savage scope alignment issues

[mebejets]

I have a Savage 116 weather warrior in 338 win mag. Went to mount scope on rifle and found that the rear mount is higher than the front mount. This deviation is .030”-.040”. I removed the mounts thinking it was them but found the receiver this way as well. I have never seen this in a rifle before. The rifle has been sent back to savage twice now. The first time they mounted scope and fired it said it was good and sent it back. I questioned this and it is back there now again. They are claiming that this is within limit, but they have yet to tell me the limits!!!!!!!!!!! The other reason they gave me was that the rifle is a stainless model and the receiver is hand polished and could cause this problem. I have a model 12 stainless 223 and the scope mounts are aligned. If the guy or gal is removing .030to .040”with a buffing wheel their head needs examining!!!!!! Does anyone have the spec for receivers or know them?

[Carvera]

Place a call to Savage.

Ask for a man named Joe DeGrande.

Many folks will just tell you to correct the problem with mounts, rings, or a combination of both. If it's as bad as you say, there are certainly people at Savage who would take their time to make things right.

[ellobo]

Could it possibly be that you have a base for a flat rear reciever. That would account for a .030-.040 difference in hight at the rear.

El Lobo

[mebejets]

i have in the post i removed the mounts and the receiver is this way also

[earl39]

might want to look at this thread.

http://savageshooters.com/SavageForum/index.php/topic,40268.0.html

Gary

[mebejets]

thanks for the links and the name. Joe is a great asset to Savage Arms. He went to the floor and got my rifle out and is looking into the problem with this rifle he is definitely on the ball. He called me back to tell me that the rifle will have a full QC Evaluation performed


thanks again
marcus

[M.O.A.]

or you could just lap the rings in and have a +20 to 30 moa base for long range shooting ;D ;D ;D lol

[kohler]

I just talked to the gunsmith today about his third attempt to mount a scope to my new custom Model 16. He says when I pick it up he should be calmed down enough to tell me what's going on. All he could say is he learned alot and the "smithing" part of his job description was well earned.

[J.Baker]

This is a simple matter of the action being warped...as all Savage actions are to some extent as a result of the heat treating process. Savage only heat treats the bridges of the action, and in the rather quick heating and quenching process the action will warp in the middle where the magazine and ejection ports are due to their being less material there. On most actions the warpage isn't enough to worry about or cause problems as it can easily be dealt with via scope adjustment and/or adjustable mounts, but occasionally there's one that warps to a greater degree and can't be remedied with such basic solutions.

Long actions are more prone to excessive warping as they have a longer port area which can multiply the degree of warpage due to it's longer length. As a result the rear bridge of the action may be high, low, left or right of the front bridge. The solution is to have a competent gunsmith straighten the action or fight with Savage in hopes of getting it replaced. I don't know what Savage's tolerances are for "acceptable warpage", but I do know it's not something they routinely spot-check for during production.

As for the hand polishing excuse, that's only viable if it's an older gun made before 2003 or so. All Savage's built since then - blued or stainless - are polished on a rotisserie via a vibratory tumbler. Only those made earlier were hand polished on a buffing wheel. This hand polishing on the earlier models is also why so many of the flat's on the older flat-top actions weren't level.

[kohler]

http://www.photobucket.com/myalbum/mypic.jpg


I picked up the Model 16 today and will shoot it tomorrow. The gunsmith thinks the receiver's screw taps are not inline. To overcome this he tried a picatinny rail and 2 Leupold bases, a Leupold was chosen. A ring is shimmed also. The base closest to the stock hangs over the shell ejection area 1/2". This ring connects to the base where there is no receiver support. Functionally ejected cases clear, and, the bolt handle clears the scope.

It is an odd comparison putting my Leupold mounted Model 14 next to this Model 16 with a set up I've not seen before. Is this Model 16 set up kosher? General use will be hunting, and practicing on a couple boxes per year. Even if sight-in goes well, is vibration going to be an issue?

[pdog06]

All he could say is he learned alot and the "smithing" part of his job description was well earned.


Boy, that sounds expensive!!!

Like Mr F said, the action is probably just slightly warped. Warping could also happen from removing the barrel incorrectly at one time.

I hope you didnt spend a mint at the gunsmith just to end up with a set of rings and bases that are shimmed, cause for about $150 or so, sending it to SSS coulda gotten it straightened along with a time and true job.

[Guipago]

I found the same deal on my FCP-K .308 not ten minutes ago! I just sat down at the computer to find any info on it (& have a whinge) when I read this post, I've got .025 thou differance between front & rear of the action, sounds like it's more common than not, sure explains why I was 3" high at 200 yds & bottomed out the elevation turret on the BR nightforce (20moa farrell mount as well) looks like the front of the action might be bent a tad, may also explain why the front of the action dosen't touch the bedding block when torqued down to spec's,(200 yd grouping is rubbish 4 1/2" if lucky) will take it back to the shop I bought it from & see what happens, though in Aus. that might be interesting. Geoff