Model 12BVSS Savage having accuracy issues

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Hi,

I have had my 12BVSS in .223 for about 8 months and have tried almost every type of ammo you can buy for it to see what shoots best. I have had varying degrees of success however I don't seem to get my groups to group as good as I feel this rifle should. My best groups seem to have one out of five become a "winger".

I'm an accomplished rifleman, and can shoot some impressive groups with some of my other rifles. I have a close friend that is experiencing a similar problem with his .223 savage in the synthetic stock. I was wondering if any of you savage owners have had issues and what you did to improve accuracy?

Thanks,

SJV
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Savage rifles are not a true pillar bedded barrelled action. I would suggest bedding the action with acraglass gel and free float the barrel. This should help eliminate flyers and tighten things up. Check bases and rings for tightness as well.
 
Thats strange...I have never shot a bad shooting savage. All mine shoot well under MOA. My model 99 is the worst shooting one out of em all and I get 3/4" groups with fedral classics. what are your bad group sizes?
 
Thanks for the info on the bedding, I'll have it checked and done.

For some of the other comments, I have triple checked my optic mounts, with no problem. Even switched optic out to be sure I didn't have a bad one.
All is good.

Groups sizes change based on the ammo;
45grn Winchester varmit 3600fps from walmart is one of the better groups at 1"-1.25"
55grn are around 2" and larger AE, Fed, Black, Wolf.
62grn are 2.5"-3.5" at best.
68 grn match ammo is as good as the 45grn cheap ammo from walmart. A friend's hand loaded 69grn sierra match boat tail grouped 4 well at .8" but one seems to always sneak out of the group to put it over 1"

Another question I have is what ammo do some of you other .223 savage owners use that groups best for you?

thanks,

SJV
 
To squeeze the most accuracy out of your rifle you will need to learn how to handload. Try some 75 gr A-Max bullets.
How often do you clean? Some rifles shoot better fouled. Cleaning is over-rated. Clean only when the groups open up.
Last but not least.... Take the action out of the stock and make sure there is not oil, solvents or moisture between the stock and action.
 
The crown is fine, no probs, rifle in new condition all around.

The twist is a 1:9 so 73grn max if I read the specs correctly.

I've heard that 72 grn match works well but have never tried it. This rifle should shoot sum MOA with factory match ammo easily. It should shoot higher end heavier grn bullets at slightly sub MOA and lightweight crap ammo at a very close to MOA.

I had a service rifle (C7) that shot MOA with IVI 5.56 ball ammo. The bedding has me intrigued. I hope to have it looked at and rectified shortly.

I'm not knocking savage I bought a .22 with synthetic stock and it shoots amazingly. I own several highend rifles and when I bought this rifle I was impressed with it right out of the box. I'm just a little let down I can't get it to shoot like I know it should.

Any other feedback is appreciated. Anyone else have a .223 savage (relatively recent)? I'd like to know your experiences.

J
 
I have your exact rifle, except in lefty. I am having the same mediocre results as you are, although I haven't tried as many factory loads as you. However, when I was trying to work up some loads (68 gr Hornady HPBT, Varget or H335), I noticed 20% of the groups had the 4 shots in at least 0.75 MOA, and one that opened it up to close to 2 MOA. The other groups were all randomnly distributed shots falling within 1 to 2 MOA

Anyhoo, I'm going to bed and see what happens.
 
The Savage rifle as described above I had shot 55 grn Winchester white box into the same hole at 100m all day long. Sold it to buy the left handed .308 the one I have now and it shoots the Chinese surplus stuff (Oh please get some more of that into the country) and the South African surplus about the same as the .223. The .223 had a laminate stock and the .308 wears a Choate. I can not explain the luck others seem to be having with some of these rifles.

Scott
 
Savage Factory Loads

Hey,

I have a 12FV in .223... I don't have the time to re-load so I am in a similar position as you... although I have had some good success...

Most of the testing was done with the factory stock... but more recently with the Lapua, Black Hills, and Federal GMM... the stock has been replaced by a Bell and Carlson Medalist that is bedded...

I have a system of testing new ammo... I buy 2 boxes of 20... then I shoot 5 groups of 4 (target I downloaded has 5 targets on it!) then average the group size center to center.... and one group of 20... my results vary as well but overall here are some results of the average group sizes at 100m...

Best... but really expensive
Lapua 69 gr 0.39"

then
Federal Gold Medal 77gr 0.43"
Federal Gold Medal 69gr 0.46"
Black Hills 77gr 0.44"
Black Hills 75gr 0.60"

So-So
Winchester Supreme 55gr 0.59"
Remington UMC 55gr FMJ 0.64"

Crappy
Federal American Eagle 55gr FMJ 1.45"
Federal American Eagle 62gr FMJ 1.90"
Remington Express 55gr PSP 1.50"

Overall Best for the Money
Hornady Varmint Express 55gr V-Max 0.50"

Cheapest for fun at 100-200 m because I can get it in bulk
Winchester USA 55gr FMJ 0.90"

Hope this helps... If you want I also have a list of Canadian distributors of various brands of .223 Rem... just PM me your e-mail address and I'll send it along.

EB
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I went throught 2 10 FPs one LE1 and the other the LE2, they shot ok, I have hand loaded for many years and could not squeeze much under a moa at best out of them??? i say that for groups on average the odd .75 would show up but !! that dont count because the odd 1.25 would show up as well, I took the first one back, i and traded it for a new LE2 because i read so much about the accuracy, still shot the same, I rebedded it , did not change, from factory loads , to every load you can imagin, on and off and jumping the lands,

But hey?? I t still could have been , me the guys that bougth them out of the gun store I sold them at could not be happier with them shooting factory ammo..

Saying that i have a 112 Vss that is a real shooter at 100 m can hold .4s to .5s all day long in a 22-250. But i set a new trigger in it!
 
Bed that action. There is simply too much slop in the inletting for bughole groups. Once bedded you will not have to he-man those action screws either.

There is little reason why that rifle will not shoot 1/2 MOA at closer distances with ammo it likes.

Jerry
 
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