Savage 12 F/tr field report

[mcfish]

Hi All
Here is my experience with a new Savage 12 F/TR 308 win. Every thing that was supposed to be in the box, was there and no damage. A friend got his with no bi-pod.
I assume Savage will send him one.

# 1 Tried to fire the first round, all got was click no boom. Try again click. No mark on the primer. My Buddie got on the phone with his gunsmith. Turns out about 1/8 inch of the firring pin was broken. Zero time failure. Thanks to Banks the gunsmith, he was able to put in the firring pin out of my buddies savage 308 into mine to save my shoot. Seeing how I just drove 700 miles to shoot. Thanks Banks. Savage says they will send out a new firring pin.

#2 The trigger locks up if the bolt is closed to hard. Savage says that is because of the target trigger, you have to close the bolt easy. Our increase trigger tension.

#3 Out of 60 rounds I had 3 miss fires. slight click and no primer dent. Savage said that was because of a safety in the trigger system that if the trigger isn't pulled straight back IE pulled from the side of the trigger shoe, it does that. Maybe bad form on my part, I don't know.

#4 The butt plate spacers that come with the riffle do not fit the the F/TR stock, not even close, different shape and different hole spacing.

The riffle does shoot good at 600 yards with 175 gr match kings, .5 to 1 moa in a 6 mph crosswind. After I get these kinks worked out, with a little help from Savage. I will keep this riffle until I get the funds to build a custom. Those issues aside it is a shooter for the money.

 

[george]

hummm
sounds like ya got screwed to me...send it back IMO

 

[billmo]

I sure hope I don't have that kind of trouble with my new 6.5 X 284 F class. That sounds like a bum deal.

 

[GSP7]

Met a guy at the range that had A savage model 10,lawenforcement) in 308/24" barrel and replaced the stock he had with a bell and carson stock I think it was. He had a schmit & bender scope on it. It shot very accurate.

 

[turtleman]

I have a 308ftr model and was confused with the stock spacings as well because I thought things got mixed up as well,but the only things that you use out of that package are the comb rests and the rail acc. for your bipod.I also had a few misfires with the new rifle but that was because of poor trigger pull,once you get used to it it is fine,I think it has actually helped me with trigger control because of the way its set up.Oh,and by the way RL15 and 165gr NOS.btips out shot any and all sierra loads that I tried.Groups in the.2s not uncommon and occasional .1s.
Good Luck.

 

[jeepgc]

I shoot almost weekly with the Savage USA team at Douglas Ridge Rifle Club in Portland, OR. They have been using the production model Savage FTR in competition since March, and have had fantastic results with them. They are shooting Berger VLD 155's and Varget or N540. I have witnessed one of them shoot a 5 shot group at 300 yards of 0.44" All of their guns are capable of 0.6" or less at 300 yards. One of the members allowed me to use the prototype FTR the team had last year in a couple competitions this summer,my first long range matches). The guns are amazing for a $1000 out the door street price. I just took possession of my own Savage FTR two days ago and I am looking forward to start shooting it this week. Finding the right load is crucial with the gun. And, yes, there are problems with the setting of the Accutrigger. Most of the guns have a little problem with the 6 oz setting when you first get the gun. The quick fix is to set the trigger back to about 10-12 ounces for 300-500 rounds and then see if it is stable at 6 oz. I prefer mine up around 12-16oz anyway.

Ron

 

[HawkeyeJoe]

It's easy to tell if your trigger is as Savage says. After a missfire check the ACCU-LEVER. If it's locked it's poor form with the sear getting hung up on the accu-lever. If "NOT" locked, it's a missfire.I had the same issues.Poor form was my problem. My 6.5/284 trigger is fine at the lowest setting. Not so lucky on my LRPV. I had to give it a eighth turn to stop the slam fires.

 

[gunner]

bought the new 6.5-284 f class,hoping to use it in the 1000yd nats this weekend at quantico.warning! think it over before you buy.nice gun,great feel and looks BUT!.the trigger is a nightmare.now this is supposed to be a target rifle.you get no figures as to chamber neck size,what angle does the rifling start at? 3degrees or 11/2.or what.you need to know this.the shock came when i read the owners book about the trigger is that IF and you know it will,anything breaks,like the tiny springs that are critical you have to send the gun back to the factory to get repaired at your expense and time.time can be 30- whenever days.that means if your just starting the season matches you will be out at least the 10 aggs scorings and maybe the next match while you wait.some parts can only be bought from an ffl dealer???.we are talking a trigger here.rem,win and custom actions require you punch out a few pins and replace with any number of after market triggers.the trigger they use does not belong on this rifle,its a hunting trigger.too much marketing was put into it and not enough thought.it was a good idea,remington was asleep at the wheel on this one.i would not of bought this gun if i had know about these problems.its your decision.

 

[memilanuk]

A) Capitalization, etc. Wonderful tools to make your post easier for others to read.

B) If you're that worried about it... Get a Rifle Basix SAV-2 or Sharp Shooter Supply competition trigger, and be done with it.

C) Show me one other factory rifle,including Remington) that gives you any clue what the chamber specs are. I haven't looked recently, but I doubt the disclaimers and such are that different in any other factory rifle manual.

 

[gunner]

first to say there is no other manufacturer that sells a so called competition rifle out of the box.i dont know how long you have been shooting comp.but anybody who knows what they are talking about knows you ned these dimensions.also the trigger you are talking about is not a drop in to replace the factory.check your facts before you make such statements.this action cannot have the trigger assembly replaced on the spot like the rem and win or other custom models.this is a must at matches so you dont miss a match.try and shoot conditions with this gun and you will soon see its impossible.replace this trigger assembly with something simple and you will have a competative,best price,accurate shooter out of the box,as of now no one else makes one .

 

[M700]

gunner - I don't know if Remington provides that chamber info with their 40X or not, but they certainly sell it as a competition rifle. Ruger actually calls one of their versions of the 77 a "target rifle" too. Doubt they include the chamber specs with theirs, but have to admit that I just don't know.

Wonder if Savage would tell you if you simply asked? I suspect a lot of beginning competitors won't worry about that, and will just work up a suitable load without the info. Have to admit, I have no idea what the angle on my Krieger, Hart or other barrels are cut at either, but I manage to shoot fairly well anyway.

I think Savage deserves a huge pat on the back for introducing a couple of affordable rifles suitable for F class competition. No doubt they're not perfect. Few things are.

By the way, Milanuk is one heck of a competitor, and a meticulous rifle & handload kind of guy, with a fair amount of time behind the new Savage rifle already.

Regards, Guy

 

[memilanuk]

gunner,

but anybody who knows what they are talking about knows you ned these dimensions.

Good luck. I have a hard enough time getting those dimensions out of *gunsmiths* at times.

also the trigger you are talking about is not a drop in to replace the factory.check your facts before you make such statements.this action cannot have the trigger assembly replaced on the spot like the rem and win or other custom models.this is a must at matches so you dont miss a match.try and shoot conditions with this gun and you will soon see its impossible.

Actually... I've installed/removed/installed,myself) both the Rifle Basix SAV-2 and the SSS triggers on my personal guns in the past. In all fairness, the SSS was originally installed by Fred Moreo when he had that particular action in for work, so he may have done some fitting that I don't know about. I have had to adjust one of the triggers on the line, as in w/ the clock ticking during the time for record shots,which pretty much sucks), but I've never had to replace the trigger during a match. Maybe we're playing slightly different versions of the long range game here?

replace this trigger assembly with something simple and you will have a competitive,best price,accurate shooter out of the box,as of now no one else makes one.

That part I don't particularly disagree with. I just find it odd that you buy a new *factory* gun right before Nationals, and then blast the manufacturer for not providing this or that... which you appear to admit that no other factory does either. Doesn't quite make sense to me.

Still need to work on that readability thing...

 

[Spotcheck_Billy]

gunner,
If you really don't like your Savage why don't you just sell it. You can probably recoup your investment easily. Then just triple the amount and get a custom target rifle built. That seems to be what you expected for your $1000 anyway.

Savage shouldn't be taken to task for having the guts to enter the market with an affordable rifle that is intended for competitors who would like to get into the sport without first going to the rather large expense of having a custom rifle built. In other words, it's an entry-level target rifle and as such probably meets the expectations of at least 90% of its buyers.

As to the Accu-Trigger, I have problems with the basic design and attachment of Savage triggers in general, but I can't lay the blame at their feet. After all, one look at the success of the Team Savage shooters tells me that the target Accu-Trigger is workable in competition when the shooter does his part

Monte,
Having recently installed an SSS trigger in a Savage tactical,FP10LE2B) rifle I can tell you that the factory Savage trigger hanger bracket must be modified,cut with a Dremel or a mill) to install the SSS trigger. I was disappointed with the SSS trigger, as it is advertised to go down to 2 lbs. but mine did not function very well at this weight. I might try a Rifle Basix SAV-2 in the interim, but I think that the ultimate solution for Savage triggers,at least for me) might be just to wait unti Jewell gets off their butts and tools up their replacement model even though I understand that some serious gunsmithing will be required to make the installation. I hear that Fred Moreo is working with them on this. Hopefully that will end all of these trigger worries.

 

[gunner]

as to why i bought the gun,i have heard great results with some of savage rifles,it was a decision i made at the last minute and the reason is,i have been shooting 1k since 95.i love the challange of the 1k yards.in june i was told by the va that i had medastatic bone cancer with a tumor and given less than a year to live or be paralyzed at any time.to say that was life changing and a shock is putting it mildly.so i sold all my equipment i had,everything that i had collected over about 12 years .everything i had i sold.the drug they gave me made me feel it was over in a few weeks.i stopped the drug and any treatment because no matter what i did it wasnt curable,i accepted the fact that i had about a year so i decided then that i was going to try and enjoy the time i had left.thus the reason i bought the gun.it was my cheapest way back and quickest.i could of had a new custom one built but not enough time or money.i had to rebuy all the equipment i needed to reload again.by time i got everything together it left me with a few days.everything was going good until i went to work up loads.hence the trigger problem. i will solve the problem with the trigger on my own and use the remaining time to shoot 600yds this winter and hope to be around next spring to start the 08 1k season in virginia.i am not looking for sympathy, for the cancer i just want you to understand what i ran into with the gun problem.

 

[memilanuk]

Well, that makes a bit more sense. Sounds like a bad situation, and I hope things go as well as they can for you.

As for the trigger... like I said, I don't play 1k BR specifically, but HP/F-Class. Changing the trigger out during a relay is, AFAIK, fairly uncommon. Personally I wouldn't get too hung up on being able to change the trigger out on short notice, but if your personal experience @ 1k BR dictates otherwise, so be it. The triggers I recommended earlier are not 'quick change' setups, to be sure, but I don't think anything on a Savage today is. The way the bolt stop/release tab and that little 90° spring factor into things makes it about a 2-1/2 handed operation to change the trigger out, and thats at home at the bench. It gets easier w/ practice, but still not something I look forward to, nor something I'd want to be messing with 'in the field' w/ the chance of that spring getting lost.

The Rifle Basix trigger goes down to 8-10 oz but gets kind of flaky down that low. I had to adjust the screws quite a bit and wound up w/ a fair amount of creep and overtravel in order to get it to work safely set that light. The SSS trigger I had was set to about 14 oz. and worked very well,i.e. crisp and little to no over travel) at that setting. The factory Target Accutrigger actually works fairly well once you get used to it,a problem, I realize, w/ a big match coming up) because it doesn't really tolerate anything other than a controlled straight back pull... 'slapping' the trigger trips the safety more often than not. Unfortunate, but still it's probably one of the better *factory* triggers available. I, along w/ a lot of other people, wish Jewell,or now Kelbly's) would bring out a 'BR grade' trigger. Until then, we have basically the three options mentioned.

Good luck,

Monte

 

[JER]

first to say there is no other manufacturer that sells a so called competition rifle out of the box.i dont know how long you have been shooting comp.but anybody who knows what they are talking about knows you ned these dimensions.

The only dimension needed is where the rifling starts and there are plenty of tools around to do that.

All this neck turn this, tight neck that ain't gonna buy anyone points.

 

[jeepgc]

I think the main problems with the Accu-trigger can usually be resolved by adjusting the trigger pull back to 10 or 12 ounces.