with a regular (M70, normally) rifle taken down for storage in a break-down case. It is a bit fiddly, but it is possible. Naturally, a break-down design (such as the Blasers or Sauer 200 family) is #1 in this respect, but it can be done with a normal rifle as well.

Apart from all the excellent advice provided above, the most problematic issue I ran into has been: making sure you don't loose any of the "loose" parts (action screws, mag box, mag follower and spring, one or more pieces of your bottom metal) during the inevitable custom inspections. I lost an action screw on my last trip home, and if that had happened on the way out, the rifle would have been out of action for hunting...

The best way I have come up to deal with this, is to keep all loose parts "together", and preferably solidly attached to the gun case. I store my loose parts in clear Zip-Loc bags, that I tape to the inside of my guncase. That way, the contents can still be inspected by the odd inquisitive customs officer, yet the chances of loosing them have been minimized.

I always figure a rifle has to be at least checked for zero when re-assembled. So it has been no big deal to me if zero has changed a bit during travel. My scopes (primary & backup) travel in my handluggage.

The biggest drawback of travelling with a non-breakdown gun in this way, is the time, effort and care it takes to take the gun down and make sure you don't loose any parts. An R93 sure makes life a lot easier.

- mike