Savage 6mmBR Model 12...

[burnsome]

so i'm new to this 6mmBR business - went out and bought an off-the-shelf Savage 12 Varmint/LR with the hopes of having a decent shooter. mounted a Leupold 8.5-25x30mm scope and off to the range i went. accuracy was pretty bad compared to what my other rifles shoot like. doubled checked mounts, cleaned repeatedly, triple checked everything and it still doesnt shoot. tried factory Lapua and Norma ammo as well as some handloads i churned up evening prior to. I loaded the handloads to max OAL of 2.44 inches per my loading manual just to have a starting point. returning from the range, got out my handy hornady lock-n-load bullet seating depth gage, checked the bullet-to-lands distance, and the distance is about a 1/2-inch (yes, 0.5 inches) longer than the listed 6mmBR's maximum OAL. I have to load mine to 2.92 inches to get near the lands. in other words, if i wanted my handloads to have the bullet right at or touching the lands they barely have enough surface area left at the base of the bullet to even seat in the case.

i guess i need a reality check....so was the dude at the factory asleep when they cut the chamber/throat or am i loosing my mind???

 

[RonAKA]

I think you need to call Savage and arrange to return the gun. I have a Savage LRPV in 12 twist. I am not exceedingly happy with the length of the throat, and believe it could be shorter for the bullets the 12 twist can handle. However I can jam the lands 0.010" in the 68-80 grain bullet range, and still have a reasonable amount of body in the neck. Boat tail bullets probably would not work though.

It does not seem possible however that Savage could cut the throat 1/2" too deep. I think mine is possibly cut 0.1" too deep.

 

[Frankr]

burnsome you did not say what twist barrel it was, what bullet you was shooting,or powder,primer combo??

 

[burnsome]

thanks...barrel twist is 1x8, and factory loads were Lapua Match 105 Scenar & Norma 105 Bergers. Handloads - Berger 105 & 115 Hunting/Taget VLDs over N140 and Rem 7.5 primers. Both the 105 & 115 VLDs fall out of the case (wont seat) if loaded to touch lands... ???

 

[Frankr]

Wow,yea that does not sound right,i would call savage..

 

[burnsome]

i'm calling them monday and plan to send it back with a detailed letter and range report. hopefully they'll fix it and/or replace the barrel. i'm just wondering why/how the throat reaming process could get so doggon out of wack... :-\ thanks for the reality check guys...i guess my 6BR rifle shooting will be put on hold for a while as i wait for Savage...

 

[bozo699]

burnsome,
Thats a complete bummer, my son has that same rifle except 1:12 twist and it will shoot 55-85 grain bullets great, under 1/2" I am able to seat the 65 gr v-max to touch the lands but not a lot in the case, but enough there is very little to no runout and good ignition. It will shoot the 95 gr nosler BT bullets but @ over a inch, there not key holing but not very accurate either. Seems like thats been my luck with savage,....there great or terrible no in between. Give them a call I am sure they will take care of it, of course that won't make you any happier sitting around with NO-GUN Good luck sir.
Wayne.

 

[deadlyswift]

I would also call Savage. If the barrel is a 8 tw and you were trying to seat the 55 to 80gr bullets to the lands I could understand that, But not the 105s. I just pulled a Factory barrel off of a Savage .308 that did have some what of a long throat. The 175 LR BT Bergers seated with a .010 jam put the Bearing surface just past half way up the neck. Although it was a 10 tw So I can understand a little longer thorat in the .308 for those that might shoot the 208s, or 210s. I have a Broughton 6br barrel that has a .021 throat. Yes a .021 throat! With the Berger Hunting 105 vlds seated to just kiss the lands The bearing surface is just touching the Shoulder/neck junction, and the 95gr Bergers just touching the lands puts the bearing surface approximately .050 above the Shoulder/neck junction. I perfer the shortest throat that I can get away with. (Longer Throat Life) It does sound like who ever chambered the barrel dosed off for a sec ??? Give Savage a call They do have a great customer service and I would be willing to bet they'll fix the problem if it is any fault of their own!
Good luck to You!
Mark

 

[clannagael]

FWIW, I bought a new Savage BVSS in .223 last summer. Everything seemed OK except, with a one piece base, it was shooting about 4 feet left.

I sent it back to Savage for a warranty repair with the base attached and a typed letter of explanation.

I got the rifle back after about 3 weeks with a brand new barrel, the test targets, the work order, and an explanation of what was done. I was pretty excited. Then I took it to the range with the one piece base. Now it shoots 3 feet high. I fixed the elevation with Burris signature offset inserts, but I can't even begin to explain how disappointed I am with the whole company right now.

I know there are a lot of people who love their Savage rifles, but this is the first Savage I've owned and it will almost certainly be the last. :'(

 

[burnsome]

thanks for the info guys. it goes back to Savage tomorrow. we'll see how it goes and i'll report back FWIW....

 

[shot410]

I took my Savage out of the box, installed a Weaver T-36 and with new Lapua 105 shot .75 moa at both 100 and 200 yards. I tried loading to the 2.44 listed in the book and it was a jam with MK's (plus other brands), and shot all over the place. Reset to the Lapua OAL which was 2.35 and was back to the .75 moa with MK's.

 

[rwh38238]

Well the shooting to the left and high can simply be explained on how they indexed the barrel in the action with the curveture of the bore. I got my F-class 12 target 6br out this past weekend and the first 5 shot group shot was 0.849 @200 yds. I just loaded some 105 bergers to 0.010 off the lands and varget to break the barrel in. Thats running the new brass over the mandrel. Needless to say I've got a lot more work to do and overly impressed. Time will tell and hopefully I can do some work in the factory class this year with this beast.

 

[burnsome]

alrighty then...time for an update :. as mentioned above, i sent the rifle back to Savage and it was returned today. they replaced the barrel with a new one, and included a 100 yard 5-shot target that measured a .40-inch group. not too shabby eh>?...i called the customer rep at Savage about a week ago, and he indicated that their gunsmith did a chamber cast and the result was that the chamber was indeed bad as i had suggested in my note to them. They decided to just replace the barrel with a new one - good call..... after doing some measurements tonight, the 105 and 115gr VLD's can NOW be seated an additional 0.16+ inches deeper (than my last loads) into a case before they touch the lands than they could before the barrel swap. anyway, i called the savage rep back today and thanked him for their excellent customer service. i guess every now and then a bad one gets out. will be doing some shooting with it this weekend...and hopefully my hand-loads will do well... ;D

 

[deadlyswift]

Burnsome,
Glad things turned out good so far for you! Savage rifles are great rifles! I hope you enjoy your weekend of shooting! I have to work all weekend so no shooting for me! GRRRRRR!! But another day will come! Again enjoy yourself!
Mark

 

[Steve Blair]

My 12F with factory 6BR barrel touches Sierra 107 MK at 2.380 OAL. My 6BR Stiller Viper SS Bartlein, chambered with my ,104 freebore reamer, touches at 2.392. This means that the reamer Savage used is approximately .90 freebore. That seems a pretty good compromise for bullets appropriate to an 8" twist barrel.

 

[k80skeet]

I have found Savage's customer service has been excellent. The President and C.E.O. Ron Coburn is commited to building the most accurate Production rifles in the market on all levels. They are even more commited on their target rifles and their standards for accuary is high they want their to win right out of the box. The one's I have shoot as good as any custom barred rifles I have. I have a LRPV in 223 Remington that will shoot in sub .2's 5 short groups time after time. I just bought a LRPV in 6mmBR 1-12 twist and expect it will do even better with the right bullet and load.

 

[Tony Husker Fan]

so i'm new to this 6mmBR business - went out and bought an off-the-shelf Savage 12 Varmint/LR with the hopes of having a decent shooter. mounted a Leupold 8.5-25x30mm scope and off to the range i went. accuracy was pretty bad compared to what my other rifles shoot like. doubled checked mounts, cleaned repeatedly, triple checked everything and it still doesnt shoot. tried factory Lapua and Norma ammo as well as some handloads i churned up evening prior to. I loaded the handloads to max OAL of 2.44 inches per my loading manual just to have a starting point. returning from the range, got out my handy hornady lock-n-load bullet seating depth gage, checked the bullet-to-lands distance, and the distance is about a 1/2-inch (yes, 0.5 inches) longer than the listed 6mmBR's maximum OAL. I have to load mine to 2.92 inches to get near the lands. in other words, if i wanted my handloads to have the bullet right at or touching the lands they barely have enough surface area left at the base of the bullet to even seat in the case.

i guess i need a reality check....so was the dude at the factory asleep when they cut the chamber/throat or am i loosing my mind???

I also got a 6br. The chamber had such bad burrs that I could not chamber brass. I fixed this. Then the trigger would not go below1.5 lbs (even with the trigger spring out). I think Savage quality control left the plant.

 

[3Ackleys]

I also got a 6br. The chamber had such bad burrs that I could not chamber brass. I fixed this. Then the trigger would not go below1.5 lbs (even with the trigger spring out). I think Savage quality control left the plant.

When now or 2011 when this was first posted? Burnsome hasn't been on here in 12 years.