Savage 12F - Reports?

A

AlanF

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I know the 6BR version has hardly hit the shelves, and that is what mainly interests me, but I would be keen to hear from anyone who is using the 6.5-284 version. Does anyone have good or bad experiences? Will it hold its own with custom actions or is it a case of you get what you pay for, and it just performs like any factory rifle?

Alan
 
I called Savage and they told me that they wait until enough orders are placed to start production for the 6BR. Maybe in a month they told me.
If the 6.5 is as accurate as the 6BR I might go for the 6.5. Is it?
 
Still junk. You can tell by the F/TR results at the F Class nationals. Ask your question on the Savageshooters forum.
 
6.5-284

I'm on my 2nd barrel in 30 days.Bought the rifle, the dealer threw in 2 boxes of Norma 140s.,went to the range to sight it in with the Norma and some handloads 120-142gr.weights.Starting with the fac.loads 5 shots later I'm still3feet high and 4 left and the bullets are sideways at 50 yds.Change to hanloads Roughley the same thing.I ckeck the chamber ,crown,boltface, barrel nut,scope rings bases all are solid or tight and mar free.I call Savage ,IMHO they better UPGRADE their customer service people ,90 mins.of explaning the procedures that were done and checked .Only when I explained how Many of his products I owned did he get someone with the authority to take action. That person I have High Praises for ,courtious Profesional,with knowledge of their products.He agreed to ship a new barrel,which was here in a prompt manner.The new barrel is installed and I'm waiting for a decent day (low wind) to check it out .If it doesn't they will pay the shipping to return it to the Factory. BTW according to the 2nd gentleman I talked to they have had issues of this type in their 6.5-284s but would not elaborate.......Up till now I've been saticefied with all my Savages
 
Roger,

Thanks for sharing your bad experience. I guess that could apply to any Savage, be it target or sporter, no-one would accept that sort of problem. Keep us posted on how the replacement barrel goes. We continue to hear good things about Savage accuracy in sporters - surely the 12F will be at least as good.

Alan
 
Savage F-class

Alan,

I purchased one of these in 6.5x284 back in Nov 06'. My friend and I were the first in Canada to receive these rifles but it took nearly a year to take delivery. You too may wait a long time for your 6.5 or 6BR. Savage fills their USA orders first and what ever is left gets shipped to other countries. My first rifle shot bullets that tumbled, clearly identified by the broadside bullet tears in the target at 50 meters. After some investigation I noticed the last 4 inches of my barrel's rifling was straight and not spiraled as it should be. The bullet was striking the 90 deg change in rifling direction, ripping off the jacket and tumbling end over end. My dealer luckily had one in stock and replaced the entire rifle for me. I've only managed to put 6 rounds down range with my new rifle so the jury is still out. What I have noticed with both guns is that the barrel is extremely rough and it takes nearly an hour of soaking and scrubbing with copper solvent to clean the barrel completely after ONE shot. If you don't care about proper barrel break in or completely cleaning your rifle after a day of shooting this is a non issue for you. My friend who has the same rifle has had depressing results as well. To make his long story short his first hand loads printed a disgusting 27" group at 200 meters. And yes he is a very experienced shooter and hand loader. I agree that you get what you pay for so I'm not expecting miracles here but I own several sporting Savages and they all shoot extremely well. I will wait until I finish breaking in the barrel and spent some time load developing before I give up but my gut tells me I wasted my money. I also heard that another company built the barrels for Savage for these model 12's. It's not confirmed though but it wouldn't surprise me considering the results of I've seen.

Regards,
Dan
 
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first test

of my new Savage 12 F/TR in .308 was at 600 yards today and it performed well. Staying in the 10 ring was a non issue if I did my part. I bore scoped the barrel after 50 rounds and there was minimal copper. I shot 22 rounds in a row while the wind held and although the barrel got very hot the group held good. I guess there are mixed performance reports from the very bad to the very good. This seems to be a good one and with only 50 rounds through it the barrel may be still breaking in. We will see if it remains good.
 
I bought mine after seeing a freinds and shooting it, I was IMPRESSED,but mine has been a different story.............The REAL odd thing is the test target is super tight
 
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hendershot said:
...After some investigation I noticed the last 4 inches of my barrel's rifling was straight and not spiraled as it should be. The bullet was striking the 90 deg change in rifling direction, ripping off the jacket and tumbling end over end...
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Dan,

That is amazing. In my opinion that shows a gross deficiency in quality control. If something like that can get through, I'd be worried whether they are safe! I get the impression that these F-Class models were rushed into production - I hope they learn from it and get their act together, because the concept is good. I might revisit the idea of getting a Savage in couple of years time.

Alan
 
Reconsider,I don't know. Yes I was upset that it didn't perform,but what REALLY TEE'd me off was the first customer service rep.If the 2nd gentleman had answered the phone 1st it would have been a lot less painfull experiance. As I've said I own several Savages and I'm quite happy with them
 
Alan

AlanF said:
Dan,

That is amazing. In my opinion that shows a gross deficiency in quality control. If something like that can get through, I'd be worried whether they are safe! I get the impression that these F-Class models were rushed into production - I hope they learn from it and get their act together, because the concept is good. I might revisit the idea of getting a Savage in couple of years time.

Alan
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,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

With any factory rifle an accuracy is a luck of the draw. A friend of mine bought a Weatherby MarkV with a factory provided target showing a 20MM (.8") group. His best loads were only able to group around 115MM (4.5")/100M. He glass beded the action and nothing had changed.
No wonder, when he later found that the barrel was just hand screwed into the action. When the barrel was tighten up it was a solid 13MM (0.5") performer. How the factory managed to shoot the group on the rifle acompanying factory target is beyond me.

Shoot better
Peter
 
Range test again

just got back from the range ,with the 2nd barrel tested (all is right with the world) it shoots as it should.Too foggy to go past 100yds but it buggsem at that range :):)
 
I am a huge fan of the recent Savage/Stevens rifles and own several. Built all my recent LR and match rifles off these actions. Also, have shot a bunch for hunting/varminting. All factory pipes are sub MOA.

However, for my F class rifle, I put on a true match barrel. Factory pipes are great for factory pipes but will never hold up against true match pipes.

I am serious about competing so ditched the factory pipes and kept the action to build up. I give Savage huge kudos for their F line of rifles (except maybe the stock design for the F/TR) but for the same money, I can build up a more accurate rifle.

Seems to be working for me....

Jerry

PS, If Savage was serious about making a competitive out of the box rifle, they should get some name brand match pipe maker to supply the barrels. Then they could put that to good marketing as they have with their tactical rifles - Choate, HS, McMillan stocks.
 
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Jerry, it would seem that i just got plain lucky with my own FTR in 308 as it shoots very well and the barrel cleans up easily. To add to your last PS, Savage could have done just one thing to place their target actions on top of the heap for budget rifle building. Use a conventional 6 o'clock cocking piece and sear with a Rem 700 compatible trigger arangement. That way the actions could be glued in and the triggers dropped out through the bottom. Don't let pride get in the way of making money.

Tony Z.
 
I didn't buy mine for compitition either,I bought it more for the Factory niche thing,same reason I bought a Sako 308 single shot
 
Tony, I thought about your post quite a bit and looked at it from a corporate standpoint.

All that Savage has done recently is dress up their basic rifle. Except for a few simple tweaks and the Accutrigger, nothing ground breaking. Most everything new is in the stocks offered.

These they don't make.

In fact, the single port target actions are likely CHEAPER to make then a hunting action. So much less machining and parts.

Customers are paying much more for something that isn't that much more expensive to produce ie margins are way fatter.

So they are laughing all the way to the bank. Good for us, great for the company.

However, changing the basic platform to improve bolt lift WILL cost them money. For the very small market that might take interest, isn't worth it to them and I understand why.

Those who want or need a light bolt lift will gravitate to Rem's or custom actions. The Savage is never going to be sort after in these circles no matter how good. There is simply too much brand prejudice.

In disciplines where Savage is already super popular, their design works just fine. Even better with a few simple tweaks. Their innovations like the new center feed mag system, dmag 223, stock upgrades all target their main markets.

Their target market will always be hunters and varminters. Their recent innovations/performances have put this market on its ear.

Tactical/military market is another strong play for them and their product fits this very well.

The fact that they noticed us F class shooters is already a huge bonus. The fact that an F class rifle can tolerate the Savage bolt/trigger system is likely the driving factor in the corporate pursuit of this fast growing sport.

BR is simply too specialized.....and too small.

From a corporate standpoint, they have things dialed in pretty damn good.

Jerry
 
From a corporate standpoint, they have things dialed in pretty damn good.

Jerry

Yep, I think too Jerry. Real good points!
cale
 
Got the new 6.5X284 recently. Zeroed in 3 shots. Groups are very tight out to 600yds. No problems. Easy and fun to shoot. Love it!
 
Jerry, that brand prejudice you mention has more to do with the trigger than most anything else. The floating bolt head is now being recognised as a good thing. The bolt lift your talking about i am not familiar with as i find my Rem 700s not as easy to work as the Savage FTR action i have.
The release of the FClass line of rifles is one thing, but i am refering directly to the actions as sold to smiths and individuals. Not everyone is building or wanting a FClass rifle, and those looking for an action will overlook the Savage because of the trigger issues. There should be a truck load of Savage based rifles on the 600, 1k and maybe even the point blank ranges around the world, but because of the points i mentioned in the previous post this is unlikely. So in a sense Savage has done themselves out of the market.
Now if Remington were smart, it could be time to reintroduce their actions for sale again, single shot with port options etc........

Tony Z.
 
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