A
axlenut
Guest
I received a new Savage Precision Target Action this week, right bolt-right port variety, with the .223 Remington bolt face. With all the buzz ‘bout these actions and rifles, my curiosity needed slaking.
First impression: Good gosh, this thing looks as if it resulted from an explosion in a hardware warehouse! The bolt especially appears to have been cobbled together the way I sometimes build things, by cruising the pages of industrial hardware catalogs looking for doodads to adapt to my needs. Closer examination demonstrated the wisdom inherent in the design; floating locking lugs that appear to be in full contact, and a slick functioning bolt right out of the box. There is also a small diameter firing pin – something you pay extra for in some Remington rebuilds.
Downsides are the laser engraved trigger warning taking up most of the left side of the action, and the little tool used to adjust the trigger (bet I can loose it in two notes). Then there is the lack of action screws, the catalog picture shows three screws, yet it ships without them. No matter, ¼-28 is common as dirt. Then, clued in by some of the comments on this forum, I found that indeed the action screw holes need chasing, and the recoil lug pin is too high preventing the lug from seating evenly against the receiver face. After removing burrs that were skimmed off the locating pin when it was pressed in, and being sure it was fully seated with a nudge from my press, it was dressed down until it measured .338” high (including the recoil lug). This allowed clearance for the lug to seat fully against the receiver. The lug itself measured a consistent .249” thick and looks to be dead flat.
The best part is the trigger – it dang near rivals my Jewel Varmint for letoff, and far surpasses the Cooper trigger. Now all I have do is wait for the Shilen Select Match grade Savage replacement barrel in .204 Ruger, and find a laminate wood stock to pillar bed, and I’m in business. Glad I read about these actions here. So far, I’d recommend them as a bargain at $525.00.
First impression: Good gosh, this thing looks as if it resulted from an explosion in a hardware warehouse! The bolt especially appears to have been cobbled together the way I sometimes build things, by cruising the pages of industrial hardware catalogs looking for doodads to adapt to my needs. Closer examination demonstrated the wisdom inherent in the design; floating locking lugs that appear to be in full contact, and a slick functioning bolt right out of the box. There is also a small diameter firing pin – something you pay extra for in some Remington rebuilds.
Downsides are the laser engraved trigger warning taking up most of the left side of the action, and the little tool used to adjust the trigger (bet I can loose it in two notes). Then there is the lack of action screws, the catalog picture shows three screws, yet it ships without them. No matter, ¼-28 is common as dirt. Then, clued in by some of the comments on this forum, I found that indeed the action screw holes need chasing, and the recoil lug pin is too high preventing the lug from seating evenly against the receiver face. After removing burrs that were skimmed off the locating pin when it was pressed in, and being sure it was fully seated with a nudge from my press, it was dressed down until it measured .338” high (including the recoil lug). This allowed clearance for the lug to seat fully against the receiver. The lug itself measured a consistent .249” thick and looks to be dead flat.
The best part is the trigger – it dang near rivals my Jewel Varmint for letoff, and far surpasses the Cooper trigger. Now all I have do is wait for the Shilen Select Match grade Savage replacement barrel in .204 Ruger, and find a laminate wood stock to pillar bed, and I’m in business. Glad I read about these actions here. So far, I’d recommend them as a bargain at $525.00.
