Disassembly and Reassembly Of The Savage Model 12

Savage didn’t originate the left-side in, right-side out action. It has been the favorite of dedicated benchresters, varmint hunters and long range target shooters for many years. Builders of custom rifles have long been aware of this preference and provided expensive, single-shot, right-handed bolt actions enabling the operator to load the rifle from the left, never losing contact with the stock and retaining a sight picture to get off several shots before a condition change.

This was accomplished by fabricating a receiver from scratch with two distinct portals: One on the left for loading and another on the right for ejection. The Model 12 LRPV comes off the Savage production line with such a receiver to join the factory’s line of long range precision rifles, a total of four at present, that Team Savage competitors have proven can, and do, win against custom rifles costing many times more.

In essence, this Model 12 is an out-of-the-box benchrest rifle that a Field & Stream reviewer concluded, "…will outshoot any factory varminter I’ve used and match many custom rifles for accuracy." Three years ago, after testing hundreds of outdoor products, the editors of the same publication awarded it their coveted "Best of the Best" title stating, "Until something better comes along — and that will beawhile — it’s the class of the field." The Model 12 LRPV has a choice of chamberings: .223 Remington (1 in 9" twist), .204 Ruger (1 in 12"), .22-250 (1 in 12") and 6 Norma BR (1 in 12") housed in a 26-inch long by one-inch diameter, free-floated and fluted, button-rifled stainless barrel.

Its receiver is drilled and tapped for scope mounts while the barreled action seats in a black, H-S Precision varmint stock featuring a molded alloy bedding system. Like most other Savage centerfire rifles, the Model 12 wears a wildly successful Accu Trigger ®, but this one measurably differs from those on Savage sporters. Where the triggers on the sporters are adjustable for pulls from two-and-a-half to six pounds by the owner, the target Accu Trigger on the LRPV is adjustable from six ounces to six pounds.

Isn’t that low end far too light for bump ing around in the woods? You bet your life — or that of someone else — it is.

However, no sane person I know or know of is going to lug a 46- 1/2-inch long, twelve pound rifle on a hunting trip unless they’re more than a bit kinky and actually enjoy the pain. (Moral: Never hunt with a nut case carrying that much gun with that light a trigger pull.) Fortunately, the LRPV Accu Trigger, a target version as opposed to the standard centerfire version, has wisely been made very easy to spot.

Its Accu Release®, that Glock-like lever protruding from the trigger, is orange on the Model 12 and other Savage precision rifles. Unlike the Standard Accu Trigger, minimum trigger pull is not established when the large coil in the housing contacts the trigger and you encounter resistance. Nay, an orange Accu Release/ Accu Trigger must be approached quite differently.

With these, minimum pull is established by turning in the pull adjustment tool (provided) until the trigger requires more force to pull than the release itself. This is performed with the action

pointing upward until the trigger can be pulled without the release blocking the sear. Ultimately, the distance the trigger will travel before the sear is released is close to equaling the thickness of the paper this publication is printed on and minimum pull has been reached. Along with that comes extra sear sensitivity to any mechanical jarring, in particular, a slamming forward of the bolt and touching the trigger shoe without fully depressing the Accu Release.

I am informed by the owner’s manual that should either of the preceding occur the release will block the sear, halt the trigger travel and the rifle will have to be re-cocked. Slowness, smoothness and consistency are the words to remember when cycling a bolt that’s surrounding a firing pin ready to react to a six-ounce trigger pull. The same applies when moving a bolt handle up or down. By the way, there is plenty of very useful information on the Accu Trigger in every Savage rifle owner’s manual.

You might benefit your knowledge by calling Savage A B Customer Service and ask for a couple. I suggest obtaining a copy for a standard hunting rifle and one on a target gun. In the meantime, I’ll get on with the Model 12LRPV. Field Stripping The two schematics that appear later aren’t here to confuse you but to eliminate any guesswork on the reader’s part in following instructions for basic and detailed take-down. The first drawing is a much simplified one of the complete Model 12.

The other isolates the bolt and, as you can see, contains much additional information about that component of the rifle. Slip on your eye protection, open the action and check the chamber to clear the rifle. On the right side of The cocking pin, (A), must be drifted from its detent in the bolt body in disassembly and the hole in the rear baffle (B) holds a small detent ball and spring. the receiver just forward of the stock bolt recess is a tab that could easily be mistaken for a safety lever.

Since the actual safety is tang mounted, this tab is a cocking indicator that triples as a bolt release and is a component of the Accu Trigger assembly. Before you can remove the bolt you have to pull and hold back the trigger while simultaneously depressing the bolt release/cocking indicator. The barreled receiver is separated from the stock by backing out the front (19D) and rear (19C) action screws and the forward trigger guard screw with a 5/32" Allen wrench.

Detailed Disassembly I think you’ll be pleased to know that the Model 12 is exactly like all other Savage centerfires in one respect. It’s built on the Model 110 platform and built in the same manner. I covered the 110 in the June 2001 issue of American Gunsmith. Reprints of articles from that year are likely no longer available, so I A

trust you’ll pardon me for repeating myself. The Model 110 isn’t made like most other rifles. No machining is performed until the 18- to 20-foot solid bars of special-alloy barrel steel are heat treated to finish specifications because Savage engineers believe heat treatment after machining alters final dimensions and surface finish. Instead, the bars are cut to required lengths after heating, drilled through and button rifled.

The barrel is then formed around the Savage Model 12 Long Range Precision Varminter (Specifications subject to change without notice) 12B Rear Baffle Assembly 12C Bolt Handle 12L Extractor 12MExtractor Spring 12N 1/8" Steel Ball 12O Ejector 12P Ejector Spring 12Q Ejector Retaining Pin 12S Bolt Assembly Screw 18 Stock Assembly 18A Swivel Stud 19A Trigger Guard 19B Rear Trigger Guard Screw 19C Rear Action Screw 19D Front Action Screw 27 Tension Adjustment Tool rifling while maintaining straightness of the bore and concentricity of the barrel walls.

The latter yields straightness and is of importance. Bullets fired from a barrel with an irregular wall thickness will wander, shifting the point of impact as the barrel heats up. After cutting to length, gun drilling, turning to final size and multiple broaching to shape the bolt raceway, there is heavy milling of the receiver followed by CNC vertical machining to finished specifications.

Back in darker ages, heat treatment would follow involving a witch’s cauldron of cyanide, the eyeballing of color and much manual quenching. This particular form of black magic is no more and has been

replaced with induction hardening. In this process the heat is generated by molecular friction prompted by a high frequency AC current under controlled time and temperature cycles. Robots supervise all movement of parts through the system. A computer supervises the robots.

Some humans in proximity to this never-tiring work force insist they can actually hear the molecules rubbing against one another. (Any Savage Model 110 Base Platform of Model 12 LRPV (Specifications subject to change without notice) 11 Bolt Body 12 Friction Washer, Front Baffle 13 Front Baffle 14 Bolt Head 15 Ejector Retaining Pin 16 Ejector Spring one out there care to speculate what millions of molecules massaging each other sounds like?) Why that Barrel Nut?

Other manufacturers assemble a barrel to the receiver, a bolt to the receiver, and then use gauges to establish minimum and maximum headspace. Savage doesn’t.

They assemble the bolt, barrel and receiver but sandwich a recoil lug behind "that nut" 17 Ejector 18 Extractor 19 Ball, 1/8" Steel 20 Extractor Spring 21 Bolt Head Retaining Pin 24 Bolt Assembly Screw 25 Cocking Piece Sleeve 26 Bolt Handle 27 Rear Baffle Assembly 28 Cocking Piece 29 Cocking Piece Pin 30 Cocking Piece Washer as follows: Close the bolt, screw in the barrel against a minimum GO headspace gauge and secure the barrel in position with the locking nut.

As a result, every rifle coming off the line does so with its barrel precisely located top dead center and its minimum headspace established. Besides that, every rifle includes its own optimum bolt before moving on to proofing and shipping. You’ll find what is meant by "optimum" by 31 Mainspring 32 Firing Pin 33 Firing Pin Stop Nut Washer 34 Firing Pin Stop Nut

examining the front lugs of the bolt head. You’ll discover four numerals there. They are the same as the last four digits of the gun’s serial number. They mean that bolt has been fitted to that rifle and attempting to use another bolt, even from the same model and caliber, would throw everything that had been done to assure accuracy and function out of whack. About that Bolt Head You won’t find the lauded "three rings of steel" on a 110 or any of its kin.

Look at the first of the three on any rifle bolt boasting them. It’s been heavily cut away to make room for the extractor. The presence of the second and third rings is required to allow closing of the bolt. In reality, the first ring is the least robust of the three. Though the company admits the three ring design is strong enough for normal and proofing chamber pressures, Savage maintains it is a weaker design than their own.

In the 110 family, bolt heads are pinned to the bolt body and their brawny lugs bear equally on the receiver’s locking surfaces. You don’t have to lap a Savage receiver or bolt lugs to gain full bearing. The rifle is already built that way. The time has come to take a Model 12 bolt apart. I must mention the hitch I discovered as soon as I saw the schematic of this rifle. The drawing omits many key parts of the bolt. I resolved their absence by adding a complete schematic of a bolt from a Model 110.

Except for differences of no consequence it is the same as the bolt in the Model 12. Please refer to it and its parts list as I go through this disassembly. The Bolt The components are under much pressure from the mainspring (31). Consider working inside a large, clear plastic bag and wear eye protection at all times. Examine the bolt head (14). It has two sets of lugs. The back pair doubles as the front baffle. The disassembly begins by disengaging the cocking pin (29) from its detent in the bolt body (11).

The easy way is to secure the body between padded vise jaws and tap the pin to the rear with a nylon drift. This will move the pin into its uncocked position and ease most the mainspring tension on the bolt assembly screw (24). On a Model 12, this screw is in there pretty tight and accepts a 1/4" Allen wrench. I recommend using the long shank variety having a Thandle configuration. Hold the rear of the bolt body downward and shake out the cocking piece (28) until its front end aligns with the cocking piece pin.

Pull the pin and dump out the firing pin assembly (30-34). It will remain attached to the cocking piece and there is still some pressure being applied by the mainspring. If the assembly requires repair, or a fresh spring or new firing pin, secure its front end in your padded vise, insert a punch in the cocking piece pin hole and unscrew the part from the firing pin (32). Don’t remove the firing pin stop (34) or washer (33) from the pin at this time.

They will be needed if a firing pin protrusion adjustment must be made. I’ll touch on the how-to of that later. Slip the bolt handle (26) and rear baffle assembly (27) off to the rear. Note the hole in the baffle? Inside lies a small detent ball and spring. Do not allow either to escape. Push out the bolt head retaining pin (21) then pull the front baffles (13-15) plus the baffle ring (12) from the bolt body. Now, get a load of the really small hole in the upper lug of the baffle.

A drift or short piece of drill rod even smaller will have to be used in nudging the ejector retaining pin (15) out far enough to free the ejector (17) and spring (16). Be advised, they will promptly flee to parts unknown if not refused transit. Pin Protrusion Adjustment Firing pin protusion becomes a factor in reassembly of the bolt. Acceptable factory range is .050-.062 inches. Forward travel of the firing is controlled by its stop nut (34). A quarter turn of the nut moves the pin a mere .0089 inches.

Adjustments are made by turning the nut in or backing it out. When the action is reunited with the stock there must be no contact between the stock and trigger assembly. If there is, the mechanism may function improperly. Finally, a puzzlement. The owners’ manual makes it clear that, "Any adjustment of the trigger mechanism becomes the responsibility of the gunsmith and voids the factory warranty." Doesn’t that sound just a wee bit strange for a rifle that comes out of the box with an owner-adjustable trigger?

Oh well. AG