What have I learned?

[Tom Thomson]

I was playing with the action screw torque on my Savage 110 and managed to shoot a wallet group but the bolt was sticky with the rear screw at 40 in/lb. When I increased to 45 the bolt locked up. The rear screw was going thru the receiver and pressing on the bolt. No problem says I, just file a bit off the end of the screw. Now the bolt is free as a bird but the group looks like buckshot from a cylinder bore. Tupperware stock, 2 screw, barrel floated and action has been bedded with Accraglas. I'm sure there is a lesson here, but I don't what it is.
tommyt

 

[jonbearman]

I rarely run the rear screw above 35 inch pounds and especially with flimsy plastic stocks. By filing the screw down you now are allowing the receiver to bend even more and yes they bend slightly with ease. Acraglas is not the best bedding compound. I use at the very least marine tex. If I were you I would try to get at very least once again a laminate stock and bed it with marine tex and pillar bed it if you want a true stress free bedding and your shooting should improve providing you have better than average skills to do so. I am not picking on you but I have never seen you shoot so I don't know what skill level you are at. The factory injection molded stocks are truly not very good for other than the weekend hunter who only shoots a few rounds a year. Invest in a stockys or boyds which the later has prices sometimes under a 100.00 for a decent laminate stock for your rifle in many size's. Boyds is factory direct and cheap.They also sell pillars for their stocks and I am not sure but I think they may install them for a small price. Boyds has lots of colors including straight walnut to fancy walnut as well.

 

[bdale]

I rarely run the rear screw above 35 inch pounds and especially with flimsy plastic stocks. By filing the screw down you now are allowing the receiver to bend even more and yes they bend slightly with ease. Acraglas is not the best bedding compound. I use at the very least marine tex. If I were you I would try to get at very least once again a laminate stock and bed it with marine tex and pillar bed it if you want a true stress free bedding and your shooting should improve providing you have better than average skills to do so. I am not picking on you but I have never seen you shoot so I don't know what skill level you are at. The factory injection molded stocks are truly not very good for other than the weekend hunter who only shoots a few rounds a year. Invest in a stockys or boyds which the later has prices sometimes under a 100.00 for a decent laminate stock for your rifle in many size's. Boyds is factory direct and cheap.They also sell pillars for their stocks and I am not sure but I think they may install them for a small price. Boyds has lots of colors including straight walnut to fancy walnut as well.

This is all good info but if you don't want to redo or put extra money into it just try backing the rear screw off to about 20 inch pounds and work up from there checking your groups at each 5 inch pound increment

 

[Greyfox]

Accuracy must be repeatable if it's to matter at all. An occasional great group doesn't mean much if you can't do it over and over. My first question is, are you shooting over wind flags?
The wind blows them out right after they blew them in. If you can't see what the wind is doing everything is guesswork and luck. What kind of rest and forend setup are you using?
Some kind of accuracy assist will be a great help in making things repeatable. It's just a guess, but I'm thinking both the wallet group and the very bad ones thereafter maybe have all been flukes, especially the wallet group. I doubt the shorter action screw had much to do with anything.

YMMV,
Rick

 

[swd]

Make sure while your tightening the screws that you put a small amount of pressure pushing the barreled action rearward to seat the recoil lug against the stock. If the recoil lug is just floating against the stock accuracy goes out the window.

 

[Tom Thomson]

It turns out that I may have learned that the plastic stock is worse than I thought. As jonb says, it's only good for the occasional shooter who is happy with 1 moa. What I found was that the trigger guard is supported only by a thin web of plastic in the stock. The force exerted by the rear screw acted on the trigger guard which in turn distorted then cracked that web. Who knows when that occurred but I was not getting anything near the value I thought. I am willing to bet that mine is not the only rifle with this problem. This looks non-repairable to me so jonb is right and I just ordered a laminated stock. I am going to use the Brownells Acra-glas again tho; I've used it before and it's good stuff. No, greyfox, I was not shooting over flags cuz I don't need them. If the wind is blowing, I go do something else. Once I have an accurate load and setup, then I'll worry abt variables.
tommyt

 

[CharlieNC]

Be sure to install like sdw suggested above. And before you bed it install pillars or the torque will not remain consistent. Threaded lamp or plumbing tubing from the hardware store is a quick solution to pillar.

 

[hogpatrol]

Those stocks go right in the recycle bin where they can do the most good. Buy once, cry once. Get a good stock and be done with it.

 

[Greyfox]

It turns out that I may have learned that the plastic stock is worse than I thought. As jonb says, it's only good for the occasional shooter who is happy with 1 moa. What I found was that the trigger guard is supported only by a thin web of plastic in the stock. The force exerted by the rear screw acted on the trigger guard which in turn distorted then cracked that web. Who knows when that occurred but I was not getting anything near the value I thought. I am willing to bet that mine is not the only rifle with this problem. This looks non-repairable to me so jonb is right and I just ordered a laminated stock. I am going to use the Brownells Acra-glas again tho; I've used it before and it's good stuff. No, greyfox, I was not shooting over flags cuz I don't need them. If the wind is blowing, I go do something else. Once I have an accurate load and setup, then I'll worry abt variables.
tommyt

Tommy,
the wind is ALWAYS blowing, but if you don't have flags you will never know it. Wind flags aren't the last tool to get, they are the first.

Rick

 

[LHSmith]

Tommy,
the wind is ALWAYS blowing, but if you don't have flags you will never know it. Wind flags aren't the last tool to get, they are the first.

Rick

Exactly. The wind can blow them into a group as easily as it can blow them out of a group. Look up Beaufort Scale and you will find the "wind" consists of various intensities starting at #1 "light air" which is 0.7 to 3.4 mph where smoke drift indicates wind direction yet leaves remain still. Now confer with the wind drift charts and you will find the answer as to why consistent one hole groups are very fleeting and impossible to achieve without adept wind reading capability.
BTW I thought Savages had steel pillars in their tupperware stocks?

 

[LawrenceHanson]

It turns out that I may have learned that the plastic stock is worse than I thought. As jonb says, it's only good for the occasional shooter who is happy with 1 moa. What I found was that the trigger guard is supported only by a thin web of plastic in the stock. The force exerted by the rear screw acted on the trigger guard which in turn distorted then cracked that web. Who knows when that occurred but I was not getting anything near the value I thought. I am willing to bet that mine is not the only rifle with this problem. This looks non-repairable to me so jonb is right and I just ordered a laminated stock. I am going to use the Brownells Acra-glas again tho; I've used it before and it's good stuff. No, greyfox, I was not shooting over flags cuz I don't need them. If the wind is blowing, I go do something else. Once I have an accurate load and setup, then I'll worry abt variables.
tommyt

Tommy,
the wind is ALWAYS blowing, but if you don't have flags you will never know it. Wind flags aren't the last tool to get, they are the first.

Rick

Where I live, if I waited for no wind days to do my shooting, I wouldn’t get much shooting done.

It really is amazing to set out five wind flags on your home range and just watch them for a while. Try it on windy days and calm days (or what you thought were calm days). It’s my opinion that for precision shooting, the shooter must have the ability to “see” the wind. If you can’t see it, or if your guessing it’s not there, you’re just plinking. Even a little wind will influence your performance.

I always listen to Greyfox very closely, his advice is often priceless.

 

[LawrenceHanson]

What I have learned…every day is a not day in paradise. But if you want to shoot, you have to shoot when you can, as often as you can. Precision happens when all the major elements come together in your favor.

Action screw torque is a major factor…really?
What are the range conditions like where you action screw torque guys shoot?

 

[fredhorace77]

I rarely run the rear screw above 35 inch pounds and especially with flimsy plastic stocks. By filing the screw down you now are allowing the receiver to bend even more and yes they bend slightly with ease. Acraglas is not the best bedding compound. I use at the very least marine tex. If I were you I would try to get at very least once again a laminate stock and bed it with marine tex and pillar bed it if you want a true stress free bedding and your shooting should improve providing you have better than average skills to do so. I am not picking on you but I have never seen you shoot so I don't know what skill level you are at. The factory injection molded stocks are truly not very good for other than the weekend hunter who only shoots a few rounds a year. Invest in a stockys or boyds which the later has prices sometimes under a 100.00 for a decent laminate stock for your rifle in many size's. Boyds is factory direct and cheap.They also sell pillars for their stocks and I am not sure but I think they may install them for a small price. Boyds has lots of colors including straight walnut to fancy walnut as well.

I agree with this, but a word of caution, the last boyds stock I purchased from them came with a plastic insert for the front action screw. I would definitely be sure a choose aluminum pillars