Help Me Understand Different Savage actions

[SoCal326]

I found this 2013 article (http://www.savageshooters.com/content.php?262-Savage-Centerfire-Model-and-Letter-Designations) in the Centerfire FAQ and that's helpful but I'm still not sure I understand the Savage landscape.

The linked article tells me the model and the series. I understand that the 10/110 = SA/LA but what about differences between model numbers. Are they different beyond the finish? Are they interchangeable?

The 12LRP has a target action but does this mean they build it up as target gun or does it mean the actions are different from the 10? Maybe its stiffer and heavier?

Could I swap parts between a 12LRP and a 10 storm? If they are interchangeable are the tolerances all the same or does the 12 have tighter tolerances?

The Savage Storm is a hunting rifle built on the 110 but the FAQ suggests the model 110 is the LE series--Which is confusing because they have 110s of all sorts.

The FAQ says the 110s are are blued but the 110 storm is stainless so why didn't they call it a 116? how is the 116 different? Why did savage change the 116 weather warrior to the 110 storm.

To add to my confusion, I have the 12RLP in 6.5CM and a Storm 110 in 6.5CM. The 12 and the 110 are clearly marked on the barrels. So the 12LRP is a short action and the storm 110 is a long action even though both use the same cartridge and the bolts are interchangeable? I haven't test fired them but the seem to fit each other.


10/110 - Old Designation Sporter Series, Current Designation Law Enforcement Series (blued actions and barrel)
11/111 - Current Designation Sporter Series (blued actions and barrel)
12/112 - Varmint Series (available in both Blued and Stainless); also includes Target Series
14/114 - Classic Series (High Luster Blue, one model in SS, High Grade Wood Stock)
16/116 - Weather Warrior Series (SS, Synthetic, Sporter & Mag Contoured Barrel)
PTA Guns - Precision Target Action rifles (Model 12 F/TR, 12 F-Class, 12 Palma, Etc.)
Mod. 25 & 40 - Light Varmint Series (Blued actions and barrel)
Axis - Entry Level sporter with DBM (all the same action length, but different from 10/110 to 16/116 series; available Blued or Stainless)
Stevens 200 - Same as 11/111 except no AccuTrigger (old style side bolt release only; Blued action and barrel)

Model Number Letter Meanings:
AK(or K) - Adjustable Muzzle Brake
B - Laminate Stock
BT - Laminated Thumbhole Stock
C - Clip (Detachable Box Magazine)
F - Synthetic Stock
G - Hardwood Stock
H - Hinged Floorplate
L - Left Hand
ML - Muzzleloader
NS - No Sights
P - Police
SS - Stainless Steel
SR - Supressor Ready (Threaded Muzzle)
T - (Rimfire) Peep Sights
V - Long-Range (Heavy Barrel) (Varmint)
XP - Package Gun
Y - Youth

[big honkin jeep]

The powers that be at Savage arms have mad a lot of changes since 2013. The newer designations use 110 for both long and short actions. So both of your"new and newer" rifles are short actions. That's probably why your bolt seems to fit both, but beware there could be a difference in the head spacing, as it's set with the bolt in place, so I would keep them in the rifle they came in.

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth (around 1958) the oldest continuously manufactured bolt-action rifle in America was born and there was just the model 110 for both long and short action calibers.

Here's a corrective addendum to my post thanks to Jim, "There were in fact separate long and short actions made from 1959-1987 (no short actions or S/A cartridges were offered in the 110 in 1958). The short actions were 0.540" shorter in overall length than the long-action and are what we refer to as Gen I S/A's. They had a screw spacing of 4.522" and are what some incorrectly refer to as "J-Series" short-actions. This info is in Bob Greenleaf's article here on the site. All were referred to as 110's (and later 111's and 112's as they came into being in the mid-late 1970's).

From 1988-1997 everything was built on a long-action length action (with long-action screw spacing). Those chambered for short-action cartridges just had a shorter magazine port cut into the bottom to accommodate the shorter magazines.

This next little bit was just easier to cut and paste from Wikipedia than to explain
"In 1998, Savage re-engineered the short-action Model 110 and adopted a new model numbering scheme to differentiate short-action models from long actions. The short-action Model 110 became the Model 10, while the long-action model remained the Model 110. The Model 110 is the basis for the entire line of Savage centerfire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centerfire) bolt-action rifles, including the Models 11/111, 12, 14/114, 16/116, and Model 210 bolt-action shotgun (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun) as well as the Stevens Model 200. The series is available in a wide variety of chamberings, from .204 Ruger (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.204_Ruger) to .338 Winchester Magnum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.338_Winchester_Magnum), to suit the needs of most shooters." Thanks Wikipedia.

Some of the 12/112s use the standard 10/110 style action while the newer version of their "target" series uses the target action which is different and has 3 action screws.
The LE designation is pretty much a 10/110 with a heavy barrel and a varmint accutrigger which leads me to note, there are 3 different "accutriggers". The standard/hunting version 2.5-6#, the varmint version 1.5-5# and the target version 6oz-2#.
Somewhere down the line the "package" rifles which through the years have come with a variety of scopes from Leupold on the old LE package and also came with Leupold mounts, a Harris bi pod and Pelican case, (darn nice LE setup) to, the 11/111 ready to hunt packages that came with lower end Simmons, Bushnell, Weaver, Nikon with BDC reticle, Vortex (maybe some others) and the "packages" started coming with economy stocks and plastic "bottom metal" and magazines which were economy versions of the standard 11/111s. You can also throw he Stevens 200 into the mix which was another economy offering similar to an 11/111 for several years of production.
Then there is a difference between large shank and small shank barrels, actions and nuts. The most common is the small shank. Here's a link http://savageshooters.com/content.php?127-Savage-Barrel-Shank-Sizes

I love the old 16/116s and I'm pretty sure the "Storm" is probably just a more "politically correct" name for a weather resistant rifle than the "Weather Warrior." Possibly in line with doing away with the Indian head logo.
Why they decided to change the model designations is beyond me unless they figured it was a way to cause mass confusion in the customer base and maybe try to screw up efforts to make sense of it all for the average Joe.
Dang I miss Ron Coburn
Hope this helps a little.

[tximport]

Wow lot of good info here

[cowboybart]

About time somebody made the muddy water a little less muddy!!

[reddeluxe]

Great overview of the Savage action timeline/lineage. To add just a pinch more "mud" to the waters, Savage did briefly (mid 60's ?) make a first generation "J" length short action that was in between the lengths of the current standard long /short factory length sizes.

[CFJunkie]

Since you have a 12 LRP as well as a model 10, you probably noticed that the 12 LRP has a stiffened receiver where the Precision trigger warning is printed on the left side of the rifle.
Because of that extra steel, you can't see into the action from the left side when the bolt is back.
The action opening is relatively small, just large enough for ejection.
That makes the 12 LRP difficult to use if you want to load each round separately with a single round follower.

On my model 10T-SR and my 12 FV, that extra stiffener section is milled out and you can see the magazine from the top and left side of the rifle as well as from the right side.
The more open action is particularly required for the 12 FV because the FV has a hidden magazine and has to be loaded from the opening.

[Critch]

I have a Model 10 FCM scout rifle, what does the "M" mean in that designation? I didn't see it listed in the above article.

While I'm here, if I wanted to switch to another stock, say a Hogue Overmolded, which of their stocks do I order?

Thank ya'll in advance.

[Texas10]

No, you cannot interchange long and short bolts in your pair of 6.5 CM Savages. If you've physically done it and they seem to fit, then you have two identical length actions, not one short and one long.

If you do indeed have two 6.5 CM short actions, you can use the same bolt in both if you first verify headspace, and you can likely fire factory ammo in them. However if you already are, or plan to hand load, the brass fired from the two chambers should not be interchanged, and you'll have to set up two FL sizing dies, one for each chamber.

While it may be possible, it is generally considered unwise.

[bsekf]

I do not see a "letter" designation for the AccuTrigger. Or the bottem bolt release. Did they put the AccuTrigger on the top bolt release actions? Can you tell from the SN?

[PhilC]

Did they put the AccuTrigger on the top bolt release actions? Can you tell from the SN?
Yes they did, the Cabela's 12FV, which is top bolt release, is a classic example.

[J.Baker]

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth (around 1958) the oldest continuously manufactured bolt-action rifle in America was born and there was just the model 110 for both long and short action calibers. They were all built on the same long action similar to the way they manufacture the Axis of today with one action length.

This isn't correct. There were in fact separate long and short actions made from 1959-1987 (no short actions or S/A cartridges were offered in the 110 in 1958). The short actions were 0.540" shorter in overall length than the long-action and are what we refer to as Gen I S/A's. They had a screw spacing of 4.522" and are what some incorrectly refer to as "J-Series" short-actions. This info is in Bob Greenleaf's article here on the site. All were referred to as 110's (and later 111's and 112's as they came into being in the mid-late 1970's).


From 1988-1997 everything was built on a long-action length action (with long-action screw spacing). Those chambered for short-action cartridges just had a shorter magazine port cut into the bottom to accommodate the shorter magazines.

[big honkin jeep]

This isn't correct. There were in fact separate long and short actions made from 1959-1987 (no short actions or S/A cartridges were offered in the 110 in 1958). The short actions were 0.540" shorter in overall length than the long-action and are what we refer to as Gen I S/A's. They had a screw spacing of 4.522" and are what some incorrectly refer to as "J-Series" short-actions. This info is in Bob Greenleaf's article here on the site. All were referred to as 110's (and later 111's and 112's as they came into being in the mid-late 1970's).


From 1988-1997 everything was built on a long-action length action (with long-action screw spacing). Those chambered for short-action cartridges just had a shorter magazine port cut into the bottom to accommodate the shorter magazines.

Thanks for the heads up Jim, I'll delete a sentence and see if I can get it corrected.
I'd rather post no info than bad info but sometimes we slip. :smile-new: Thanks again

[Robinhood]

Thanks for the heads up Jim, I'll delete a sentence and see if I can get it corrected.
I'd rather post no info than bad info but sometimes we slip. :smile-new: Thanks again

You're absolutely correct BHJ. Too many times I have been corrected after trying to offer help and felt bad when I was wrong. Thankfully Jim, sharpshooter and others align me. I'm working on biting my fingers before I type info I'm not certain about.

[big honkin jeep]

Yep I made a correction and added an addendum copying and pasting the info Jim provided into my post. I think it's great that there is so much info to be shared here. Hopefully with the minor tweaks members have provided some good info and helped to clear up some more of the confusion created with the 3 digit model designation changes. I'm sure there will be plenty more distributor exclusives, small runs, etc. to keep everybody guessing. :becky:

[J.Baker]

You're absolutely correct BHJ. Too many times I have been corrected after trying to offer help and felt bad when I was wrong. Thankfully Jim, sharpshooter and others align me. I'm working on biting my fingers before I type info I'm not certain about.

That's part of the reason you don't see me post as often these days. If I'm not certain on something I generally don't reply rather than post something just taking wild guesses or speculating. Drives me nuts when someone asks a question and 20 people respond with "did you check this" or "did you do this" just taking wild stabs at what the problem might be. I know they mean well and are just trying to be helpful, but more often than it just leaves the person who asked the question more confused and lost than they were when they asked it.

Sometimes it's best just to quietly observe from the background and learn from those who are more knowledgeable than yourself. Problem is there's a lot of people who seem to think they know far more than they actually do on the internet. lol