12 FTR

[Texas Solo]

Finally got a 308 to complement my 223 in FTR. I just ordered a 12 FTR.
Why would Savage put a 1/2 twist on a 30" barrel? Research shows most guys with this rifle shoot the 155 bullets the best, at 2950 +/- fps.

 

[JSH]

I sold mine a couple of years ago. Odd twist but it was a tack driver with 155 Palma’s. Most accurate out of the box I ever owned. It made a few folks with built rigs upset and butt hurt.

 

[Gargoyle]

I researched the Savage 12 FTR and it looks like its had a 1/12 twist for many years and no complaints.

 

[Warren Dean]

Finally got a 308 to complement my 223 in FTR. I just ordered a 12 FTR.
Why would Savage put a 1/2 twist on a 30" barrel? Research shows most guys with this rifle shoot the 155 bullets the best, at 2950 +/- fps.

Because a 1 in 12 work great with 155s. When it was released, FTR shooters almost universally used 155s. It was spec'd out by the Team Savage of that era and they did rather well with them.... as in winning the FTR World Championship in Bisley in 2009 in the Richardson and Rutland cups.

I use a 12 twist on my midrange model 12 and it shoots nice and tight out to 600 with virtually no vertical dispersion. 155.5 Bergers at 2950

And the 12 twist will shoot 185s very nicely too at about 2750. That combination won the FTR World Championship in 2013 in Raton.

 

[Gargoyle]

Because a 1 in 12 work great with 155s. When it was released, FTR shooters almost universally used 155s. It was spec'd out by the Team Savage of that era and they did rather well with them.... as in winning the FTR World Championship in Bisley in 2009 in the Richardson and Rutland cups.

I use a 12 twist on my midrange model 12 and it shoots nice and tight out to 600 with virtually no vertical dispersion. 155.5 Bergers at 2950

And the 12 twist will shoot 185s very nicely too at about 2750. That combination won the FTR World Championship in 2013 in Raton.

I have a 110 High Country 300 WM
I have a 110 Elite Precision 300WM
I can see me having a Savage 12 FTR...I would be a new F/TR shooter

155 Amax be any good for 600?

 

[Walt Krafft]

12 twist is the SAAMI standard twist for the 308 Winchester.

 

[Warren Dean]

I have a 110 High Country 300 WM
I have a 110 Elite Precision 300WM
I can see me having a Savage 12 FTR...I would be a new F/TR shooter

155 Amax be any good for 600?

I would get the Model 12 Palma with the FTR barreled action. The Savage Custom Shop can have that made up for you. The Palma stock is far superior to the FTR stock. Less rake on the bottom of the stock, adjustable cheek piece and length of pull, better grip angle.

Or you could find a used Palma model and put a heavier contour barrel on it. Or shoot out the 13 twist barrel on it learning the game.

As for 155 A-Max, I've never shot them but I would think they would shoot just fine at 600.

Turbulent Turtle on this forum is an A-Max fan boy and could answer that question better than me.

 

[Gargoyle]

I would get the Model 12 Palma with the FTR barreled action. The Savage Custom Shop can have that made up for you. The Palma stock is far superior to the FTR stock. Less rake on the bottom of the stock, adjustable cheek piece and length of pull, better grip angle.

Or you could find a used Palma model and put a heavier contour barrel on it. Or shoot out the 13 twist barrel on it learning the game.

As for 155 A-Max, I've never shot them but I would think they would shoot just fine at 600.

Turbulent Turtle on this forum is an A-Max fan boy and could answer that question better than me.

Awesome. I was oogling over that palma stock!

 

[XTR]

Savage built a nice out of the,box competition rifle 14 or 15 yrs ago, they just haven’t updated it.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

If Savage wished to update the 12 FTR, the 12 Benchrest stock would make a cost effective upgrade. I wouldn't mind if they sped up the twist either. Why not 10 or 11?

 

[Sandstorm]

My Kreiger barrel 308 is a 12 twist and it shoots real well with the 155's and the 185s
and RL15 doing the pushing.

 

[Warren Dean]

If Savage wished to update the 12 FTR, the 12 Benchrest stock would make a cost effective upgrade. I wouldn't mind if they sped up the twist either. Why not 10 or 11?

One of my team mates did just that. He cut in an adjustable cheek piece, added an adjustable butt plate and shaved down the sides of the forearm.



I am working on making this happen. Savage are amenable to the idea but getting an engineer's time to do it is hard. Their entire staff is running at Mach 2 with their hair on fire managing the demand and new products.

But I am forging ahead. I have been carping on this for years and am not going to give up on putting the current FTR stock to bed and making an FTR rifle that is modern and purpose built.

 

[Gargoyle]

One of my team mates did just that. He cut in an adjustable cheek piece, added an adjustable butt plate and shaved down the sides of the forearm.

View attachment 1395680

I am working on making this happen. Savage are amenable to the idea but getting an engineer's time to do it is hard. Their entire staff is running at Mach 2 with their hair on fire managing the demand and new products.

But I am forging ahead. I have been carping on this for years and am not going to give up on putting the current FTR stock to bed and making an FTR rifle that is modern and purpose built.

Heck yeah! Good luck!

I'm thinking a 12 BR or 12BR in a palma stock...

 

[Fuj]

Savage 12 F-class stock. Flat and parallel. I'd lengthen the fore end
though.

 

[Gargoyle]

One of my team mates did just that. He cut in an adjustable cheek piece, added an adjustable butt plate and shaved down the sides of the forearm.

View attachment 1395680

I am working on making this happen. Savage are amenable to the idea but getting an engineer's time to do it is hard. Their entire staff is running at Mach 2 with their hair on fire managing the demand and new products.

But I am forging ahead. I have been carping on this for years and am not going to give up on putting the current FTR stock to bed and making an FTR rifle that is modern and purpose built.

Do the competition Savages have barrels cut like this? This is how both my Savage 110s are cut. Elite Precision and High Country. Just curious.

 

[memilanuk]

View attachment 1396976

Do the competition Savages have barrels cut like this? This is how both my Savage 110s are cut. Elite Precision and High Country. Just curious.

Yes. And they brought home plenty of bling at the national and international level like that too - back in the day. While I wouldn't accept that from a custom barrel that costs $300-500 on up for the blank alone, plus whatever your gun plumber charges to chamber and fit it... experience with the factory barrels suggests that maybe it matters less than we like to think. For a first gun, shooting club level matches... I'd say it'll probably be just fine.

The bigger 'problem' used to be that the factory wasn't so good about fitting the reamer to the individual barrel during setup, so the chamber ended up a little off kilter - more rifling lead on one side than the other. We raise holy hell with them about it at the time and got it addressed, but the company has changed hands a few times since - no idea how they look now.

And as for the 10 twist vs. 12 twist... if you really want a 10 twist, ask for it. If you're going to place an order with the custom shop anyway, ask for a 10 tw barrel. It used to be that if it was something that they are set up to make anyway - and most of their .30 cal barrels *are* 10 tw - then you could spec that when ordering. Just be aware that something non-standard like that is going to be probably done between the bigger scheduled production runs set up for regular catalog items, before they set up for the next big run of whatever is next in the queue. Depending on when your request goes into the system, that might be really soon... or it might take a while.

 

[Ned Ludd]

I think more than a few shooters that begin with Savage rifles in F-TR go in with the mind set of getting the most they can out of the factory barrel while they are getting started and learning more about F-Class shooting, but with the plan to replace the barrel with a quality aftermarket barrel once the original is shot out. I've seen some very good scores posted with Savage factory barrels, so they can definitely be made to shoot, even though the borescope images are sometimes frightening. The 12-twist should be fine for bullets such as the 168 Hybrid, or possibly even 185 Juggernauts.

 

[Gargoyle]

I think more than a few shooters that begin with Savage rifles in F-TR go in with the mind set of getting the most they can out of the factory barrel while they are getting started and learning more about F-Class shooting, but with the plan to replace the barrel with a quality aftermarket barrel once the original is shot out. I've seen some very good scores posted with Savage factory barrels, so they can definitely be made to shoot, even though the borescope images are sometimes frightening. The 12-twist should be fine for bullets such as the 168 Hybrid, or possibly even 185 Juggernauts.

That is my plan. I can snag a 12BR for $1500, shoot the barrel out and by then have better idea of stock.