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Savage Target Accutrigger

Mike in Oregon

Gold $$ Contributor
I recently bought two Savage Model 12 PTA's from James @ NSS I am unable to adjust either one of them below 2 lbs. The are the orange blades and should be able to adjust down to 6 oz. I have had these triggers in the past and had no problems with adjustment. I called Savage and the lady I talked to was of no help. I then made contact with James and told him of this problem. He agreed with me and said they should adjust down without no problem and that this was a first he had heard of anybody having this problem.

Perhaps there was a problem on the assembly line one day, and they used the wrong springs? Or, have things changed and perhaps there's an added safety feature that needs to be removed or flipped? I have searched high and low, and I am unable to find any info on this trigger. It's like it doesn't exist anymore! Am I losing it? :eek:

Pics added to help with some of your questions.
 

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Do those PTA's have the logo on them with safety warning on the
installation of the Precision target trigger ?? If so, It my not be a
spring issue but having the wrong Accu trigger. The red blade will
denote having the target sear and spring. I would suspect you have
the Accu trigger that only adjusts down to 1.5 lbs, And someone
screwed up by installing the wrong blade. The red blade triggers
have their own target sear and spring. It's not just a spring problem,
it would also be a sear problem.
 
I've owned several 12 PTAs and each is different. I've never had one that works anywhere near 6oz, and which equally important remains reliable for more than a few shots - 12 ounces was the best of the bunch I owned. These days, of the pair I still own, I reset one to 1lb, and the other to 1 1/4 lb and know they'll keep that setting for several hundred rounds and not let me down mid-match.
 
Varmint/LE models had 1.5# triggers and silver safety blades (have 2 of them) like the hunter models. What's confusing is Mike says both actions have the orange/red safety blades which are only used with the target trigger/sear.

Savage claims the current target triggers are adjustable from "6oz to 2.5lbs" vs "6oz to 1.5lbs" as was stated for earlier versions.

I have 3 target triggers all set 8 - 9oz because they were too sensitive for my preference any lighter.

Call Savage customer service again, if you don't get someone who will help with the situation ask to speak to a supervisor.
 
When I have the time, I will have a much closer look and see if they "have the logo on them with safety warning on the installation of the Precision target trigger". Other than that, I thought I had it made buying these PTA's. Nothing comes easy man.
 
I own 3 PTA's an all are set to 12 ounces now. As I've stated numerous
times, I shoot them in guns ranging from 17 to 22 lbs. Triggers are more
then light enough that I don't worry about disturbing the gun in the bags.
I also have my own pinch technique to work the trigger. it works for me.
 
Sucks to hear that Mike. They should definitely go lower than that.

Do your sears have the “dimple” on the side of the thumb lever? That dimple identifies it as a target sear. If it doesn’t then it has the wrong sear on it.
I do know that these are supposed to be custom fitted to each action to get the lower trigger pull. I would assume some filing/stoning on the sear?

When you buy a target sear from Gunshack there is a note posted stating that:

“This is a replacement sear for the 6 oz. Savage top bolt release TARGET ACTION. For safety reasons, professional installation required. To achieve pull weights near 6oz, a Target AccuTrigger is also required as well as professional trigger work. Just dropping both of these into a rifle without any additional surface polishing may result in an initial trigger break of 2+ lbs.”

Could be possible they did a batch of actions and did not do the custom fitting work?

Im curious to know what you find. You could call Savage and see what they say.
 
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Sucks to hear that Mike. They should definitely go lower than that.

Do your sears have the “dimple” on the side of the thumb lever? That dimple identifies it as a target sear. If it doesn’t then it has the wrong sear on it.
I do know that these are supposed to be custom fitted to each action to get the lower trigger pull. I would assume some filing/stoning on the sear?

When you buy a target sear from Gunshack there is a note posted stating that:

“This is a replacement sear for the 6 oz. Savage top bolt release TARGET ACTION. For safety reasons, professional installation required. To achieve pull weights near 6oz, a Target AccuTrigger is also required as well as professional trigger work. Just dropping both of these into a rifle without any additional surface polishing may result in an initial trigger break of 2+ lbs.”

Could be possible they did a batch of actions and did not do the custom fitting work?

Im curious to know what you find. You could call Savage and see what they say.
I did call, they were of no help. I'm going to call again on Monday. This time asking for a supervisor. I will check the sears though before making that call.
 
Definitely has the target sear. Looks to me that it has the correct rear spring(standard have a larger coil and are also silver).
I’ve read that adjustment instructions about 6 times and never knew about adjusting the trigger return spring to allow a lighter pull? Guess I will try it and see.
 
Definitely has the target sear. Looks to me that it has the correct rear spring(standard have a larger coil and are also silver).
I’ve read that adjustment instructions about 6 times and never knew about adjusting the trigger return spring to allow a lighter pull? Guess I will try it and see.
I should be able to adjust then, right? Better yet, I'll let Fred deal with it!
 
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