Mine is now nearly ordered. Im just waiting on final pricing confirmation since mine is going to be a custom barrel and probably wont arrive in time for this years hunting season. I really didn't want to convert the Savage but considering the McGowen barrel is so cheap but very well made, its worth the wait IMO. Pacnor wanted way too much for what i wanted since its not the "standard Dougs" Savage conversion barrel. I will still have under a grand in mine if the estimate from Mcgowen is oked and i do some of the work myself.

Im going with the same stock you used also and full floated (mainly for better cooling). It will shave off a little weight. Boyds has a youtube vid of that stock in action and for the price its worth a try. I might even buy a FT blank for one of the Knights too.

This year i will probably hunt with my GMB54-120 again and the NULA. It wasn't until i got the NULA i took a much stronger interest in smokeless MLs. Mainly because im very picky about a hunting rifle and both fill the bill perfectly for my needs.

I know yours is a bit heavier than i prefer but its still lighter than a Savage w/laminate TH and aftermarket support for the Rem700s is huge. The load you sent in PM should just flat out rock on deer out to 300 yards or maybe more. That load doesn't even come close to what that barrel can handle, so you have room left for tweaking and still have a big safety margin. Sabots will blow long before any danger would arise. Since you are already comfortable with hand loading center fires, you made the right choice IMO. I don't recommend SMLs to anyone that isn't comfortable and experienced with CF reloading.

BTW there is not a single report of an approved 45cal SML barrel blowing up that i can find with sabots. Only a couple have been bulged and those were from sabotless with a double charge.