Editor: This article by Tommy C., aka “dc.fireman”, comes from our Shooters’ Forum. It’s amazing to see how a relatively cheap Savage M12 BVSS varmint rig has been transformed into a sophisticated match rifle with a Shilen barrel and top-of the-line sights. Tommy’s rifle can compete with match guns that cost thousands of dollars more. American ingenuity is at work! Savage Reborn – Old BVSS Converted into 300M Match Rifle By Tommy C. (aka dc.fireman)I started building a 300M International Competition Gun about a year back, with the intention of competing at the 300M Nationals in Minnesota this year at the Minneapolis Rifle Club. Realistically, I did not want to pay the prices of the Bleikers or Grunig & Elmigers that occasionally pop up for sale. I decided to build a 300M Match rifle using an American action, barrel and chassis.
Tommy’s 300M Match rifle, with Savage action and PDC Custom chassis. I chose the 6.5-08 Remington (also known as.260 Remington) as my caliber of choice. The cost/availability for brass was the main reason why I chose this over 6.5×47 Lapua. The.260 Rem cartridge was derived from the.308 Win cartridge. I made my first batch by necking down some Federal 308 and it worked great. [Editor’s Note: We recommend Lapua.260 Remington Brass for match purposes if you don’t have access to good.308 Win Brass.] I had an older Savage M12 action that was originally from a.22-250 BVS. James at Northland Shooter Supply walked me through my game plan and the equipment I needed. I bought a Shilen Select Match barrel 26”, a NSS Stainless Recoil lug, nut and a set of Forster Headspace Gauges, as well as the NSS Action Wrench.
Catalog photo of the current Savage M12 in.22250 Rem. A few months after that, I replaced the Accu-trigger by a Rifle Basix SAV-II Trigger and wondered why I had waited so long. The Rifle Basix trigger is perfect for my application. The he safety does not work, but I don’t require it for my application. Alex Sitman, of Masterclass Stocks re-worked a BVSS Stock that was sold to me by another member on the AccurateShooter forum. It served as a temporary solution until I found a maker that could almost replicate my Feinwerkbau Alu stock for my smallbore matching gun. After searching the AccurateShooter forum and doing multiple internet searches, PDC Custom was located in Michigan. I spoke to Craig Kierstadt several times before deciding to buy his chassis. He had some older chassis stocks that were spaced for the Savage stagger feed action. He machined a rail Anschutz into the foreend for my handstop and sling. He powder-coated it black and sent it without the grip and buttplate.
Photo of action/chassis. Tommy says, “It locks really tightly and you can see Craig spent some time working on the CNC work needed to make this fit.” There are minor issues with the PDC frame, but I would give it a 9.5. The price and the features it has, as well as the ease with which everything fits together, far outweighs any minor issues. Two of the problems I quickly fixed with Teflon. I will need to make my own walnut cheek piece. A curved one doesn’t work well with aperture iron sights. Savage Action .260 Rem 300M Match Rifle Components: Action, Barrel, Stock, Grip
Savage M12 stagger feed action, 4.27″ spacing
Shilen Select Match Barrel, 26”
Rifle Basix SAV II Trigger
PDC Custom Chassis – Tool-less Adjustments
Bobsled SLED (required) for single loading
MEC Contact III Butt plate (German)
MEC handstop/sling pivot (German)
Walnut Target grip (eBay source) Sight Components, Hardware and Hardware
MEC Spy long rear sight (German).
Centra front view tunnel (German)
Centra adjustable aperture (German)
Medesha extension tube + collar
Champion’s Choice front base sight
Champion’s Choice Mirage band Tommy used 123gr Hornady ELDM bullets, H4831 powder, and CCI BR2 primers for his practice load. Tommy wrote: “My initial 25-shot prone test today shows promising.” There are 20 record shots and five sighter shots. One of the nines at 9 o’clock is my first sighter and the other I own. The 8 at 4 O’clock had a difficult round to chamber. My initial score puts me in the area of 193-7X.” I used the NRA C2, 300M International Rifle Target reduced for 200 yards.
The outer 10 (X-Ring), is 1.24″ in diameter. Match Load — Varget Bullets and Nosler Bullets
Tommy’s match load now uses Varget and Nosler Bullets: “My match loads use 37.9 grains Hodgdon Varget along with a Nosler Nosler 123gr.” This recommendation was made by a man with extensive experience in 300M shooting. Tommy says: “The knowledge gained through the AccurateShooter forum has made all of this a reality instead of just passing thought.”
