Why is the Savage Target Action better than other "budget" actions?

[6MMsteve]

Nothing you put forward is actually evidence of Savage bolt action being "better" than the other "budget" actions. First there is nothing budget about any of the Savage actions from a price standpoint for the action itself or for an entire rifle if looking for a rifle that does not require you to repurchase everything other than the bar stock receiver itself.

Aftermarket support is competently different than "better"! What you actual said is as backwards and misguided as someone that does not know the difference between clearances and tolerances and proceeds to spew nonsense.

A good example is the old school Chevy Small Block. At one point everyone and their mother made parts for it. You could buy performance parts very cheaply for it. They were so common that I once had a friend trade a case of beer for a fully dressed SBC over the CB radio in Hinesville Ga.! LOL None of that made the SBC a good design or a better design than say the early small hemi's, Olds Rocket Block, Pontiac Nail Head and on and on it just made them cheap, common and easy to source parts for! LOL

For the record while the 110 action and it's offspring are ugly, cheaply made and not well made from an engineering standpoint they are genius in how much money can be taken out of a Mauser design and still end up with a very functional action! I own a 12FV so I have nothing against Savage. I think it is shameful that they think the 110 and it's offspring are not already cheap enough and feel compelled to cheapen the design even more.

I concur

 

[jlmurphy]

There is one feature of a Savage action that I haven't seen mentioned. It has a floating bolt head that allows full lug contact, solid bolts with loose clearance at the rear allow the bolt to tip and push the upper lug away from the receiver lug. Custom actions maintain close tolerances at the rear and don't suffer from that problem. It was made as a cost cutting measure on the original 110 action, which was the proposed price of that model. It allows the rest of the action to be rough and still deliver superior accuracy. Unless my memory fails me, the Mosin Nagant has the same feature and gives better than expected accuracy.

 

[GSPV]

Tikka action. PreFit barrels available. Good trigger after putting in an aftermarket spring. I have one in a Manners that I bought used on here. Great setup.

 

[Terry]

What was the topic?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

There is one feature of a Savage action that I haven't seen mentioned. It has a floating bolt head that allows full lug contact, solid bolts with loose clearance at the rear allow the bolt to tip and push the upper lug away from the receiver lug. Custom actions maintain close tolerances at the rear and don't suffer from that problem. It was made as a cost cutting measure on the original 110 action, which was the proposed price of that model. It allows the rest of the action to be rough and still deliver superior accuracy. Unless my memory fails me, the Mosin Nagant has the same feature and gives better than expected accuracy.

Are you sure thats what it does- or was it a speed of manufacturing thing? Sometimes when companies do things for one reason (profit) people look for the good in things and then its like a rumor spreading like wildfire

 

[swadiver]

seems to me a lot of the agruments against the Savage Target action relate to it's desirability for competition Benchrest (short and Long range) shooting. it 's mechanical function is such that it makes smooth, return to aim point, rapid fire operation difficult compared to the Custom actions.

however, i use the Savage Target actions in F Class and and non competition short range "bughole" shooting. for that type of shooting, i see no problems with them. i have had pretty good success in both endeavors with these actions. in one of my latest bughole shoots, an unmodified Target action (with Accutrigger) based Brux 12 twist 6BR barrel shot a five (5) shot group agg at 100 yds of .184" using 80 gr Berger FB bullets.

in my last F Class competition at 600 yds, a Target action 6BR shot a 600 -38x

however, i do have a wonderful original Nesika J action on a LV 6PPC. knowing the way short range benchresters shoot, this action would be way more desirable if i was shooting competition Benchrest. unfortunately, we have no short range group shooting competitions in the entire state of Florida that i am aware of.

 

[jlmurphy]

No question, it was done for ease of manufacturing, much easier than milling a one piece bolt like the Winchester, or a one piece and a silver soldered handle like the Remington. The bolt head is the only solid piece of the bolt, it is cross pinned behind the lugs and retained by the firing pin. Check the contact surfaces of the bolt lug and those of the receiver, very high percentage of contact. Cheaper, but better. Why do you think they sleeve the bolt bodies of the Rem. 700? To reduce play at the rear of the bolt, otherwise the sear pushing against the cocking piece will raise the rear of the bolt and push the top bolt lug away from the receiver lug. After ignition the bolt slams the lug back, the rear of the bolt slams back down and the whole receiver vibrates like crazy, nothing good.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

No question, it was done for ease of manufacturing, much easier than milling a one piece bolt like the Winchester, or a one piece and a silver soldered handle like the Remington. The bolt head is the only solid piece of the bolt, it is cross pinned behind the lugs and retained by the firing pin. Check the contact surfaces of the bolt lug and those of the receiver, very high percentage of contact. Cheaper, but better. Why do you think they sleeve the bolt bodies of the Rem. 700? To reduce play at the rear of the bolt, otherwise the sear pushing against the cocking piece will raise the rear of the bolt and push the top bolt lug away from the receiver lug. After ignition the bolt slams the lug back, the rear of the bolt slams back down and the whole receiver vibrates like crazy, nothing good.

Remington bolts are 3 piece btw. Head, body, and handle. The rest youre spot on and i agree.

 

[Tommie]

As a colony rodent shooter, the right bolt left port configuration is unbeatable while shooting off a portable bench. For the affordable price and ease to build the Savage PTA fills the bill.

 

[Big Mc]

i dont think you can buy a barrel nut barrel for a tikka can you? mabie someone makes one i am unaware of?

No barrel nut for a Tikka

 

[JFrank]

No barrel nut for a Tikka

Actually you can purchase prefit barrels with a nut for Tikka rifles.
Seen um advertised..

 

[Texas10]

Tikka prefit with nut.https://criterionbarrels.com/products/prefits/tikka-pre-fit-barrel/

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Any machinist or gunsmith can make a nut for any action out there if you want one

 

[bigfish28]

So what "engineering" features make a great precision rifle?
It looks to me like Savage has spent time doing DFA (Design For Assembly). This determiners what are the critical characteristics required to make accurate rifles. From my reading of forums here is what I believe:
- headspace is critical
- chambering is very important maybe critical.
- a method to easily adjust headspace is required at assembly.
After this make a pick of what you like and what the market and aftermarket have to offer.
BTW I have a Savage 12 243 W and short action Pierce in Wby 224. Both have been tuned to sub 0.2" 3 shot groups at 100 yards.

 

[pitbull]

I assume you're picking the Savage because you can buy a prefit barrel. Savage aftermarket trigger options are few so if you're OK with the stock trigger then go ahead. Suggest you build on a Remington action or clone and forget about that prefit stuff. There are many more aftermarket options for Remington than Savage. Also you will have a rifle that will compete more effectively in my opinion. Stand alone and out of the box Savage does have a good rifle but buying the Savage and then trying to improve as money will allow is not the best option.

Disagree

 

[markT]

Probably had stock in 2019. Not so much today.

 

[urbanrifleman]

i dont think you can buy a barrel nut barrel for a tikka can you? mabie someone makes one i am unaware of?

Yes. You can. I make Tikka prefits and sell the nut.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Any machinist or gunsmith can make a nut for any action out there if you want one

Um.

How much do you charge to make a nut for any action? I could give you some business!!

 

[urbanrifleman]

I'll just say this. After making quite a few Savage Large shank barrels.

Those things shoot.

 

[SKWERLZ]

I put Shilen prefit barrels on three Savage target actions, it was something I could do with tools that cost less than what a gunsmith would charge to fit a barrel to a 700.
here’s what a Savage target Action w/ a 22-250 Shilen 8 twist, 28” barrel In a Mcrees chassis , Nightforce 8-32 , built as a long range coyote gun did: 5 shots @100 yds
View attachment 1348911

Here’s 3 shots @ 600 yds shot sitting off a Swagger bipod with that gun

View attachment 1348912

That rifle shoots way better than I expected. My 222 Savage/Shilen shoots a bit smaller. Another 22-250 12 twists regularly shoots bugholes @ 100.

Savage actions with prefit barrels are a great option for guys that want to put together a rifle themselves.

I started with a savage, burned up a good number of Shilen Barrels.
Before Tikka’s came along savage was king of home builds, at a certain price point it still is.
It’s amazing how well they can shoot for the amount of $$$$ invested.