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Savage target trigger

savage 12 ftr with target trigger 650 rounds thru it. Trigger has worked perfect up till about 650 rounds it set at 6 ounces. Trigger works good thru about 35 rounds, I can stop and clean and oil the action after say 35 rounds and it will work alittle better. It drops the sear upon bolt closure or actually to bolt closure but when bringing the knob down which I think is maybe the cocking phase. It will drop the sear like it supposed to do if your not really careful and easy on the bolt. I liked the trigger and the feel of it when it works and it is consistent when the sear doesn't drop. No problems at all with it till recently. Don't really think it is a trigger issue problem more of a bolt closing harder then it should.

I basically have 2 questions the first one is on the Lambeth trigger lift kit. From what I under stand that kit helps on bolt lift does anyone know if it helps on closure, which I think would help with the sear not dropping. I know I can adjust it to alittle higher pull and the problem will probably go away. The second question it it seems to do it after rounds when it starts to get warm or dirty. Took the bolt out and looked it over and noticed some wear on the bolt head. That wasn't there when new. Was wondering if I can clean the wear up with some 600 grit wet paper and a flat edge and then polish. Or is that something I should leave alone. I added some pics the wear are the horizontal lines on the bolt head. Any help would be appreciateimage.jpegimage.jpgimage.jpegimage.jpg
 
Pretty sure that trigger wasn't ment to go down to 6 oz. For some reason 10 oz. sticks in my mind. Although my trigger won't go that low. It stops being reliable at around 14 oz.
 
There is no need to polish the bolt head. It won't get you a thing. Take the bolt head apart and reassemble with the spring washer between the bolt head and the shroud. This will allow you to lightly grease the back side of the lugs and the shroud won't wipe it off
everytime you work the bolt

RWO
 
Some PTA accutriggers are not reliable at 6 oz. I seen one this weekend and last weekend that had to be pulled of the firing line during a relay to be adjusted, this was the same shooter with the same rifle. Find a weight that it will remain at or replace with an aftermarket. Grease the lugs, don't alter the bolthead, it does benefit from the spring being between the bolthead and the baffle.

Don Dunlap
 
It will be more dependable with less grease and oil on the shear maybe try it almost dry or with very little lug grease.
 
I think that you are seeing the effect of some wear on the corners of the sear to trigger contact interface. Also, I wince every time that someone tells me that he is actually shooting a trigger that requires care when handling the bolt. A trigger that is set that way is being used beyond its safe pull weight range, and I would not want to be around someone who was shooting a rifle that what in that condition. I am very Savage experienced. Rifle Basix sells a trigger that is suitable for light pulls, the SAV II. When I installed one for an article that I wrote when they first came out, it could be set for 4oz. without requiring light bolt handling. My Remington and custom actioned bench rifles have triggers set to slightly over 2 oz, and because of those triggers designs, I can slam the bolts and thump the butts on the carpet without causing their firing pins to fall.
 
it does benefit from the spring being between the bolthead and the baffle.

Good to know
 
There is no need to polish the bolt head. It won't get you a thing. Take the bolt head apart and reassemble with the spring washer between the bolt head and the shroud. This will allow you to lightly grease the back side of the lugs and the shroud won't wipe it off
everytime you work the bolt

RWO
can you post a pic of this please
 
The best fix is to have the action timed by an experienced Savage gunsmith. You can polish the contact surfaces of the bolt internals, including the cocking ramp, and this will make the operation a little smoother. There are various lift improvements that might help a little, but nothing will come close to timing it.
 
Some PTA accutriggers are not reliable at 6 oz. I seen one this weekend and last weekend that had to be pulled of the firing line during a relay to be adjusted, this was the same shooter with the same rifle. Find a weight that it will remain at or replace with an aftermarket. Grease the lugs, don't alter the bolthead,

I really like the trigger thru the first 600 rounds. I think one of the problems i am having is when I clean it I use alcohol swaps and clean it super good and the I just use some gun oil to lube it. just read an article on here about bolt maintenance and it said to use some moly lube on the bolt lugs. Iam going to adjust it up to 8ounces and try greasing the lugs. Can you recommend a brand of grease for me to use.
 
Savage says 6oz. but I found mine will only work properly at 8 oz.. once you find the safe operating weight put a drop of nail polish on spring/screw to hold it in place.
As for bolt lift the only real solution is to have it timed and trued. Most other things are band aides. If you want to try a back yard fix take your bolt apart and polish all contact areas carefully, reassemble using a light weight synthetic motor oil, not grease.
Grease will catch and hold all matters of debris and stiffen up in cold temps..
Just remember no matter what you do it will never be as smooth as a custom, it wasn't designed to be and never will be.
 
Sounds like its working like every Savage Target Accutriger I've ever owned. The only fix is to increase the trigger pull. In my case, I replaced mine with the Rifle Basic Savage II trigger and have been a happy camper ever since. Just don't overlook the last step of the trigger installation which is to use lock tite or fingernail polish to lock in the adjustments.
 
The best fix is to have the action timed by an experienced Savage gunsmith. You can polish the contact surfaces of the bolt internals, including the cocking ramp, and this will make the operation a little smoother. There are various lift improvements that might help a little, but nothing will come close to timing it.

Please explain exactly what "timing it " means. If an "experienced Savage gunsmith" can do it, surely Savage could make it part of the manufacturing process if it is a worthwhile improvement. Wonder why they don't? Very curious, as I own a Savage target action and I know how it works in detail. There are few obvious things to do to ease the bolt lift, but there is a minimum amount of work necessary to compress the firing pin spring and overcome friction of even polished and well lubed parts. So, please enlighten us.

RWO
 
Cocking ramp angle and the way it operates in proper synchronization with the bolt lift on the extraction cam, hence the term timing. I've made noticeable improvement with a bit of polishing plus a bearing on the BAS. But actions I've had trued and timed by Fred Moreno and Nat Lambeth were just plain slick. You can find extensive discussion on Savageshooters.com. Fred makes nice custom triggers, and Nat tunes the Accutrigger for smoother operation. I'm sure Savage and Remington could make actions as smooth as a Tikka if they were inclined to, but that's another story.
 
Most of the trigger problem happens when the bolt is being closed .
I put the wafer washer behind the bolt head or between the baffle .
The timing of the bolt handle can cause the problem . Shiming of the bolt body can fix the problem. If the bolt is being pulled foward when closing that is the problem. Try holding the bolt foward when closing. All mine are smooth and don't close hard because I have timed them . Larry
 
Your answer is in post #14. As for Savage doing it, it is rumored that a new model coming out soon will have it already done from the factory but I can not personally verify this.
 
I'm familiar with Lambeth's bolt mod. kit and have copied it for my action. It does make a difference. On Savageshooters.com, the number of supplicants clustered around Moreno's feet is somewhat humorous. The long description of his Evolution Benchrest Trigger on his website omits one critical piece of info. What is the pull adjustment range???? ( "mere ounces" doesn't quite do it for a serious benchrester)

It would be interesting if someone would document a well broken-in but stock Savage action as to operating forces and then send it to Moreno for his mods. Afterwards, a new set of measurements would reveal any improvement. If someone has done this and published the data, please post a link. Maybe Moreno is the Magic Man.

RWO
 
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RWO look in the Articles section on Savageshooters and you will see a well documented study by Fred in which he did measure the bolt operation forces on actions modified in various ways. With a sample size of one I can tell you the action I had did exhibit an unbelivable improvement and ease of operation. Like my old Tikka.
 

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