papa45
09-17-2019, 06:14 PM
I bought a new Storm 7-08 a few months back and had a terrible time getting it to shoot anything well. I also could not load my preferred bullet any longer than 2.810" COL, due to a short distance to lands. I sent it back to Savage. They said they "polished the chamber" and everything else was fine and it was shooting 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards. When I got it back, I found they had lengthened the leade a bit, but it still shot poorly. After lots of additional experimenting, I finally found it shoots Nosler 140 BT's pretty well, which happens to be what they use to test at the factory. That's all history.
Here's my current problem: If I load rounds any longer than about 2.780" COL through the magazine, they will jam, unless I close the bolt very slowly. The base of the round pops up above the bolt recess, and as it is pushed forward, the body binds against the rear of the chamber. I called Savage to see if this was a common problem and ask if I could modify the magazine lips in some way to reduce the problem. I got no suggestions, but was told they would send me a new replacement magazine. The new magazine functions exactly like the original one. I tried permanently compressing the magazine spring to reduce tension. It seems to help a little, but about one in three rounds will still fail to feed properly, not acceptable for a follow-up shot on a hunting rifle.
It seems like the simple answer is to load my ammo short to eliminate the binding, but after all these other problems, I still haven't been able to load long in my search to optimize accuracy. If it weren't for the binding problem, I could load 40 to 120 thousandths longer, depending on the bullet.
I have an older model Savage .243 with a blind box staggered-feed magazine that shoots well and functions flawlessly. Why did Savage go to the center-feed design? I am very disappointed in this new rifle. Any suggestions?
Here's my current problem: If I load rounds any longer than about 2.780" COL through the magazine, they will jam, unless I close the bolt very slowly. The base of the round pops up above the bolt recess, and as it is pushed forward, the body binds against the rear of the chamber. I called Savage to see if this was a common problem and ask if I could modify the magazine lips in some way to reduce the problem. I got no suggestions, but was told they would send me a new replacement magazine. The new magazine functions exactly like the original one. I tried permanently compressing the magazine spring to reduce tension. It seems to help a little, but about one in three rounds will still fail to feed properly, not acceptable for a follow-up shot on a hunting rifle.
It seems like the simple answer is to load my ammo short to eliminate the binding, but after all these other problems, I still haven't been able to load long in my search to optimize accuracy. If it weren't for the binding problem, I could load 40 to 120 thousandths longer, depending on the bullet.
I have an older model Savage .243 with a blind box staggered-feed magazine that shoots well and functions flawlessly. Why did Savage go to the center-feed design? I am very disappointed in this new rifle. Any suggestions?