New Savage 12F on order--A Few Q's

[savage6mmbr]

Hi all, I am pretty new here and thanks in advance for all the help. I recently ordered a new Savage 12F and want to do some bench rest shooting as well as get into F-class. While pouring over the pages here at this site I have got lots of good info. Here a a couple of starter questions. The rifle I ordered is in 6mm Norma BR. When reading the info on the 6mmBr page I came across som info on custom barrels chambered for Lapua brass, no-turn necks and some other specifics that left me wondering what dimensons my rifle would be chambered to? I realize it is just a production grade gun but would be nice to know or should i be concerned . I want to start reloading and was going to buy some dies and Lapua brass. I was wondering if there are any major things to keep in mind when I start. I maybe should post this over on the reloading forum to I suppose. I am somewhat new to precision reloading but I have reloaded my ow hunting ammo in the past but was not that in depth or critical if you know what I mean. Right know my head is swimming with all the info I have been trying to absorb so I may not quite be explaing my questions or concerns well. Thanks

Jim

 

[6BR]

Jim, buy Lapua Brass, Redding Dies, Varget Powder, CCI 450 Primers, 105grn Bullets and your ready to go. My friend has a Savage 12F Rifle and it's really nice. The rifle is very accurate. He is currently shooting .3, 5 shot groups at 100 yards using the following load;

1. Lapua Brass
2. CCI 450
3. 30.3grns Varget
4. 105grn A-Max
5. 2.330 OAL

Lapua Brass will fit perfect into your chamber. The only thing I would recommend is;

1. Full Length Size your new brass
2. Trim your new brass to 1.55

Your going to love your new rifle! I hope this helped? If you have anymore questions feel free to ask.

 

[savage6mmbr]

Thanks for the reply that really helps. I guess after being stuck inside all weekend and reading page after page online about chamber dimensions, neck turning, no-neck turning, tight necks, benchrest reloading, getting everything perfect down to the very last minute detail my head was just swimming. I think I am going to slow down and ease in to things. get my rifle, get some brass and some dies and just work on some simple loads and go from there. Sometimes I just get to reading too much and thinking that I have to buy all the fancy tools and do everything just precise. Dont get me wrong I dont want to be sloppy but all the reading really went to my head in a hurry. We had a taste of spring here in the midwest last week and this weekend we got a bunch of snow and ice dumped on us. Come on spring!

 

[6BR]

Jim, that's the beauty of the 6BR Lapua brass. It's so good, you don't need to do anything but full length size and trim. That's why the 6BR is popular, it's easy to load. The necks are so perfect, neck turning isn't required. Like i said, full length size, trim the brass to 1.55 and shoot. I know, when you start reading all about the fancy tools, reloading techniques, you get confused. I too fell into that trap. I use to neck turn and I hated doing that, especially for a high volume cartridge like the 6BR.

Another great thing about 6BR Lapua brass, if you ever decide to put a custom barrel on your rifle, you can have it chambered with a .272 no-turn neck chamber and you'll basically have a tight neck chamber without neck turning brass. My rifle is custom build with .272 no-turn neck match chamber and I love it. My brass all measures right at .270 with a loaded round. That gives me a perfect .002 clearance and that's without neck turning, AWESOME!!! From now on, I will only build rifles that I can get Lapua brass for.

My friend also had good luck with the 95grn Bergers and 107grn SMK. The only bullet the Savage 6BR doesn't like, is the 105grn Lapua Scenar. The 105grn Scenar requires a tighter .236 bore. If you do decide to buy a custom barrel and you want to shoot the Lapua Scenar, make sure to order a barrel with a.236 bore.

A heads up, when you start shooting your rifle, you'll notice problems with ejection. They might have changed it on the newer models, but just be prepared. That's the only problem the rifle has. Also make sure to check the rear screw, sometimes the thing is too tight or loose. There are a couple of posts about that, just make sure to check that. Have fun shooting, your going to love the 6BR.

One more thing, your Savage 12F 6BR is throated with a .100 lead and that's great for the longer bullets. Savage was really thinking when they built this rifle.

 

[heath]

I also have a Savage F-class 6BR and I love it.It will shoot just about everything I put in it.Even 68 grain bullets.I thought that the fast twist would be to much for the lighter bullets but it will shoot them into one wallered out hole.I believe you will enjoy it. I have won multiple score matches with it.Good thing is you can shoot FACTORY class.Last month I won 200yd vfs at THE ROCK and placed second this month at 100yd.Got beat by a guy I carried with me.He shoots a Savage 6BR too.

 

[sdneil]

heath-- Neil in St Louis,I have a savage f-class in 6mmbr, she is very deeep throated. Can you tell me what your oal is on A-max, 107 sierra, or berger 105, oal off tip is ok, just to compare. Have had mine back to Savage,they tell me all is perfect, I do not think so ! thanks Neil

 

[heath]

Neil, I have not yet got to trying the 105 Berger or A-max but the 107 smk shoots real good with 30 varget, cci450,with overall length of 2.359.,Base to tip measured with Hornady OAL tool)That measurement is to the lands.My gun shoots 68 Bergers great too.Actually better at short range.Now there is very little left in the neck with light bullets.

 

[Mikem]

And after you get the basics of reloading the 6BR down, then you can start looking in to some of the other tricks, that others talk about, as they will increase your accuracy, but you must get the basics down first. And dont forget to break in that new barrel, with lots of cleaning and using a good copper remover, per its instruction. This break in and cleaning process may take a while, but it will improve, and should shoot vary well.
Mike.

 

[Obtunded]

Not to get too far off-topic here, but it has been suggested that Lapua Brass needs nothing.

I would assert that even Lapua brass benefits from clean-up turning.

Here is a photo of 4 cases from the same box of Lapua brassI had recently . The cartridge on the left is unturned. The three right-hand cartridged demonstrate that with a cutter set to remove just nder 1 thou, the neck thickness is still quite variable. The case on the right was thick and even. the two middle cases show areas thinner than the depth of the cutter.

I personally believe that meticulous brass prep pays dividends.

 

[memilanuk]

Obtunded,

Thank you for the pics, they make an excellent point!

While I still think Lapua brass represents an excellent mix of *overall* dimensional consistency, hardness, brass life, etc. etc. I've seen much the same thing with some of the Lapua cases that I've neck turned in the last year or so... most of my Lapua .308 is pretty consistent to begin with, but my first box of 6.5-284... was worse than that shown above. Now you got me half-skeerd to go take a closer look at my Dasher brass,un-turned used in a no-turn neck .272 chamber).

Monte

 

[Obtunded]

...Is this the same Monte from Team Savage?

The worst lapua brass I ever encountered were the early batches of 6.5X47L I've had more consistent Remington brass!