Recoil lug and barrel nut?

[laangler]

I'm in the preliminary phase in changing barrels on a savage 223 with another savage 223 barrel is it a significant advantage to use an aftermarket trued recoil lug and nut or just one or the other? If so what brand ? My stock is bedded to my factory lug now

 

[Dusty Stevens]

No advantage

 

[Dgd6mm]

I'm not a fan of the stamped lug. When I a swap a barrel on a action/rifle for the first time it will get a aftermarket lug and nut. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I still shoot 3 Savage's that have factory lugs and nuts on them. All 3 shoot very well for me. So your ? remains, is there a significant advantage, my estimation, is no. I think building a good load is more important for accuracy. If that is what you're going after.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Granted, we're talking about a Savage with a floating bolt head right now but on a typical setup, I've often wondered why we make every effort to get everything dead nuts true, then sandwich a lug between the bbl and receiver that's not truly flat. I've measured a bunch of aftermarket lugs and most are no better than about .0005" out, with several being as much as a thou out. These are supposed to be good aftermarket lugs made to address this issue. I usually grind my own now.

 

[BoydAllen]

I can't speak to the better lug alone, but years ago a friend had a smith true up the front of his action and install a ground lug and the rifle definitely shot better with no other change. It was one of the old Savage, long action single shots, with a factory varmint weight barrel in .223. Nothing else was done or changed.

 

[wbm]

So your ? remains, is there a significant advantage, my estimation, is no. I think building a good load is more important for accuracy. If that is what you're going after.

Been there done that so I tend to agree.

Think of the face of the Receiver, the Lug, and the Nut as three layers of a sandwich. If all are "trued" to each other then there may be a significant positive impact. If not then probably not.

 

[tobnpr]

At the very least get an aftermarket ground recoil lug- the stamped lugs are never flat.
I actually just ordered a couple of OEM barrel nuts because someone swore on another forum that the face of the nut is absolutely perpendicular to the threads; I'm not a believer so I'm going to check them when they arrive.

In any case, whether the OEM nut is perfectly true- or gets trued on a lathe, or whether you use aftermarket the bottom line is the face of the nut (that mates to the receiver face) MUST be true for best accuracy.
This is no different than that for a shouldered barrel and serves the same purpose.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

At the very least get an aftermarket ground recoil lug- the stamped lugs are never flat.
I actually just ordered a couple of OEM barrel nuts because someone swore on another forum that the face of the nut is absolutely perpendicular to the threads; I'm not a believer so I'm going to check them when they arrive.

In any case, whether the OEM nut is perfectly true- or gets trued on a lathe, or whether you use aftermarket the bottom line is the face of the nut (that mates to the receiver face) MUST be true for best accuracy.
This is no different than that for a shouldered barrel and serves the same purpose.

What will be your method to check the nut out making sure the threads and face are perpindicular? I have actually recut threads and face because i couldnt find a repeatable way to measure so i started over. This was on a factory class gun that needed the nut. Im a fan of the barloc if you want to go the prefit route

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Of course all of this is for nothing without new threads on the barrel and the action face trued up. The floating bolt head takes the place of a ground lug on a savage imo.

 

[tobnpr]

What will be your method to check the nut out making sure the threads and face are perpindicular?

Shouldered mandrel.
Face the front side of the nut (doesn't mean a thing in terms of the rifle, but will assure that nut is seated properly on the mandrel).

Unscrew it, flip the nut around and screw it onto the mandrel so the front face is seated against the mandrel shoulder.

Indicate the rear face of the nut. If it's square to the threads/mandrel there will be no runout.

Really no different than would be done if truing a receiver face on a threaded mandrel between centers.

 

[rjtfroggy]

#1 you will need to redue your bedding because the after market lugs are thicker. As for the nut you can usually see where it rubs when tightened down on the lug if it isn't even all the way around place it on a piece of emery cloth on a flat surface and do a figure 8 until either the burr is gone or it is flat.
I have restocked all of my Savages with either laminate or fiber glass stocks using the ground lugs and in some the factory lug and I can tell you that personally I see no difference on target.

 

[6MMsteve]

A good barrel and bollits will do all needed. glass bed or aluminum block..good scope ready to go

 

[jackieschmidt]

Keep in mind, installing a recoil lug that is not truly the same thickness all the way around is exactly the same thing as seating a barrel against a action face that is not truly square with the other critical components.

Extreme accuracy is about removing all variables that you have controls over. That way all you have to worry about are the ones that you do not have control over.

 

[LVLAaron]

Lots of good and valid points here...

A precision ground recoil lug is what, 35 bucks? Would it make you feel better if you had one? Get one.