hullo, i'm having some trouble with new rifle and am ,looking for some input. i bought a savage 116 fcss in 30 06 with a 4.5-14/40 vx 3 leopold, from what i've seen and heard about savages i was expecting it to be fairly accurate but at 100 yards the best groups i can get are 3.5 inches and up,i honestly am not that bad of a shot. i have the bases and rings tight. any input would be appreciated thanks.
savage 116 accuracy
- Thread starter 435er
- Start date
quackquackbang
CGN Regular
- Location
- Newfoundland
heres what mine shoots like!! I have to try another tyep of ammo and see how it shoot them then if its the same i think im gonna get it bedded !! its 2 three shot groups just put a line down the middle!! the 3rd shot in each group like to fly high! Is your barrel touching your stock???
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- Location
- Winnipeg,Man.
A lot depends on the twist in the barrel. Most 1 in 14 twists seem to like the 55 gr or less bullets and 1 in 9 like the 65 and up to 75 gr. bullets. By developing a load for your gun ( learning to reload) you can bring the pattern into pleasing size. I have a 112 savage and a 12FVSS with 1 in 9 twist and the 112 relishes the 75 match ammo the other likes the 62 grain.. Patterns are really small and accurate out to 200 yards as my range has that limit. But I have shot to 1000 yards also. Quite pleased with the pattern at that distance but I did use the 75 Match for that. Not all guns shoot the same with even the same ammo batch. Try different weights and it will tell you what it likes..
Dont stop at rings and bases, check action screws too. Also check the stock for unnecessary pressure along the barrel channel. Coat the underside of the barrel with oil (lightly) and then put the stock back on. Remove the stock again and check the barrel channel for oil transfered from the barrel. Sand it down and repeat.
shotgunjoe
CGN Regular
- Location
- winnipeg mb
Stringing vertically? Horizontally? Shot-gunning?
Budweiser2
CGN frequent flyer
I assume that you are shooting factory ammo? You might try another brand or different bullet weight. That rifle should have a 1 in 10 twist rate and should stabilize up to a 220 grain bullet. Check everything from the above posts.
www.*shilen.*com/*calibersAndTwist*s
Straight Shooting
Budweiser2
www.*shilen.*com/*calibersAndTwist*s
Straight Shooting
Budweiser2
I've tried two different types of factory ammo, both shot about the same. the pattern is random no vertical or horizontal pattern. the shooting was from a table with a good rest. i'll look at the stock and see if its touching. when i first shot it the mounts were loose so i thightened them, but the groups were still big after i tightened everthing up. i wonder if firing it with the scope a little loose could mess up the scope, by ratlling it or something?
There's a number of things that could cause this. You will just have to be systematic, and eliminate the easy one's first, like problems with the stock, muzzle crown, loose scope mounts. Does it fall back to the same point of impact after you let the gun cool for half an hour? Does it get worse when the barrel is hot? Swap with a scope you've confirmed as good. After that and you've shot a hundred dollars worth of ammo thru the gun and can't solve the problem, its pretty disappointing. Every case is different, but I ended up changing barrels on my Savage after I tried all the above. Finally it shoots properly.
Quackbang, mine kept shooting higher on the 2nd and 3rd shots. It was a 300 Winmag. I think it got hot and expanded, the top of the barrel was cooler, so it warped upwards as it heated up. Make sure you've eliminated the cheap problems first though. I tried floating and it made no difference. Hopefully yours is something cheaper to fix.
First and foremost: Did you "brake in " the barrel using Savages posted procedure?
http://www.savagearms.com/cs_barrel.htm
Have you checked that the barrel is not making contact with the stock(Savage made the gun to have a "free floating" barrel).
A simple way to check that your barrel is "free floating" and not making contact with the stock. Put the gun in a rest and take a piece of paper or paper money and try and slide it up the channel between the barrel and stock. It should slide freely with a very small amount of drag to the contour of the barrel. If not, there are three 5/32 hex head cap screws that hold the action to the stock that can be re-tightened to "re-float" the barrel. The following procedure is not as exacting as using a inch pound torque wrench to tighten the cap screws but will prove the screws are loose and reestablish the "floating" barrel.
First tighten the rear cap screw until hand tight plus 1/4 turn. Then tighten the forward cap screw until hand tight plus 1/8 to 1/4 turn. lastly tighten the middle screw until hand tight plus 1/4 turn. Remember this is only a stop gap procedure.
Unfortunately you have not mentioned what type of 30 06 ammunition you are shooting. Having just broken in a new Savage in 30 06 and 22" barrel I found Federal 180gs were all over the place but once I started shooting Federal 165g ammo the groups closed up to 11/2' groups at 100 meters.
With the twist rate and length of barrel you have bullet weights from 165 to 180g will more than likely work the best in your gun due to Savage manufacturing the gun and tested it using 168g Sierra MatchKing.
http://www.savagearms.com/cs_barrel.htm
Have you checked that the barrel is not making contact with the stock(Savage made the gun to have a "free floating" barrel).
A simple way to check that your barrel is "free floating" and not making contact with the stock. Put the gun in a rest and take a piece of paper or paper money and try and slide it up the channel between the barrel and stock. It should slide freely with a very small amount of drag to the contour of the barrel. If not, there are three 5/32 hex head cap screws that hold the action to the stock that can be re-tightened to "re-float" the barrel. The following procedure is not as exacting as using a inch pound torque wrench to tighten the cap screws but will prove the screws are loose and reestablish the "floating" barrel.
First tighten the rear cap screw until hand tight plus 1/4 turn. Then tighten the forward cap screw until hand tight plus 1/8 to 1/4 turn. lastly tighten the middle screw until hand tight plus 1/4 turn. Remember this is only a stop gap procedure.
Unfortunately you have not mentioned what type of 30 06 ammunition you are shooting. Having just broken in a new Savage in 30 06 and 22" barrel I found Federal 180gs were all over the place but once I started shooting Federal 165g ammo the groups closed up to 11/2' groups at 100 meters.
With the twist rate and length of barrel you have bullet weights from 165 to 180g will more than likely work the best in your gun due to Savage manufacturing the gun and tested it using 168g Sierra MatchKing.
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Had the same thing with a 30/06 116 FHSAK myself. Very disheartening, every few months I'd take to the range to see if my latest theory had cured the problem, re-crown, a bit more barrel clearance, scope, mounts, different bullet brands and weights etc. I did consider trying the Tubbs Final Finish System which I've read good things about, but decided to bow to the inevitable and fitted a new barrel. Shoots great now,but I'll not be buying another Savage in a hurry.
i sent it back to savage on waranty. the waranty guy said it was copper fouling and sent it back. after alot of cleaning it still shoots poor. i think i'll get it re barreled. what brand of barrel should i use, i'm thinking a shilen since they make replacement barrels specificaly for savage. can anyone recomend a good gunsmith in or close to manitoba?
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Perhaps this is a case like the oft-cited Mike Venturino quote "Beware the man with one rifle, he may not have enough interest to be competent". I'd see if there's an experienced CGNer nearby that can test-fire the rifle for you. Not trying to be a ####, but you even spelled Leupold wrong - that always makes me suspicious.
Now for the nuts and bolts - What weight bullet are you using? What kind of rest system are you using? Not to be mean but I see from your roster in your sig line that you only own 2 firearms. Are the action screws tight? Maybe it wants to be bedded. You could also try finding some Federal Premium factory ammo with 180gr Nosler Partitions. They should shoot fairly well.
Or try reloading. Works for me.
Now for the nuts and bolts - What weight bullet are you using? What kind of rest system are you using? Not to be mean but I see from your roster in your sig line that you only own 2 firearms. Are the action screws tight? Maybe it wants to be bedded. You could also try finding some Federal Premium factory ammo with 180gr Nosler Partitions. They should shoot fairly well.
Or try reloading. Works for me.
Yah well I did spell leupold, opps. Where do you read I only own 2 firearms? Yes the action screws are tight, I've fired remington federal hornady and winchester ammo through it, yah it's all factory. Using a mtr predator rest. Maybe it wants to be bedded? Sure I'll just ask it. I think I'll start with a barrel. Thanks for the info ####.
I would put a different scope on just to remove that possibility, if it doesn't fix the problem run a copper cleaner through it to remove any fouling, test fire it and send it back. Remove the copper fouling argument from the equasion and make them take the gun back. You shouldn't have to start reloading or bed the rifle to get it below 3.5" groups.
I went though a problem with a Stevens rifle I had, it was popping primers on with multiple kinds of factory ammo. The warrenty guy (probibly the same one you delt with? I think they send all the canadian warrenty claims to the same gunsmith) gave me some bull#### story about it being an ammo issue, even though I used three differnt kinds of ammo. I finally had to try it with every type of ammo I could lay my hands on and after the same problem presented itself with every ammo I sent the gun and the spent rounds back and told them I wanted a new gun. They finally sent one, even upgraded it to a Savage.
In short, the warrenty guy is an idiot. You paid full price, don't let them stick you with a lemon.
I went though a problem with a Stevens rifle I had, it was popping primers on with multiple kinds of factory ammo. The warrenty guy (probibly the same one you delt with? I think they send all the canadian warrenty claims to the same gunsmith) gave me some bull#### story about it being an ammo issue, even though I used three differnt kinds of ammo. I finally had to try it with every type of ammo I could lay my hands on and after the same problem presented itself with every ammo I sent the gun and the spent rounds back and told them I wanted a new gun. They finally sent one, even upgraded it to a Savage.
In short, the warrenty guy is an idiot. You paid full price, don't let them stick you with a lemon.
Timberwolfe
CGN Regular
MTM predator rests kind of suck. Get yourself some sand bags. . For an inexpensive sand bag just use an old pair of blue jeans the legs with zip ties, and a decent bench. Get yourself a membership to some type of rifle range if you do not belong to one already. Take your time and have some fun.
