Truing an action and bolt lugs

[dpollard]

For those of you who have had your action and bolt lugs trued, did you see a noticeable increase in accuracy? I am thinking of having it done to my model 12 action and then fitted with a custom chambered Bartlien barrel to shoot 140 gr class bullets. Caliber will be some sort of 6.5 (.260, 6.5 creed or 6.5x47 Lapua).

[dpollard]

Anyone?

[foxx]

I have had a few model 10's timd and trued by Sharp Shooter Supply. Fred does top notch work. I would not have anyone else touch a Savage action. I have not noticed any improvement in accuracy, but I don't think Fred suggests a good T&T job is intended to improve accuracy. It improves feel and bolt lift.

[Robinhood]

There are many factors to accuracy, the shooter being an integral part of that equation. Action enhancements are different for each brand of action. Some are not necessarily accuracy related.

Truing the proper way improves accuracy at varying ranges. Often overlooked is the barrels axis with the scope. The floating bolt head can compensate for a barrel out of axis and some believe this is an all inclusive solution. Because of this, Savages can hold their own in single range completion but when in a tactical environment they are not as popular. Any rifle can benefit by aligning all aspects of the action into one axis from OD to scope mount holes bolt race(Savages are more tolerant of bolt misalignment for obvious reasons) and barrel threads as well as the perpendicularity of the barrel/action face abutment.

Truing correctly in combination with a quality barrel that is machined and chambered correctly will take a platform to a higher level precision. Fred Moreo's timing work, an action enhancement, is the best, no question. The ones I have been exposed to are superior in bolt lift and primary extraction. They are the standard to compare when working on a Savage action.

Truing however can be done by anyone with skills and the proper tooling.

[rball]

Both Robinhood and Foxx are spot on with their comments. I have a model 10 action that Fred trued and timed, along with a SSS trigger install. Fred squared up the barrel nut and I used a ground barrel lug rather than a stamped one. The feel and bolt lift were night and day. Fred's work made that very effortless and smooth. I did see some accuracy increase, but nothing that I could consistently measure; this was due to my inabilities rather than my equipment limits. My thoughts are that the total package would include an accurate barrel, good bedding - but most importantly, a shooter that knows how to breath and when to squeeze. I've seen shooters with rifle mods that, on paper, should outshoot anyone. However, I've seen shooters who do the "basics" (barrel, trigger) to their rifles, that have also mastered the fundamentals behind shooting - shoot groups that would fit into the group shot by the modded out non-shooters.

[J.Baker]

Typically no, but if your action is really out of wack then yes, you could see a notable increase. Most have the work done to lighten the bolt lift as the floating bolt head design of the Savage makes 100% true and square surfaces less critical.