Getting 12 F-Class today - What should I check?

[1.618]

Hey, guys,

I'm finally taking receipt of a Savage 12 F Class today after a LONG wait.

My question is, when I go to do the transfer at my local FFL, what things should I check on this gun to make sure it's not "used labeled as new" or "this one shot lousy so we put it back on the shelf for another sucker to buy" or maybe an older model that they're trying to pass off as a newer model or whatever?

I'm not new to guns or shooting, but I AM new to target guns in general and Savage target rifles in particular, so any help or suggestions you might have would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

1.618

[Stockrex]

Print off page with rifle description and model # and that to what you get, sounds silly but BUDs burned me once on a savage benchrest, it was a bear to return it, I lost shipping and insurance, still pissed about it.
which one did you get? post link or 5 digit savage #.

I don't think you can tell if is "used" labeled as new, as they test fire in factory and most of my savages came with dirty bolts, barrel...

[1.618]

BUDs burned me

Ouch. Just what I didn't want to hear.

How did they burn you? (Please PM me if you'd prefer to keep it off the board.) I want to know all the tricks.

The gun agreed upon was a Model 18155 - Model 12 F Class (http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/12FCLASS) in 6.5-284 with 30" heavy bbl.

I want to have as much info as I can when I go to pick it up, so that if there's anything bad about the deal, I can refuse to take delivery.

Thanks for your reply.

[1.618]

Just to update the crew, received the gun, and it looks like what I wanted, so all is good as far as I know with Bud's.

[Hotolds442]

Awesome!

[1.618]

The trigger straight out of the box is SWEET.

Now I need to handload some kibble!

[Patch700]

Should it be chambered in 6.5x284 do yourself a favour and choose ONLY Lapau brass..

My experience with the round has told me you very rarely if ever get the velocities required to justify the round when using other brass..
Good luck with the rig .

[Stockrex]

post some pic bro!

[1.618]

Thanks, Stockrex and Patch700. I have 100 each of Lapua and Norma brass. Hope to get the scope mounted and bedded, the action bedded and some handloads prepared in the next week or so. Will try to get some pics up when time permits. Initial impressions are, fit and finish look very good, and the thing is HEAVY with that 30" heavy barrel, which is what I want to reduce recoil and increase inertia/steadiness. Thanks again.

[Patch700]

Sounds like you're off to a good start ...
I can't speak for Normas brass as of late but in the past I found i was approximately 2 grains less on the charge compared to lapua brass ... Couldn't get the velocities or reach the next accurate node before pressuring up too much..

A nice set of bushing dies will be a definite asset over regular dies and having to drag the neck over an expander..
With a factory barrel+chamber it seemed to like a bit more neck tension (3-4 thou) so if you're using lapua brass I personally wouldn't turn the necks.

Good luck with the rig

[1.618]

That's good to know, Patch700. Thank you.

[1.618]

Boy this barrel has a heck of a lot of copper in it...my patches (with Hoppe's Benchrest Solvent) are coming out greener every time...and I'm up to eight!

I wonder how many times they proof test it at the factory.

[Patch700]

.....lol.... You're having fun hey... Sweets 7.62 will remove the copper..

however don't be surprised if the rifle won't group well after removing the copper
, even though the 12F is designated a target rifle sadly the barrels are not always match quality and may require some copper fouling
to make up the difference for rifling.. Sometimes with leaser quality barrels all you want to do is remove the carbon and powder residue
until the accuracy falls off.... Then you remove copper.. In the event you have a beautiful barrel , well disregard the aforementioned lol.

[1.618]

Thanks Patch700. You're helping me a lot today.

Your advice brings up a question I had about break-in on the barrel.

I saw some video on YouTube where a guy talked about the "Benchrest Break-In Method" versus the "Copper Equilibrium Method."

The way he explained it, the Benchrest method was for guns that would be used in corrosive/saltwater environments, benchresters and military/police guys, who would presumably be counting on a fairly clean bore to put the bullet where it should go.

On the other hand, the Copper Equilibrium method he said was more for "across the course" type shooters.

I liked the "Benchrest" method because it sounded like it would yield a better, more consistent bore, but it also sounded riskier, what with all the JB abrasive and lapping and having to make sure all the copper was out before you lapped with JB, etc etc etc. Honestly, it sounded like a moon landing, it was so involved.

It also seemed like a LOT of work before you even knew if the gun shot well enough AS-IS...and lapping might make it worse instead of better.

So I'm undecided which way to go...any thoughts on that?

If I just wanted to remove powder and carbon fouling – and let the copper build up – what would I use? I have some GM Upper Engine Cleaner and Valvtect "Carbon Free" marine fuel additive...I wonder whether they would work.

I appreciate all the help, guys.

[Stonewall_Jackson]

My .223 12 LRPV was bought used. The guy at the gun shop was selling it on consignment. He flat told me the guy who owned it said it wasn't accurate. But I looked at the action and the chamber and it was clear it had been fired maybe 10 times. That or some gun elves came in at night and cleaned it until it looked brand new. There wasn't a bit of residue in any of those hard to get at places that really can't be cleaned without tearing the rifle completely apart.

So I bought the rifle anyway since they gave me a week to test it. The gun shop owner told me time after time the owner of the gun had a lot of rifles and really knew his stuff but I knew something was fishy. It didn't take a week to figure out that the rifle had not been fired enough to knock down the burrs on the crown that pretty much all new rifles have or at least a lot of them do. After about 50 rounds the thing was shooting really well and it just continued to get better up to about 500 rounds. Now the thing shoots very nice. I shoot at a 500 yard range with it and it has shot some very nice groups with the average probably being about a 5" group. I've shot some 1" groups with it at that distance but not many.

Still for me doing the shooting that's pretty dang good. Those rifles can be really nice if you get lucky but that's true of all rifles IMO. No two rifles are the same. Some shoot better than others even from the same production run. I was very lucky with that rifle. Not only did I save about $300 on the price but it is the best shooter I have. I told the gun shop owner about it after about 6 months and I thought he was going to have a heart attack. He knew he could have gotten more money for that rifle. His bad luck was my good luck though.

Good luck with your 12. I hope it works as well as mine does or even better. Mine is the single shot with the target action BTW. It doesn't have the fluted barrel either. I think that model may have been more accurate than some other models especially those without the target action. Whatever the case mine is a sweet shooter and with the new glass I just put on it I expect it to do even better.

So I wouldn't worry about it being slightly used. I'd just worry about how it shoots. And it is often hard to tell that from just a few rounds fired through it.