Savage Model 12 Accu Trigger Upgrade

With a range just outside my shop door, my test rifles must be at peak accuracy. In this article I’ll cover away in which I was able to improve the adjustability of a Savage Model 12 single-shot target rifle equipped with an Accu Trigger, a trigger that already nears perfection. About 10 years ago I attended a Savage Arms Writer’s Seminar where we were given the opportunity to test and evaluate a few of their rifles.

While there I shot a Model 12 single-shot rifle in .223 Remington equipped From top, main trigger and Accu Trigger within the primary trigger retained within the trigger housing by the same pin. Sear shown engaged, just forward of the Accu Release tang at front. The Accu Release spring is positioned between the main trigger body and the Accu Release tang. The main trigger spring is positioned between the rearward end of the trigger housing and the receiver tang.

As the Accu Release trigger and main trigger are pulled to fire the rifle, the Accu Release trigger must first be pulled flush with the main trigger before the rifle can be fired. This allows the sear free travel which would be otherwise blocked by the Accu Release. Below center: The main trigger and Accu Release are shown removed from the trigger housing. Original springs are shown in position.

Separated from the trigger at right is the turned down replacement screw and spring which replaced the original trigger spring. The extended screw at bottom is the adjustable trigger over-travel screw. With trigger pin removed, the Accu Trigger falls farther down into the trigger Below slot. The lathe-turned screw served as a spring guide as the trigger was adjusted for pull weight. This new spring has slightly less compression than the original spring. with their proprietary Accu Trigger.

I ended up owning that rifle and have since converted it to switchbarrel, using it in some pretty serious testing. The Accu Trigger is reported to be adjustable from 6 to 1.5 pounds with a special adjustment tool provided. There is an Accu Release lever positioned inside the split main trigger projecting forward along the front surface of the trigger. In use, the trigger finger must squarely and fully depress the Accu Release, which allows the sear to move rearward to fire the rifle.

If the finger pulls only on the side or very tip of the trigger, the sear is released, in which case the Accu Release blocks the sear and prevents the rifle from firing. If anything would cause the sear to jar off, the Accu Release arm would also block the sear, thus preventing discharge. This feature functions independently of the regular safety, which is located above the rear tang. This makes the Accu Trigger about as fool proof as any trigger I have seen.

While I found the Accu Trigger function quite satisfactory, I wanted a somewhat lighter, more precision,

The spring coils are shaped to fit a 10-24 pitch of the threaded hole in the trigger body. Center and left, the replacement trigger spring guide bolt with lock nut and new trigger spring fitted to 10-24 screw. These three parts comprise the trigger conversion designed by author. Above center: These two springs control the function of the Savage Accu- Trigger. From left, the Accu Release spring, new replacement spring and precision adjustment screw and lock nut.

The new spring permits a more precision trigger adjustment which is then locked into position to remain unchanged. Replacement spring and guide screw with lock nut allow a lighter, fully controlled trigger pull locked into position. and easily adjusted trigger pull for my more serious accuracy work. The Accu Trigger was quite close, but I was unable to adjust this particular trigger below a 2.1 pound average as tested with my Lyman trigger scale.

The normal technique for firing a rifle in benchrest shooting requires a lighter trigger pull. Ideally, while benchrest shooting, a The unaltered Accu Trigger is shown here with the Lyman trigger pull gauge at 2.1 pounds. As a result of leverage, sear/trigger pull weight will vary to some degree depending on where the finger contacts the trigger. This is true of most firearm triggers. Below center: The new Accu Trigger spring assembly in position, adjusted and locked in at 18 ounce pull weight.

Adjustment is accomplished safely and easily with absolute precision. The safety feature of the Accu Release and safety mechanism remains totally unaltered. 462" were shot with a Savage Model 12 rifle in .308 Winchester. All groups were shot with the Accu Trigger replacement spring set at 18 ounces and totally free recoil was used while testing.

This welltuned Savage Model 12 single-shot rifle is capable of accuracy comparable to any of the author’s best rifles. rifle is supported by a front and rear sandbag rest and carefully aimed at the target with no human element guiding or holding it once in position. Without touching the rifle, the shooter continues aiming as only the trigger is pulled, without disturbing the scope reticle on target.

Of course, the rifle must be heavy enough for this to be accomplished with a trigger pull light enough not to disturb things. Rifles with heavier triggers must be held more firmly as they are aimed and fired, making pinpoint accuracy more difficult to achieve. I decided to look seriously into a safe and more effective way to reduce trigger pull weight with Savage’s Accu Trigger (Continued on page 19)

and accomplished this with anew trigger mainspring, spring guide, and lock nut. On disassembly and close inspection of the trigger, I discovered the Accu Trigger mainspring was threaded into the upper rear aspect of the trigger assembly. The smaller of the two-diameter spring has equal diameter and windings on the smaller end to fit a 10-24 threaded extension at the rearmost part of the trigger body, thus providing its adjustability feature.

I immediately saw where a special adjustable replacement spring assembly could be installed here and used the existing 10-24 threaded hole with a modified slotted screw and lock nut to retain and guide anew, smaller, fully adjustable trigger spring. A search through my assortment of springs found the ideal one with a diameter and compression to fit a turned down and threaded 10-24 screw. The altered screw fits the threaded through-hole in the posterior trigger body extension, thus replacing the original spring.

It can be precisely adjusted from the bottom to the nearest two ounces and secured by a lock nut while still retaining the full safety features of the Accu Release mechanism as designed. Installation And Adjustment With my objective to accomplish a lighter trigger pull weight than the 2.1 pound average I was getting down to around 1.5 pounds or less, I had to be sure the overall pull weight would be greater than the Accu Release pull weight of near 10 ounces.

If overall trigger pull is below that of the Accu Release, this would block the sear as the Accu Release is pulled, thus failing to fire the rifle. I selected anew trigger spring with minimally less compression force than its original counterpart and installed it. It worked perfectly, allowing trigger pull weight to be precisely adjusted from just over its maximum of 3.5 pounds to a very crisp pull weight just under 1.2 pounds. There was no need to go lower.

The Accu Release continued to function perfectly as did the tang safety. Neither of these were altered or disturbed in any way. Testing revealed the trigger conversion worked out quite well, as expected. Safety was in no way compromised and benchrest shooting from a free-recoil position with no rifle contact (except for the trigger) was easily accomplished. This adds further proof of how well these Savage Model 12 and 112 single shot rifles will shoot.

Where modifications are made on any firearm, every aspect of function and safety must be completely understood. The work should be performed only by a highly qualified gunsmith experienced with triggers. Savage Arms strongly recommends that no firearm be modified, adjusted, or components replaced unless the work is performed by a qualified gunsmith. AG