Savage Model 12 LRP Help.

M

Mosin-Marauder

New member
Okay, I'm posting for my father, here. So, just pointing that out.

My dad got a Used Savage Model 12 Long Range Precision in 6.5 Creedmoor that weighs like 14 pounds and has the whole setup, weaver scope, HS Stock, accu-trigger, you name It. A $1200 rifle, probably.

And my $319 Savage Axis with a Tasco scope shoots better than it.

He's tried Reloader 17, H4350, and it still shoots greater than an inch groups at 150 yards. Even with Hornady custom ammo it shot poorly. I for one think that the crown may be nicked or have a burr.

Any suggestions? He's going to sell it soon if he doesn't get it to shoot, he said.

Anyway, I can provide more information if needed. Suggestions and advice are appreciated.

Regards,

-Mo.
 
bad savage?

M-M.... Quick, easy check for possible muzzle crown damage: Run a Q-tip across and around the muzzle, and lightly in and out of the bore. If there is any nick or burr...however slight...the Q-tip will snag on it and you will see it when the tip starts to shred/unravel/strip as it passes over the problem.
Another way is to use one of those 3-way high-power loupes and check the crown. Any imperfection/damage will be seen immediately.
Worked for me with a "NEW".45 ACP barrel.
WILL
 
Turns out it wasn't the crown. I had to keep swabbing and only one little piece got stuck and I think that wasnt from the crown. Any more suggestions?
 
What kind of Weaver scope? Weaver makes everything from junk to super high end. The LRP is extremely curious about how the action screws are torqued. The 6.5 Creedmoor as a whole is also quite curious about its load. Shoot some Hornaday factory loaded A max match ammo in it. All Savage 6.5 Creedmoors will shoot that ammo. How used? It is not extremely hard to shoot out a 6.5 Creed. Not as easy to do as a 6.5X284, but its no .308 Win. on barrel life either.
 
The previous owner only shot 2 boxes of ammo through it. He shot some of the Hornady factory loads and they shot like junk, too. It's a very high end scope, as well, in excess of $400 I think. His front action screw is torqued 35-40 in. Lbs. And his rear is about 25 I think he said.
 
If the Savage wont shoot the Amax, then there is a problem somewhere. Savage built the rifle to shoot that load.
The scope is always an area of suspicion.
The model 12 should have three action screws. 2 front and 1 tang, but the tang is extremely critical in tuning. Most of the 12's shoot best in the 28 to 30 in lb range on the front two and 12 to 17 on the back. Literally, two in pounds can make the difference between a 1/2 moa and a 1 1/4 moa rifle.
 
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Best advice I can give you is go to Savage Shooters forums and post the same question. Check the usual suspects first though, with the optics make sure the bases are tight and not shifting under recoil. Then swap the scope out with another scope that is known to be good or put it on a different rifle tht is shooting well to rule it out of the equation. Check for proper torque on your action screws and make sure the action is seated properly in the stock.

While unusual even Savage puts out a lemon from time to time. It could be a bad barrel, but you'll need to scope it to tell for sure. By chance has your father compared his fired brass to a factory round or full length resized piece? This could tell you if something is off with the chamber of the rifle.
 
What are you basing 65 inch pounds on? I got my numbers from a shooter on team Savage. My bench rest Savage loves those numbers. I wont tell it that it is 35 in. pounds too light.:rolleyes:
 
OK, here is my guess:

Savage barrels foul really fast when they are relatively new. They are usually quite rough, and require a good bit of shooting to settle in. Therefore, they build up copper fouling very quickly. Mine took a lot of shooting to settle down.

I have found that Hornady bullets (A max) tend to foul the barrel faster than others. I suspect this is due to the jacket material. Noslers also seen to do this. Clean the copper fouling out.

The Stock screws. If they have been tinkered with, they need to be properly torqued. The tang screw should not be very tight.

The scope on a used rifle should always be taken off and reinstalled to make sure it was done right.

Hand loads- The can be a very in depth process to develop one the rifle likes. Get it to shoot decent with some quality ammo first, then work on the hand loads.
 
Despite the "cred" these rifles have for out-of-the-box accuracy, there's always a possibility that there's a defect in the barrel.

Did you do a visual inspection of the chamber/leade?

The previous owner only shot 2 boxes of ammo through it. He shot some of the Hornady factory loads and they shot like junk, too.
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Likely the reason he sold it. How old is the rifle, and is it covered under warranty (I don't know if Savage warranties are transferable)?

I assume your Dad got it for a great price- given that he bought it knowing it might have "issues". I'd strip the barrel clean of copper/powder fouling, start from scratch as a baseline with factory ammo after checking other obvious accuracy killers like action screw and scope torque.

Taylorce and Reynolds are spot-on.
If it won't shoot after doing the above- you need to rule out the optic by swapping out another scope (even your Tasco will do, provided you know it will at least hold an accurate zero). If that doesn't help, I suspect the barrel as Taylorce said- and your Dad will need to contact Savage to make arrangements to have them check it out.

Edit to add...

See the post regarding this same rifle currently just above this one.
 
The scope isn't a problem, atleast with holding zero. He mounted it himself from another rifle (Another Savage in 6.5-284 that he can shoot 1 inch groups with at 500 yards all day long). Unless he mounted it improperly, which seems unlikely but always a possibility. I will tell him to clean it and shoot factory loads through and see if the barrel doesn't foul out.
 
Have you checked the scope base to see if the screws are bottoming out in the receiver before securing the base.
 
The Accurateshooter artical is a very good guide, I shoot a Rem 700 308 cal. with a HS Precision stock, HS Precision recommends 65" lbs. Could it be that the stock is not a HS stock in the artical. A call to HS Precision & Savage would clear it up. That rifle is a shooter, after getting the right info on the torque settings I would try another scope to test. Sorry if I gave you wrong info but thats what HS told me for my 308, jusy give them a call.
 
The HS stock can take 65 in pound of torque. That does not mean the rifle will shoot best when torqued up to the stock mfg specificaion. I have the HS precision stock. I can guarantee you my action (and my new Lilja Barrel) did not like 65 in. pound the least little bit. To each his own. Try 65. Try 30. Try everything in between. Anybody who builds bench rifles has come to figure out that every rifle is a different animal. You have to finesse accuracy out of them. They do not respond to a pre set formula. It might get you close, but remember no two are the same.
 
and it still shoots greater than an inch groups at 150 yards.
Click to expand...

So I'm a bit slow some mornings when I log on...

I didn't notice that you stated 150 yards, instead of the "typical" 100 yards used when discussing minute of angle accuracy.

How much "greater", than one inch?

One inch at 150 yards is most definitely within the "acceptable" range of accuracy for this (or any, for that matter) factory rifle at 3/4 m.o.a....

If "greater than an inch", is two inches, then something may be amiss.
And no disrespect here...but none of us knows your Dad's level of ability. Does he routinely shoot bugholes with other rifles?
 
I'd say 2" at 150 yards was one of his best with THIS rifle.

He can shoot his Remington 700's and his other Savage Sub-MOA pretty much every single time.
 
I agree with reynolds357. Every rifle is different, from torque settings to reloading. Just need a starting point & fine tune. Most all rifles can shoot well.
 
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