Glass bed the recoil lug Sav. 111

[Ben]

I have a friend named Bryan that shoots with me a good bit.

He purchased a used ,excellent condition Sav. 111 in cal. .243 Win.

The barreled action simply fell out of the loose fitting stock when we removed the screws. In the accuracy dept, at least for me, that isn't a good sign of what is to come.

I felt ( at a minimum ) that the recoil lug needed to be glass bedded and the trigger pull weight of 9.5 lbs needed to be reduced.

Here are the before and after photos. I had to use some modeling clay to fill the recesses that could " lock " things. You can still see small traces of the clay in the " after photo ".



Ben


BEFORE PHOTO





Be absolutely certain that you have used good release agent and that any recessed areas that could cause a " LOCK " are filled with clay and coated well with release agent.





Before tightening up the 2 guard screws, tap the recoil pad on the floor lightly to insure that the recoil lug on the barreled action is seated firm against the recoil shoulder of your stock. Once that is done snug up the 2 guard screws and look for any surplus glass that is coming out of the stock. Clean as necessary. Wait 10 - 12 hrs. and tap out the barreled action.

AFTER PHOTO



It should shoot now !

[btroj]

9.5 pound trigger pull? Was it a double action?

Savage makes such an accurate rifle then gives them a lousy trigger. The action has so much potential but the trigger doesn't help them any.

Nice job Ben. Then again, I didn't expect anything less.

[Ben]

May have to bit the bullet and order a Timmney for this one.

Ben

[DCM]

I use painters tape on the top edges of the stock for easier clean up later.
Good luck with that trigger I have not seen a Savage that heavy yet thankfully.
Looking good!

[Ben]

I fired 5 rds today with Bryan's Model 111, .243 Win., at 100 yards.

87 gr. bullet with a nice stiff charge of A/A - 4350.

We still need to have time to experiment with different loads for this rifle, but it has potential. By the way, I now have the trigger down to 2.75 lbs.

This group is a " shade " over an inch for 5 shots.

Ben

[Hardcast416taylor]

I`ve got a Savage 112 in .223. The trigger pull was an honest to gosh 11 lbs.! It was like pulling a 40 lb. cement block across a gravel road with your trigger finger. I called Timney and was told they had a model in the works and would I like to be first on the production list for it? To say it was cheap would be a darned lie! But, now my varmit rifle has a pull of just under 1 lb. after I adjusted it to that weight. I am a happy camper now and chucks and crows fear my name!Robert

[Ben]

Hardcast416taylor

I bet that is a DEADLY rig you've got there.

WOW, 1 lb., we may have to " bite the bullet " and do the same thing here on this end of things.

Ben

[TXGunNut]

Wish you'd posted this a couple weeks ago! Nicely done, well explained and illustrated.

[Ben]

TXGunNut :

Sorry that my timing was off a bit..........

Made a BIG difference in how this particular rifle shoots !

Bryan is smiling now.
He bought this rifle in Birmingham at a gun shop for $300 ( out the door ).
It came with a super clear and bright Pentax, 3 X 9 X 40 on it.
It had Leupold steel bases and rings on the rifle also.
The rifle and scope are 99%, it looked like a " safe queen " when we bought it.

I doubt that the deer around here are going to like this rig much at all ! !

Ben

[TXGunNut]

Nicely done, and Bryan is right to be smiling. He has a fine rifle. All kidding aside my initial foray taught me a lot, this thread helped me understand what I learned. Seems a couple of other bolt guns around here need a little help, thanks again.

[jonas302]

Thank you very much for the pictures now I am ready to tackle one of those

[Ben]

You guys are VERY welcome.

Ben

[Any Cal.]

Nice that it shoots, but I've seen them shoot the same or better without the lug bedded. Did it group poorly before, or were you just assuming it wouldn't shoot?

Thanks for the write-up in any case!

[Ben]

Any Cal.

It shoots MUCH better now !

Ben

[tomme boy]

Ben, you are not supposed to bed the nut on a Savage. You bed the rear bolt, float the tang, bed the sides and rear and bottom of recoil lug, front receiver ring, do not bed the nut. Sometimes do up to 2 inches past the barrel nut depending on barrel and if it works for you or not. Savages are a little different on how they like to be bedded.

[Ben]

OK, bedded the nut on three now, all shot well ? ? ?

Ben

[TXGunNut]

Between this and another thread I've been getting some moderately expensive ideas, fondled a few 11's last weekend.

[DCM]

I bedded the nut on my 16 and it shoots sub MOA.
I think it would be very difficult to bed a Savage that has a barrel nut without bedding at least some of the nut due to the location of the nut.
If one installs a shouldered barrel there would be no nut.