Savage barrel reciever Misaligned ?? Fix

[noload]

Advise needed on a Savage model 12 6mmbr LRPV I bought June 4 this year. My gun was zeroed at 300Yds I went to shoot 600 yrds and my Nightforce scope only had 30 clicks elev left when I needed 72 clicks.I had to aim 35' above my target to hit the X ring. I knew I had a problem, New scope base and rings checked out ok. So I checked things out with vee blocks and a indicator. I found the 26' barrel to be sloping down .083' at the crown.The recoil lug seems parallel, but the end of the reciever seems a bit out square, causing lug and jam nut to possibly skew the barrel. I called Savage, spoke to a tech, she said send in the gun, they will check it out to see if it was out of tolerance. She was not allowed to tell me anything about Savage tolerances. She said my only recourse was to send them the gun and I sould get it back in 2-3 weeks. My fear is they would not fix the problem because it might be within spec, and I would be out of a gun for possibly a longer period of time than 3 weeks. I shoot this gun about 3 times a week now, its my only target gun, and it groups well at closer ranges. I think the problem is in the very sloppy thread fit of the reciever and barrel and the reciever squareness. I would like to fix the problem myself and keep the gun, . I have a lathe and tig machine, etc. at my shop. I think I could fix the problem with possibly some teflon tape on the threads to take out some slop. Is there any insight you could share with me?

 

[tome]

i have 2 lrpv's a 22-250 & a 6mm br like yours..i had to send the 22-250 back for the trigger & failure to eject problems..savage sent me a call tag, fixed the problems & sent it back within the promised time..all good..you could use a 20moa base to solve the problem or send it back..savage is good to deal with..i shoot 600 at bridgeville de. & use a 6500 bushnell & have not run out of adjustment yet on std bases

 

[noload]

I agree a 20 moa base would fix me to 800 yds, but I also want to shoot 1000 and I'm pretty sure I,d run out of adjustment then. I've had nothing but praise for the Savage performance until I ran across this 600 yd failure.

 

[rayjay]

Send the gun back.

 

[zullo74]

You realize that the barrel could be bent, right? It doesn't take much.

 

[jlmurphy]

If you have a lathe, make a mandrel that fits the action bore and true the action face. You're still going to need an inclined base, my Nightforce scopes have 40 and 100 minutes of elevation, but cut in half, that's only 20 and 50. Depending on the caliber, that might not be enough.

 

[Rustystud]

There are several mounts out there that allow for elevation adjustment. Two come to mind. Steve Ivey's Micrometer adjustable rings. The other is Chris North's gantry mounts.

All shooters that I know who shoot farther than 500 yards use bases with added moa. The closer you can keep your scope centered the more accurate you will find it.

Nat Lambeth

 

[pdog06]

If the gun shoots good i wouldnt be concerned obout the gun itself, I would concentrate on getting a 20moa base for it.

Once the barrel nut is tight there is no slop in the threads on the barrel. If that was the case it would not be accurate.

How much adjustment does your scope have total??

 

[MarkS]

noload,

If the gun shoots, there is not a problem with the gun. You need a 20 moa tapered base or Burris Sig. rings, with the inserts that will give the 20 moa also.

Any thing new I buy Weaver type bases and Burris Sig. Zee. the inserts save your scope for any marks at all.

Mark Schronce

 

[witnessing]

Try applying up pressure at the fore-tip, then fire the rifle enough to get the barrel pretty warm. Remove up pressure and see where your p.o.i is. I use old credit card strips.

 

[noload]

All you guys have good ideas,the barrel does show a +.004' spun in vee blocks,,at 2 0'clock when barrel is remounted). I did correct half the problem,Shot at 100yds to prove it out) by taking two wraps of teflon tape on the leading first 5 threads. This kept the barrel from cocking so much at reassembly. According to my calculations, The face of the action is off about .006 causing all the headaches combined with barrel runout. I do plan on facing the action so it is as true to the barrel as possible. Savage tech says chamber is machined concentric with the OD of the action,I will check).I find it hard to believe Savage does not true the end of the receiver where the jam nut meets...such a simple procedure, that and cut the barrel and receiver threads for a better fit. Then they would have a gun I could'nt complain about at all. Ballistics say I can shoot at 1000yds with a 20MOA base like it is now, with a couple of clicks to spare. I plan on finding out shortly.

 

[Robert]

All you guys have good ideas,the barrel does show a +.004' spun in vee blocks,,at 2 0'clock when barrel is remounted). I did correct half the problem,Shot at 100yds to prove it out) by taking two wraps of teflon tape on the leading first 5 threads. This kept the barrel from cocking so much at reassembly. According to my calculations, The face of the action is off about .006 causing all the headaches combined with barrel runout. I do plan on facing the action so it is as true to the barrel as possible. Savage tech says chamber is machined concentric with the OD of the action,I will check).I find it hard to believe Savage does not true the end of the receiver where the jam nut meets...such a simple procedure, that and cut the barrel and receiver threads for a better fit. Then they would have a gun I could'nt complain about at all. Ballistics say I can shoot at 1000yds with a 20MOA base like it is now, with a couple of clicks to spare. I plan on finding out shortly.

in the case of a Savage, I woud also consider the rear face of the nut in squareness with the threads.

Also,'trueing' the receiver face with no consideration to have it perfectly sguare with the reciver threads will not change very much to the problem.
R.G.C

 

[memilanuk]

Probably was machined perfectly on their new high $$$ cnc machining center... before it got heat treated and polished.

 

[noload]

The end of the receiver did not have typical machine marks on the end. It surely was not done on a lathe, possibly roughed with a mill. Standing the receiver on it's end on a surface plate you could see it was out a little with a square. I have my doubts if it was ever that square, don't think the heat treat would have move it that much. If the heat treat did do that then it should be wiped to clean with a surface grinder. Oh well thats probably too much work for a $1300+ gun. I do wonder if a after market barrel will wobble as much, only relying on the jam nut to keep it straight. I did shoot at 600yds today and my quick teflon fix put me on the X with 4 vert. clicks to spare using a flat scope rail. Before I was aiming 35' hi to hit the X with all the vert. used up. The fix got me 50 clicks I didn't have before. Now I'm sure this will work with a 20MOA rail to 1000Yds. I will probably work a little more on the receiver end in the future, make a TRUE cut) when I have a little time.

 

[memilanuk]

I do wonder if an after market barrel will wobble as much, only relying on the jam nut to keep it straight.

In my experience, that usually fixes the problem to a large degree. I have had ones that the factory barrel was pointing somewhere off in the tulies, and when I put an aftermarket barrel on it was pointing almost straight. I also have one factory receiver that has had multiple factory barrels across it,my 12 F/TR) and every one points a different direction - up, left, & center - still waiting on 'right' and 'down'.

Once I get the scope lined up & centered with Burris Signature rings,shouldn't need them, but they do the job), it doesn't seem to affect the performance all that much...