Bedding a Savage Model 10.

F

frwillia

Guest
I want to bed the action in my Savage Model 10. I have the rechambered barrel on it, and it shoots significantly better than it did with the factory barrel, but I'm seeing group splits - 3 shots almost in one hole, two shots close together but seperated from the other three by 3/8" to 1/2".

I've done about everything I can to make sure the scope mount is good. New base, new torax drive screws, steel Warne rings properly torqued. I don't think the problem is the scope.

The barrel is free floated, the tang is free. With the screws loose, the action will slide side to side and can be rocked a little by hand which I'm taking to be an indication that it doesn't fit well in the stock. So I want to bed it. I've searched the forum, watched the Ed Franklin video on 6mmBR.com, and watched the Daryl Holland video on bedding. None of them deal with the Savage action - but it is what I have, so I need to figure out how it's done for a Savage.

I have two things I'm not sure how to handle.

First, I am not able to remove the magazine. It's in a blind hole in the stock and seems to have some thing on the trigger end that is keeping it from sliding up out of the hole. Is there a trick to getting that thing out of there? I want it gone when I do the bedding. I'll clean up the hole in the mill after the bedding is cured and reinstall it. But first I need to be able to get it out of there non-destructively.

Or should I bed the rifle with it in there?

I am also thinking of getting the parts to convert it to a removable magazine like the new Savages have.

Second, it looks like there isn't much place to support the action in the rear near the trigger. My plan is to mill some clearance around the pillar for a thin coat of bedding, bed it with the trigger assy removed from the action and the holes plugged with clay, then come back and clean it up in the mill to clear the trigger mechanism after the bedding is cured. There are pillars in the receiver now from the factory, I'm planning to leave them in there.

I've already replaced the plastic trigger guard with a metal one so that source of movement is already gone.

Thanks
Fitch
 
Fitch,
just leave the mag on to bed, it's a little of a pain in the butt to work around but you can,,,, BUT remove the trigger assy, I bed the rear bolt area really good and bed a small area under the rear tang(this is a often debated area),if you have questions send me a PM and I'll be glad to help you by phone,,,,,,,

the wind is my friend,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

DD
 
Savage Magazines.......

Have what I guess you can call a "tang" I believe on rear of the box. Just take a screwdriver and carefully pry it out, then it just snaps back in.
 
david dumas said:
Fitch,
just leave the mag on to bed, it's a little of a pain in the butt to work around but you can,,,, BUT remove the trigger assy, I bed the rear bolt area really good and bed a small area under the rear tang(this is a often debated area),if you have questions send me a PM and I'll be glad to help you by phone,,,,,,,

the wind is my friend,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

DD
Click to expand...

Thanks David,

I think leaving the magazine in makes sense - the "tang" that Ultramagmed mentions would be an issue if one was trying to reinstall it after bedding.

I'll study this some more and if I have more questions, I'll PM you.

Thanks Again
Fitch
 
Fitch,
I just fill the nook's & cranny's around the mag well with modeler's clay before bedding to prevent any unwanted "locks", I do the same thing to all the machine cuts back around where the trigger/safety/sear slots are,

the wind is my friend,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

DD
 
I have only bedded Savage and Remington single shots so take my ideas with a grain of salt.

In the future if I ever bed a magazine equipped action using a stout laminated or fiberglass stock I will not bed the full length of the action. I would bed the recoil lug and the front rec ring as one unit and the rear rec ring as a separate unit. No bedding compound between the front and rear rec rings. After bedding I would carefully remove some of the stock material so that the rec rails and the tang are floating [ on a Savage action ].

I don't see what advantage there is to having bedding along the rails. The bedding will not be symmetrical. Thin strip on one side and a thicker strip on the other. Maybe on a less stout stock it might be advantageous to bed the magazine area.
 
Removing that fixed magazine on a Savage is always a joy. Some folks have gone so far as to make special tools to compress and remove the box, but so far as I know they have always been one-off tools, not offered for sale.

So for the rest of us... here's how you get that spring steel box out.

Remove the trigger - all of it. You need it out anyway for the bedding in this case, and you'll see why you want it out for removing the mag box in a second. ;)

Select a mid-sized mallet or deadblow. Tip the action up so you can get a good swing at the front tip of the box (works better w/ recoil lug removed), and give it a good rap w/ the blunt object selected earlier (missing and hitting the trigger is why I suggested removing it). Just enough to flex the box slightly and pop that front tab loose. Installation is basically just the reverse.

Sounds barbaric, but it works.

YMMV,

Monte
 
Fitch,
I basically use the same method to remove the mag well as Monte does, but I use a flat punch held against the back tang of the mag well and hit the punch with the hammer. Small hammer, light hit...pops it out every time. Goes back the same way.

As far as installing a detachable mag, you need to check the hole spacing for the action bolts, if I remember correctly, the hole spacing was lengthened when they started the detachable mags. I know for a fact that I had two in my shop, one with a detachable mag and one without, and the hole spacing was different.

Jeff
 
Jeff Walker said:
Fitch,
I basically use the same method to remove the mag well as Monte does, but I use a flat punch held against the back tang of the mag well and hit the punch with the hammer. Small hammer, light hit...pops it out every time. Goes back the same way.
Click to expand...

I got it out pretty much the same way, though I took the whole action out first. That left just the centerfeed box with the tang sticking back over the rear pillar. I slid a wide thin screwdriver under the tang and a light blow with a hammer combined with a twist popped it out. It wasn't pretty, but it worked just fine. That little spur on that tang certainly can hang on for such a little thing.

The box magazine will go back in by itself. The tang won't be there because the magazine will be out when I bed it.

With that thing out of the way I was able to use a piece of rod about the right diameter wrapped with 60 grit paper to sand out the finish and expose the bare wood from the recoil lug back to behind the rear pillar. I'll take out a bit more to make sure the tang is free before I do the bedding.

I picked up a couple of pounds of modeling clay to use in the mag hole in the receiver and to plug the holes back in the trigger area. I'll use it to block off some of the areas in the stock around the trigger to simplify clean up after the bedding cures.

I ordered the 4oz AcraGlas Gel kit from Brownells along with some felt pads to use in the mill vise when I clean up the excess cured compound, and for holding it when I mill some relief behind the existing recoil lug surface to allow bedding to get in there.

The bedding will go from the recoil lug to just beyond the back side of the rear pillar.

I'll leave the factory pillars in place.

As far as installing a detachable mag, you need to check the hole spacing for the action bolts, if I remember correctly, the hole spacing was lengthened when they started the detachable mags. I know for a fact that I had two in my shop, one with a detachable mag and one without, and the hole spacing was different.

Jeff
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up on bolt spacing. I've decided to keep the blind magazine.

I do like that detachable box magazine on the new rifles. But this rifle will stay like it is.

Fitch
 
A question for those in the know...

How do you remove the trigger on a savage? I haven't been able to figure it out.

Are there any links or pictures out there showing how it's done?

I've got a LRPV in .223 if that helps information wise.
 
See that pin going through the receiver that holds the piece that you press down while pulling the trigger to remove the bolt (the 'ear' sticking up on the right side)? Push that pin out, and catch the various pieces. Pay close attention to how everything (especially the spring) orients to one another. A hint for re-assembly - a long skinny drift pin or transfer punch works wonders for helping getting everything aligned so you can push the pin back into place. Trying to hold everything together and push that pin home is about a three-and-a-half-handed affair otherwise.

HTH,

Monte
 
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