Savage Arms

[progers]

Anybody else shooting Savage?

I've really gotton hooked on their accuracy. Straight out of the box, dollar for dollar, it has to be one of the best out there!?!

[versifier]

I think so, and the guys at GunTests certainly agree with you, too. My old 24V .30-30/20g that my brother talked me out of last year was/is one of the most accurate .30 cal barrels I have ever owned, and that includes several match rifles. I've loaded for many 110's over the years and been impressed more often than not, though I'm also very partial to older Remingtons. I think the mod 99 is about the best lever for woods hunting and pleasure shooting ever made, and though I like the lines of the Win94, they're too abusive to shoot with hunting loads. Savage has always kept a finger on the pulse of hunters and shooters and will have a loyal following for at least another century and beyond.

[shrpshtrjoe]

Howdy I agree, Savage is a very accurate rifle. I have a 12fv in 223 with a 6.5-20 mildot and with Benchmark powder pushing a 50gr nosler Balistic Tip it shoots in the .4s ( when i do my part) straight out of the box.Very nice rifle.

[Mickey Rat]

I have just bought a PD gun, a Savage 12VFSS in 223. My first shots with Wolf ammo were disappointing. Winchester white box showed me a 3/4" 5 shot group. Off to the bench!

I ordered a bunch of bullets from Midway, bought a bunch of different powders and primers and started. My last load was straight from the WW free Load Manual with 748 and a 50 gr Dogtown bullet. I happened to fier that load first. It shoots 3/8" 5 round groups. Several others are good, but why bother? I just shot the rest up in my AR.

I also just got rid of a Savage 10 in 243. It didn't have the accutrigger, but it shot sub MOA groups with 3 different factory loads, and all three groups were only 1 1/2" across. I sold it Sunday at the Gun Show.

I bought a Savage 23C in 32-20 20 years ago, and it is a tack driver. My brother's 340 is a sub MOA gun with factory ammo.

Thay make a great, under rated product.

[jleutin]

I have a model 16 in 300 wsm. I handloaded 180 grain swift a-frames with 69 grains of REL22 and it shot .6 3 shot group at 100 yrds. the accubonds and grand slams did the same. I also have a stevens in 25-06 and it shoots .5 hand loads. I'll buy another,got me hooked.

[RemHogger]

hey guys, I hate to be a downer but I've yet to see a good shooting savage. Granted I havn't seen many but I've yet to see one shoot a good 1" group. Rems are easier to tinker and i took my new XR-100 out today and the first group I have ever shot with it was .22". Maybe the Savages I saw were too cheap?

[versifier]

Damned fine group with your Remington, you have found a treasure. But, I think you have not yet met and shot enough Savages. Most will shoot MOA with factory ammo, though you may have to try a few different kinds to see what it likes best. With proper handloads, the majority will approach 1/2 MOA. While bedding and floating will help things even more, generally they are unnecessary. With the older models, while they may not be up to the extreme accuracy standards which the modern set, They have always been as good or better than anything their competition has produced, and usually for a lower price. Esthetically, the 110 may not be the prettiest rifle around, but the groups that they can produce are enough for me to forgive that easily.

[WW1]

Hi I bought my first Savage in 1970 when I returned home from Nam...it cost me $155 new ate herters and has the clip...actually the wife bought it to get me out of the house...hahahaha...since then I have bought 4 of them, and love them all...have Ruger #1's which I love also but the Savages have shot better out of box than any rifle i have shot...have put custom stocks on 2 but only because i love pretty wood...my last 2 are the ugly bluck and silve metal...YUK!...but both shoot well...the model 12 shot .25 out of the box with black hills ammo...I guess when I found Savage it was when a LEFTY had to have a custom gun made to get the bolt on the correct side...not sure why the comment was made the Rem was easier to tinker with, as it seems to me the Savage has that niche...as far as some say it is an ugly gun, I hope they dont change it as I can rebarrel mine in under an hour...sooooo I just hope it is a secret that is kept so I dont have to pay as much as the other guys when I want a new one..hahaha...just my thoughts..
WW1

[Ableshooter]

You know the first rifle I bought was a savage model 11 in 243. It has since been shuffled back in my rotation of rifles that I shoot, but right out of the box it was a dependable straight shooting rifle. I have thrown money all over the place chasing the most accurate rifle, well that is not totally true, I just love getting a new rifle and putting the time in to work up a new load for it. I have a Cooper model 21 in 223 WSSM, Weatherby vanguard in 22-250, browning varment staulker in 204, bushmaster ar15 in 223, Tikka in 270 WSM, Browning BAR in 7mm rem mag, etc. All of them are fine shooting rifles and since I have put the time in all of them will shoot sub MOA with the hand loads I have worked up for them. I am a big fan of Tikka rifles along with Brownings. But when all is said and done my savage if you compare dollars spent to accuracy is probably the best value of all that I own.

Having said that, my savage has an accutrigger, and I am not a big fan of it. It serves its purpose but I would much rather have a regular trigger that is set for the right pull weight than the retracting accutrigger.

You guys have any opinion on the savage accutrigger?

[Catfish]

I had an old 340 years ago and it drove me nuts. I would get it to shooting like a real tack driver for a while then it would shoot like a shotgun. I would work on it till I was about crazy and give up. 6 or 8 month later I`d get it out and it would drivee tacks again. I lost it in a fire and really wasn`t sorry to se it go. I just pick-up my second Savage acouple month back. It was a .30-06 but it`s being rebarreled to a .22-6mm. Barrel , new trigger, action trued, different stock and dies for alittle over $500, you can`t get a complet custom rifle built on anyother action for that, especially if you want to turn it into a swich barrel.

[dale clawson]

My Savage 110 in 243 was $316 with a Bushnell 3X 9 scope on it ten years ago. It shot sub minute right out of the box with Remington ammo and will do .600 with my handloads. The only changes have been a better scope, the original went in the tank a few weeks after I bought it and Wal-Mart gave me a much higher grade scope in it's place, and I worked over the trigger to lighten the pull to 2 1/2 #. A few weeks ago it took out 11 prarie dogs straight at 200 to 440 yds. My longest shot deer was 460 yds. with this gun. My Savage Stryker shot sub minute out of the box with an 8 X Burris pistol scope, it's a 22-250. I am not as fond of it as I thought I would be, because it is too big to be a pistol, and too short for a rifle. I cannot fault it for quality, though. It's a handy length for a truck gun ( legal to shoot from a vehicle in Texas, not from road of course) and has accounted for a number of varmits that way. My Rem. 700, 721 never shot so well without a lot of work. I spent a couple thousand once to have a custom rifle built on a Sako action that didn't do any better than my Savages. My daughter-in-laws Tikka in 243 will not do near as well and the bolt travel is rough as sandpaper. A Ruger 77 in 243 was so terrible, trigger and accuracy, I didn't even attempt to improve it, just moved it on. Pretty is as pretty does expresses my sentiments. Dale:fighting68:

[Oldbushman]

I reckon the biggest mistake of my life was to part with a '99' I had in 300 savage some years ago ! The chap I sold it to,still chants it at me every chance he gets!:(


Dave

[MT Gianni]

I am down to a 340 in 30wcf and a 24 22 over 20 gauge. I gave my 110 in 30-06 to my son a few years ago and they are all shooters. Gianni.

[Catfish]

My fovorite thing about the Savages is the way they mount their barrels. All you have to do is loosen the barrel nut, unscrew the barrel and screw in another and tighten the nut. The easiest switch barrel gun on the market. That makes it real handy for guys like me that like to play with Wildcat.

[bsibjr]

I have a savage 12vss in .22-250 with a 6x18 scope, I love this gun with the exception of a little bolt stickieness, Ive put about 300 round through it ( reloaded, and factory ammo) and I still get a stuck bolt every once in a while. Any ideas???

[Robertbank]

One of these days I got to pick up a Savage in 30-30. Love that little round and I think in a bolt a guy could have a field day playing with loads.

Take Care

Bob

[versifier]

I have a savage 12vss in .22-250 with a 6x18 scope, I love this gun with the exception of a little bolt stickieness, Ive put about 300 round through it ( reloaded, and factory ammo) and I still get a stuck bolt every once in a while. Any ideas???

It's either a problem with the ammo or a problem with the rifle. An ammo problem we can figure out with some careful measuring. If it happens with all different ammo, then it is not an ammo problem, but rather something mechanical. That's an issue to take up with Savage. But if it only happens with certain ammo, and not with others, then an ammo problem is indicated, so we can focus our attention on measuring the dimensional differences between the stuff that works fine and the stuff that causes problems.

Difficulty lifting the bolt can be one of the indications of dangerously high chamber pressure, but it is not the only thing that could cause the problem and if it were the cause there would be other indicators, especially the primers, that would also show telltale signs. If the primers do not show any danger signs, (flattening, cratering, setback) and it happens with both handloads and factory ammo, then it is not a pressure issue but rather something mechanical that they may be able to diagnose for you. (It could be as simple as a fitting/finishing/polishing issue that could be cured in a few minutes with a Dremel tool, but exactly where and why the binding is occuring is hard to figure out without being able to examine it firsthand.) If fired factory cases are displaying pressure signs, then the rifle needs a trip back to the factory, no question.
Perhaps with a little more information from you it will become clearer, though. Can you describe exactly what happens and when? How often? What do you have to do to get it open when it sticks?

I do not work on Savage bolt actions, so I am not very familiar with all their potential problem areas, (hence my advice to contact the factory), but if it is an ammo issue, a few careful measurements of your cases before and after firing will likely pinpoint what's happening and why.

[bsibjr]

The one thing I failed to mention in my origional post was it seems to do it after the gun heats up a little bit, could heat be the problem?

[versifier]

That's quite possible, and if so, that is a problem you should contact Savage about. Something's too big if a little heat causes enough expansion to bind things up. It's certainly not normal. Do the primers on the fired brass look OK?

[bsibjr]

yes, everything looks fine, case primers, ect. I'll call savage and see what they say.

BJ

[shootnJas]

Im having the same problem, not as bad, but the tightness is definatly there ocassionaly. I basicly have to hit my bolt in stead of lift it to come up.
Ive noticed that when shooting new brass its not a problem, at all, but when shooting 2nd, 3rd ect. shot brass, the tightness is more, and I resize 100% every time. Dont know if clearances are that tight on a savage (Model 12BVSS 22-250) But I know, for sure, that in my Browning's (2 total) I cant even chamber my partners loads simply because he only RENECKS his cases when reloading. I am not an expert but ive found that Browning seems to have closer tollerances and maybe if im lucky Savage too.
This is an un educated guess at best. I hope too learn somthing on this topic to.

[versifier]

shootnJas,
You are describing a problem with a different cause, one that is definitely ammo related. What brand of sizing dies are you using? It sounds like you have the sizer improperly adjusted and it is not pushing the case shoulder back far enough. Try setting the sizing die a quarter turn deeper and see if the problem goes away. If not, try another quarter turn.
You can't be swapping neck sized cases from one rifle to another! The cases fire form to that one chamber. (Neck sizing them lengthens the life of the brass by working it less.) Always Full Length size when switching between rifles. You can borrow his NS die and use it on your cases for your rifle, and you will get many, many more loadings from them. Or, you can just get yourself a set of Lee Collet dies and a Factory Crimp and not have to bother borrowing. If you are lucky, it could shrink your groups by 30% or more. Just keep the cases for each rifle in separate boxes and label them clearly.

[shootnJas]

versifier,

That make sense. RCBS dies are what im using. Im definatly going to start neck sizing and keep my brass seperate for my rifle only. Anything to tighten my groups..

[kodiak1]

jas as versifier stated it is definetly a brass problem had a Savage 99C Lever in 22-250 and if I didn't resize it very accurately it would do it. Had the gun right from new.
Traded it on a 22-250 Savage Bolt Heavy Barrel Synthetic Stock and found the odd round would still do it. Started resizing with a set of Lyman Competition style dies and problem stopped. The first set of dies I used were RCBS and I had Bought them when I bought the gun. Was getting to where I was going to take it to the machine shop and shave 5 thou off of the bottom of that resizer Die but never Did.
Good Luck Ken.:animal26:

[versifier]

Interesting that you would mention that about the 99, Kodiak1. I have a good friend with a pair of them in .250. One of them will not chamber any reloads we have tried in it. Neither of us want to pay for a small base sizer die in that size as they are a special order item, so he shoots SilverTips in it and gets 2" groups. I have got his other one down to around 1" with my handloads. The deer don't seem to notice any difference, he rarely fires a second shot with either rifle.

[nighthunter]

hey guys, I hate to be a downer but I've yet to see a good shooting savage. Granted I havn't seen many but I've yet to see one shoot a good 1" group. Rems are easier to tinker and i took my new XR-100 out today and the first group I have ever shot with it was .22". Maybe the Savages I saw were too cheap?

Mr. Remhogger,
I'm sorry to rain on your parade. The new Savages have Remington chomping at the bit. First and foremost is that Savage is not afraid to put a REAL trigger on their rifles. Second ... I recently purchased a Savage 12 F/TR in .308. I only have 160 rounds through it but last Sunday I shot the best group in my life with it. 5 shots in one hole at 100 yards. I don't mean a 1/2" group. 5 rounds of .308 bullets went into a .385" hole. That equals .078 ctc. This is an out of the box rifle with NO tinkering as you say Remingtons are easy to do it to. I also have a Model 12 BV in .223 that will shoot nearly as well. I have put 10 rounds into 1/2" at 200 yards with it.
Sorry again, I think Remington has some catching up to do.

Nighthunter

[savageman270]

I just picked up a Savage 111 FXPC3 in 270. I haven't shot since I got out of the service 4 years ago. Put about 100 rounds down it before I got a lead sled. .5 inch shot group at 200 after I zero'd it at 100. Love it. My fience is looking at the same model in a .243:fighting68:

[hardcast416taylor]

Hey There, I have YET to see a lousy shooting Savage! My 112 in .223 and blowing 55 gr. Nosler BT`s out the barrel with Accurate 2230 lit with cci primers in Rem. cases makes .5" groups for my crow and chuck problems so far out to about 350 yds. I have another old model 110, about 35 or more years old in .270 and has filled several large freezers with vension. My last savage is a modek 99 "takedown" that belonged to Brace Breemer (original radio "Lone Ranger). I take it out occasionaly to blow the spiders out of it`s .300 Savage barrel and to remember the scratchy voice calling "HI-YO SILVER, AWAY!" on our old Philco radio in our living room when I was a lad.

[jlb300]

I once had a 99 in .300 savage. I have been crying since. I'll remember her like my first girlfriend. I'll miss the 99 more. I just bought my 2nd savage rifle. It is a 12FV....26 inch barrel that is varmint tapered, factory free floated.....twist is 1:12 ....dual piller bedded action out of the box. 24 ounce trigger accu adjustable. I sent a few 55grn blitzkings bown the barrel today on top of 36 grn 4350. I dont have the velocity yet. Dont have a crony but a friend does and I didnt get there to use it yet. I will probably get it fine tuned soon but I shot a .45 five shot group with the first loads. I cant stand it I will have vry little to do withhis one other than just enjoy the shootin pealsure she will give me.:happy36:

[Tom W.]

I don't feel too bad. With my Mod. 12 BVSS-S in .308 at 200 yards mine will do 1/2 moa or better with Ultramax loads. I also get sticky bolt syndrome with a 165 grain bullet and 45 grains of Varget. I dunno why. A lighter load won't do it, and 45 grains of Varget isn't an overload... And it won't stick if I use RE15... maybe the Federal brass has less capacity.

[Bill Church]

Seeing as how this is my first post on this forum I will try to be gentle. I seem to have a bunch of savages, mostly in smaller calibers. I find that some days they are dead on the money and some days I cant hit squat with them. On the days they wont hit anything I hand them to my brother nad he shows me it aint the gun.

This seems to be true with about any other good rifle I pick up.

It aint the gun, Its the shooter.

[jlb300]

Always Bill. Always. I do have a story about a winchester I sent down the road on a counta she wouldnt group smaller than .85. That by the way was a one and only group. I usually couldnt get it under a 1.75 @100 Yds. That may have done for some but I like em thght in on varmints. It was a .223wssm and that kinda bad luck turned me off of em. Now I know some say its the shooter but I had a lot of help in determining it need more than what I was willing to give her. 5 Years she tortured me.

[savageman270]

I have a Savage 111 in .270! Love it! Just submitted a handload that shoots less than a inch with a 12mph cross wind and 25 deg outside!!!

[257 ROB]

Have you tried taking the action out of the stock and cleaning the whole action and then using some dry lube?

[GaCop]

I've built three heavy barrel Savages now. 260 Rem, 308 and 6mm Norma BR. All shoot like wildfire. I glass bed all my stocks. On the 260 and 308, I used Duramaxx stocks. The 6mm BR is in a Savage BVSS laminate set up for bench work. I love being able to barrel and headspace my own actions. Aftermarket parts and barrels abound.

[rtracy2001]

I love the Savage 110 in 30-06 that my dad gave me, and I just picked up a used 110 in 243 (thought the girls might like the 243 over the 06 for deer). I have yet to shoot the 243, but I have high hopes that it will be a keeper.

How do I tell if I have the accutrigger in either of these rifles? The 06 was purchased just before I started high school, so that would have been around 1990 (Weaver style scope base is part of the receiver, but not really a dovetail) and the 243 is a much higher serial number with detachable scope bases. the trigger pull does not seem excessive on either rifle, but that could just be me as I amused to military Mauser actions. The 243 had a safety problem (Safety would not engage with the bolt closed) but I tinkered with it and found that adjusting a couple of Allen head set screws would allow the safety to function properly while only slightly increasing trigger pull.

I also have an old (quite old as my great uncle had it for ever) model 99 lever action in 300 savage. My brother wanted to try and re-chamber it for 308, but I wouldn't let him. It has a really neat old Lyman receiver sight and brass front post. I love the little counter on the side of the action, and I honestly can't figure out why that didn't catch on?? I can't tell you how it shoots yet, as I just rescued it from my brother and my dad's estate.

[versifier]

Welcome to Gunloads.

IIRC from my brother's Savage, the Accutrigger is a two-piece unit, but I am not positive. Others here can catch it if I misremembered.

Good thing you rescued the old 99. Around here, it is worth at least $800, more if the peep sight is original, and more still if in really good shape, but even one that has seen some hard use is still worth very good money. No gunsmith with any sense would have risked rechambering one that old as it was not designed with the higher pressure in mind. The later ones were made of stronger steel. Rechambered, it would have been worth only a few hundred. The .300Sav is a great round, originally designed to shoot a 150gr bullet at 2700fps to match mil .30-06 ballistics in a short action (sound familiar?) - certainly no deer would know the difference between it and the slightly faster .308. In the m99, it makes for a much better carrying woods rifle than the heavier Win m88 in .308. It was the .308 that pushed the older .300 into obsolescence, a shame as it is more than enough cartridge for any deer/bear/moose in heavy cover. Original loadings were with 150 and 180gr bullets, but my shoulder and I much prefer the 150's lighter recoil. 3031 is my powder of choice for it, under 150gr Sierra GK's at 2500-2600fps. Tests I ran with lighter 125gr bullets were not very satisfactory. If I had one of my own to play with, I would be loading cast bullets in it, something I prefer to do with fine old rifles anyway. :animal23:

If you are going to load for it, there is one thing to be aware of. I load for several for my brother and friends, and in the last ten years I have come across two that needed Small Base sizers for proper feeding, (and they are a VERY pricy special order proposition). It really surprised me as I had been neck sizing .250's for years with no problems. Both rifles, though very old were in almost perfect condition and I doubt either had been fired much or ever hunted with. The others are used every year and loading for them presents no problems, though I do FL size for all of them as not all of them feed neck sized cases reliably.

[rtracy2001]

I thought my brother was crazy when he mentioned the re-chamber idea.

I will try to post a picture of the rifle here in a few days, it seems to be in really good condition, the only real blemish (and I consider it character) is where my great uncle carved his initials into the stock. Other than that there are no real scratches, and no loss of bluing anywhere on the gun. I have no idea if the Lyman peep was original or not as my great uncle put Lyman peeps on everything, even the old K98 that he brought home from the war (I really wish he had kept the stock and original sights, but not everything would fit in his duffel bag).

I was/am planning to load for the 99, and I will keep the sizing info in mind. I was thinking of working up a 150 gr load for every day hunting and then maybe a 165/168 gr load if I feel the need for something a bit heavier. the heaviest I shoot in my 06 is the 165 gr, it seems to hit game as hard as the 180 gr factory loads, but doesn't hit me near as hard.

[rtracy2001]

OK, I can't say the pictures are good, but here they are:

Long View:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/tracraym/IMG_0405.jpg

Closeup of initials:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/tracraym/IMG_0415.jpg

I checked out a few sites on line and it looks like the peep is not original. Oh well.

[versifier]

It might be original, I read somewhere that some were sold right from the factory with Lyman sights, but many also added them later, so it's hard for me to say. They also came with the flip-up tang post peep sights. That rifle looks to be in excellent condition. I'd insure it for 1K - to a 99 collector it is worth at least that much if the peep is original, still around $8-900 if not. Beautiful rifle, one of the best brush guns ever made. If you are curious, you can go to this site and find out when it was made.

http://www.savage99.com/savage99_dates.htm

[rtracy2001]

when I type in the SN it just says 51 or later (Sn in the low 600 K range). Looking inside the action it does have the brass spool in the rotary magazine instead of the later aluminum version, and it just says model 99, no letter after the 99.

Looks like I need to go talk to the insurance agent. I don't have any extra coverage on the firearms. (never really considered that they might be worth something, I just thought they were fun to shoot.)

Between the model 99, the Rock-Ola carbine and the old wingmaster, I may be in a little bit of trouble. Oh, and people keep telling me the win 69A might be worth something too. Crap, the insurance might break me!

[versifier]

Are you an NRA member? They have a decent firearms insurance program available to members. Used to be a basic one with membership, but I'm not sure if it it still part of the package.

[rtracy2001]

I'll have to check that out too. thanks!

[pistolman44]

Extremely accurate out of the box. It is every bit as accurate as my Rem BDL .270.