The main difference between the 2 is that the 110 is a LARGE action and will handle cases up to the big magnum's in length. The 10 model is the medium action and will handle cases with a length up to .308. Hope this helps. I built my 7-08 Remington on a pawnshop Savage 110 action and have never looked back. See my avatar pic as proof. Have fun with this gun and enjoy a change barrel rifle at well under the cost of any other change barrel rifle.

 

110= long action wood
111= long action black
10 = short action wood
11 = short action black

there's also 116's, 16's etc.

I have a 110 .270 and a 111 7mm rem mag. I can't explain it. The Savage rifles just appeal to me. I've even got a pair of their bolt action .22s

 

This is an update from Savage Shooters which I'm a member of also. These people are the cream of the crop on Savages.
Savage Action Lengths
2 Comments

The following measurements depict the various screw spacing on Savage 110 centerfire actions over the years. All measurements are center-to-center.

All Long Actions = 5.062" (1958 to present, staggered and center-feed magazines)
1st. Gen Short Actions = 4.522" (1959 to 1987, staggered feed magazine)
2nd Gen Short Actions = 4.275" (1998 to 2007, staggered feed magazine)
3rd Gen Short Actions = 4.400" (2005 and up, center-feed magazine, not in photo)
3rd Gen Palma/Dual-Port = 3.440" (2009 and up, single-shot only)



First Generation Short Actions:
The 1st Generation short actions are often incorrectly referred to as "Series J" actions or Intermediate Actions. These actions will have a three digit model number (110, 112, etc), but are approximately 0.540" shorter than the standard long action.

Savage used series letters (i.e. Series J) solely to identify small changes to individual parts over the years. These series indications were only used to identify what parts to use on the rifle should it ever come back to the factory for repair or warranty service. Think of it as a version or revision number. As such, it's common to find a long action rifle with the barrel marked "Series J", and as such it's not a good idea to simply refer to the 1st Generation short actions as "J-Series" as the series has no bearing on the actual action length. Additionally, a rifle can be marked with a series letter other than "J" and still be one of these 1st Gen short actions.

The 1st Generation short actions were discontinued in 1988 when Savage went into bankruptcy. From 1988 to the launch of the 2nd Generation Short Action in 1996, all rifles offered in a short-action cartridge were built on long actions with a shorter magazine well cut in the bottom of the action.

2nd Generation Short Actions:
The 2nd Generation short actions are what most people are familiar with. These were introduced in 1998 and remained in production through the better part of 2007 which was the transition year to the new 3rd Generation short actions. The 2nd Generation short action is approximately 0.850" shorter than a long action, or approximately 0.310" shorter than the 1st Generation short action.

3rd Generation Short Actions:
The 3rd Generation short action is what came about with the introduction of Savage's new detachable magazine arrangement on the Model 14 American Classic, 16FCSAK, 16FCSS, 10FCM Sierra and 11GCNS models in 2005. The new detachable magazine setup required that the front action screw be moved forward approximately 0.125" to allow room for the magazine release lever. (NOTE: The above listed models were the only ones to have the different screw spacing in 2005. All other short action models retained the 2nd Generation short action screw spacing.)

In 2006 Savage introduced their new hinged floor-plate magazine arrangement, and also started phasing in a new center-feed blind magazine. The hinged floor-plate assembly required the same screw spacing as the detachable magazine arrangement. Rather than having to offer stocks with two different screw spacings (HFP/DM and blind mag), Savage simply moved the front action screw forward on the blind magazine models as well. Thus all the short actions now feature the 3rd Generation screw spacing of 4.400".

The only exception may be rifles chambered in .204 Ruger or .223 Remington, as Savage had yet to develop/release a new center-feed magazine to feed these cartridges in 2006. By the start of 2008 Savage had started shipping the new center-feed magazine for these smaller cartridges and thus switched to the 4.40" screw spacing accordingly.

NOTE: Overall short action length did not change any from the 2nd Generation to the 3rd Generation. Only the screw spacing changed.

Long Actions:
The action screw spacing on Savage long actions has remained the same since it's introduction in 1958. However, this does not mean they are all the same as the magazine port length in the bottom of the action can be one of three different lengths depending on the cartridge the action was originally made for.

From 1988 to 1997 all Savage bolt-action rifles were made on long-actions. Those chambered for short-action cartridges have a shorter magazine port cut to work with the existing short-action magazine boxes from previous years. As such, even though the action is technically a long action you can not mount a long-action cartridge magazine to it without having the magazine port lengthened.

Additionally, larger cartridges such as the .375 H&H and the Remington Ultra Mag cartridges required a longer magazine box and consequently a longer magazine port in the bottom of the action. As such, changing from a .30-06 length box to one of these cartridges will also require that the magazine port be lengthened.

 

Thanks for all the information! That's what I was wondering about. Thanks again.