As far as screwing a barrel on an existing action the Savage is the way to go. Pre-threaded barrels are great as long as you don't need to adjust your Head Space too much. If you are going to start with a raw barrel, square the action, blah...blah...blah you will need a lathe and a mill. Personally.... I had a custom built, and I will just stick with a stocker from hear on out.