Savage?

[bucksnort2]

Gents,
Is anyone firing a Savage Model 12 6mmbr? They're supposed to do well 'right-out-of-the-box'. I was thinking of this rifle as a starting point in the BR game before buying a custom rifle. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Justin1098]

I have a 12 benchrest in 6br. It is indeed good out of the box. I have since upgraded to a shilen barrel and devcon bedded it myself. It made a small but noticeable improvement and way easier to clean.
I got some pics of my targets and gun here:
http://www.savageshooters.com/showthread.php?16187-Shilen-6BR-from-NSS

 

[fm1947]

I just sold one recently, only because I don't have time for long range shooting, you can buy that target action for around $500+ and a Shilen screw on with nut barrel for $360 at savage shooters Northland shooter supply under vendors, and then stock of your choice from $200 unfinished to $500 all you need is a go-gauge

 

[walker2713]

I've had my F Class 6BR now for about 5 months, and it's an excellent rifle....a great shooter. I wanted to begin participating in our ranges monthly 600yd matches, and like you, decided that the Savage was a good "entry" gun. I"m not a great shooter by any means, but the rifle is.....and I've been very satisfied with it. You can always buy another barrel for it later.....my next one will probably be a 6 Dasher....

Good luck,

George

 

[Petros284]

The Savage factory rifle is about as good as you can get "out of the box". Like others said, you can always put a new barel on it later. My original factory Savage F-Class has been fully customized after the original barrel went out. I would reccomend that you "lap" the barrel with JB paste to smooth out the bore before you break it in to shorten the process. Bedding the action is another option I would do as well. In addition I would take the accutrigger out and put a Rifle Basix SAV-2 in it. Good luck and enjoy

Petros284

 

[Greyfox]

Over the past 10-15 years I have had more Savages than I can remember (still have quite a few). I currently have a LRPV in 6BR, 12 twist. It shoots very well for what it is, a factory rifle. I compete with it in UBR matches in Factory class. It does well and I have won some matches. It does have an aftermarket trigger and has been bedded.

But, as Donovan said, it won't get you where you want to be in benchrest. You would do better to get an older benchrest rifle like a sleeved XP 100, sleeved Remington 700 or 722, Wichita or Hart. You will get any of these for less $$ than a new Savage and in many cases you will occasionally win with it, even against good competition. With a solid, if older benchrest rifle, you can learn what it takes to read wind, develope winning loads and learn gun handling. Should you choose to put on a new barrel, you can definitely be competitive and probably still with less $$ spent than you would on a new Savage.

Rick

 

[fm1947]

First you need to know what distance you want to shoot in other words the savage your talking about model 12 I have 2 of them I sold or to heavy for Varmit or hunter 100 200 yard game but or used in 600 where weight class or higher so I have to assume your going for mid to long range.

there is no easy or cheap way to get into BR shooting, go to the club you plan to shoot at and see what their shooting if they have a factory class you would be ok but if it is all custom you will fall short.

Lester Bruno of Bruno shooter supply can true a savage action he did one for me, cost to true it $250 cost for Krieger Barrel $324 cost to install barrel $200 cost for rifle basic trigger 4 oz $150 thats a must, cost for stock $500, you pillar and bed materials $50 or if you have it done $200 to $300 Tom Meridith TM, is where to go or Bruno will build it all so add that all up.

or call Kelby have whole gun built for $3100

unlike the other guys I am not big on buying used gun, unless you can shoot it face to face

 

[Ed333]

I have a new Savage model 12 F Class in 6mmBR, and am very happy with it. I am shooting at 300, 500 and 600 yards.
I also have a model 12 LRPV in .204 Ruger, same comment.
And while i was waiting for my 6BR to come in, I was shooting a borrowed Model 12 F Class in .308, and I would have purchased it if the owner had been willing to sell, which he was not.
I think they are very impressive for factory rifles, and my investment fit my budget too.
Ed

 

[amamnn]

As mentioned above, if you think you want to shoot NBRSA or IBS or other sanctioned matches, you would be well advised to look here http://benchrest.com/shooterscorner/ for a used built gun and plan on a rebarreling at some point in the near future. Also you might want to look into having Fred Moreo at Sharp Shooter Supply build you a rifle based on the "new" heavy duty Savage target action, but using Fred's trigger. http://www.sharpshootersupply.com/ SSS says they have had good comments on the Brux barrel. Personally, I like the Shilen on mine. The rifle I have would have to be used in the unlimited class at a 100/200 yard match, and heavy bag guns are not competitive with the rail guns, at least not in the NBRSA meets I've seen in the last few years.

I've had guns by well known BR smiths that I bought used and they were excellent rifles. The one I had Fred build for me and shoots as well (allowing for my errors and shakiness and such) as any other BR rifle I have owned, once I put on a Shilen select match barrel, but as I mentioned it's awfully heavy for a point blank gun.. In the past few years, I have made a hobby of working up my own builds starting with a stock (not the target) model 12 action. The rifles I have done on my own are now all shooting nearly as well as any I have owned, but, as someone mentioned above--it took a lot of time, money, and effort. If I were still able to compete I don't think I would be happy with them after a season. For me, it's something to pass the down time in the winter. Having a competent BR gunsmith go over a stock model 12 is a waste of time and money as no matter how well he does everything else, he can't make that action into a BR action--there is a difference--really. The Savage heavy target action is a great improvement on the stock action, but I am not sure how well it's going to compare with a Stolle or other BR actions--and there is still that floating bolt head--maybe a good thing--maybe not. If you are not mechanically minded and/or have no workshop and/or just want a competitive rifle and skip all the learning to be a half gunsmith..buy the used BR rifle.

 

[Hydenseek]

My savage enjoys eating a bats lunch

 

[MGYSGT]

They are good starter guns. Mine shot very well after the first 150 rounds or so. After 1700 rounds I had it cut and rechambered and it is till going pretty good.

Tom

 

[wmdron]

I agree with what dmoran, amamnn and others say here. I have the LRPV in 6mmbr and they do indeed do well out of the box. The problem is, if you are like me you are going to want to do even better and then you wind up with as much or more in your Savage than a custom and maybe it still doesn't measure up. Mine is deadly on varmints though. Bite the bullet and do what these guys recommend if you want to seriously compete, this is my advice.

 

[goldy1]

I dont shoot benchrest, But I do F-class. I had a savage rebuilt completely for it. The bolt was replaced with a slightly larger one to tighten up the action. It's an amazing shooter. Nat Lambeth (aka Rustystud on here) built it, the rifle and i regularly beat alot more expensive rifles at our local 500 yard match. when I got the rifle I had SSS build it, but I couldnt ever get it to shoot better than 1/2" at 100. After Nat had his way with it, It shoots 1/4" or better. I'm using a 30' Kregier barrel on the savage target action with the bigger bolt body. IMO with the right gunsmith these action will perform as good as the custom action.

 

[amamnn]

I think it is worth noting that the OP was asking about a BR rifle and not an F class rifle. It is also worth noting that "team savage" has done very well in recent years competing in F class matches. However, F class and BR are not the same thing. Different skills and different requirements in application from the equipment, including the rifle, are apparent, hence the difference in NAMES of these competitions.

There are a lot of people who disparage BR competition especially short range group matches, because they feel that it is really only a competition of the wallet rather than of shooting skill. Certainly the quality of the rifle counts more in BR shooting than in some other disciplines, and those who have never competed in BR and have maybe seen a line of rail guns shooting 100 yard group targets might be excused for thinking that it's not a skill driven event.

Still, I have had it proven to me that a different skill set applies in BR shooting. If I were to swap rifles with Tony Boyer, Rick Graham, Jack Neary, or Jackie Schmidt, I am sure that they would do better than me, even when I'm using their equipment. By the same token, I can edge out another competitor of similar skill to mine and who is using an inferior rifle, if mine has been built to purpose, blueprinted and his has not.

I do not mean to imply that BR shooting has more inherent worth than F-clas, silhouette, or any other type of competition. It's just a different discipline and different equipment is called for in order to be competitive, and that's what the OP was asking..... BTW I have been able to find an IBS BR match that was won by a competitor using a Savage rifle. It was listed in the Precision Shooting Magazine (IBS newsletter) in the match results equipment list section. Since I have several dozen of those to look through I am not going to go dig them out of the attic and cite date and location, since I have already done that some time ago when posting to a thread in the Factory/Hybrid section of the benchrest.com forums where someone had asserted that no Savage rifle could ever win a sanctioned BR match...........As far as I know, that was the only one........

 

[amamnn]

BTW, I think it was mentioned in an earlier reply, but maybe shouted out of sight later--that if the OP is really going to attempt a serious run at short range BR--it might be better to abandon the idea of campaigning with a 6BRN and opt instead for the 6mm PPC. Again, a perusal of IBS and NBRSA match results/equipment lists will be an eye opener in this regard.

Certainly the 6BR can shoot amazingly tiny groups at 100 to 300 yards, but the repeatability of those results is questionable as the cartridge does not lend itself to free recoil shooting--something that SR BR shooters rely on--and F-class folks do not.

 

[markr]

My savage enjoys eating a bats lunch

Bring it on down to a few score shoots here in KY if that Savage is real hungry...LOL
I'm still giggling!
C'mon now...quit it!

 

[Hydenseek]

Now why can't one particular savage ever be as accurate as a bat

 

[fm1947]

markr,

where in Kentucky do they shoot score, that may not be to far from me

 

[blipelt]

I look at it this way. I just built a full custom for matches and bought a savage 22-250 9 twist for factory class. The custom only having it for a few months now is like "sitting down with a old friend". It is built exactly the way I want it thanks to the advice of Donovan, Richard and smithing of Dick E.

On any given day anyone can win a match. It all depends on what you want. If the savage is for you by all means do it. If you want a rifle built exactly the way you want and look forward to shooting it and get a little sad when you put it away then start figuring out what you want and find a good smith to put a custom together savage or whatever.

Brent

 

[Hydenseek]

My question is are the custom actions that much more capable than a savage or are the people that generally buy the custom actions generally more knowledgeable shooters.