Hello and a cry for help

Just traded for this rifle and was needing a little help with the finer points. It's a single-shot .223 with a very heavy barrel and a heavy stock with some checkering around the handgrip area.

The stamping on the barrel reads:

Model 112 Series J Cal. 223 Rem.

The serial number is C060XXX

It has a cheaper scope and it looks like somebody tightened the rings with a 1/2" air impact gun. After taking it to a range, it is apparent to me that this rifle is very accurate (the trigger is smoooooooth like buttah) and deserves some better optics. This is where the trouble starts. I was trying to identify it by distance between the screws on the bottom, but it defies description as either a "long" or "short" action. I would like to install a one-piece Leupold base and rings but until I can positively identify the rifle, I am not sure what I need.

Any walking Savage encyclopedias please feel free to chime in, this is my first rodeo and assume I know nothing. Part numbers of a good scope base, twist rates, other trivia would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tony in Abilene

early short action, just before the 10 series. any of the 2 piece scope mounts will work, but your out of luck on one piece mounts unless you want some extra holes drilled and taped. I think EGW can make a one piece for it on request.

If the reciever has a flat rear section then yu need a base to fit. I got mine from Weaver. If as you say its a "J" series it is a long action made to fire short action cartridges, Savages first effort at using short cartridges. Your bolt spacing should be 4.52, mine was. I replaced the cheap Savage birch stock with a Boyds JRS Laminate and it was a drop in.

El Lobo

Thanks for the info, folks.

It does have a flat rear section, so should be able to make some kind of 2-piece work. It has some weaver-style bases on it now, if they're in good enough shape I may be able to reuse them.

I checked the Boyd's website and all of the stocks I saw had a disclaimer at the bottom that they did not work for the early short action 4.522". Did your stock have a particular model number?

I sold that rifle some years back but it was definately a 110. All those early short actions were 110's, long actions with modified bolts and magazines for .308 length cartridges. You can use the Boyds stock for a 110 with the 4.52 spacing. Yours is a blind magazine stagger feed. With a single shot follower you may have to add some material at the bottom of the magazine well in the stock. Mine was left as repeater and worked just fine. It started out as a .243 and I convrted to .308 with an A&B barrel from Midway. It was a decent shooter, held MOA.

El Lobo

Does your 223 have a delrin spacer in the mag well? The early "J" model I had was blocked for the shorter 223 cartridge. If fed fine and was a tack driver with 52 gr SMKs in it's 1 in 14 twist barrel.

http://savageshooters.com/SavageForu...ic,3883.0.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GaCop

Does your 223 have a delrin spacer in the mag well? The early "J" model I had was blocked for the shorter 223 cartridge. If fed fine and was a tack driver with 52 gr SMKs in it's 1 in 14 twist barrel.

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It's a single shot, looks solid under there. I'll remove the stock and see what is under there.

I have a "J" series in 22-250 that I bought new in 1979. My barrel reads 112R series "J" ("R" for repeter) with no checkering anywhere on the gun. Don't know if yours has a ("V" for varmint, single shot) on it anywhere but the "V" was a varmint single shot which had checkering only on the palm swell. Yours was manufactured before the repeater series was introduced.

I have the article (if I can find it) from Shooting Times when the "R" repeter version was introduced. The authors name escapes me,(either Jon Sundra or Craig Bottington) but he said the "R" repeter was the most accurate factory rifle he had ever shot.

My ser. # is D0623XX and last year it became a 6mm AI with a 26" SS Shilen SM heavy sporter barrel and it rides in a Stockade Rollover Cheek stock dipped in Predator Camo and the action and barrel were teflon coated by Black Ice Coating.

That action is the smoothest Savage I own, it is smoother then a model 12 T&T by SSS which also has the Evolution trigger.

Mine is a 112 J in 25-06 and is one of the most consistantly accurate rifles I have ever owned. I own a couple single shot savages and I think that the solid reciever might have something to do with it.

Spctrbytz-your post made me go look at my 112 J in .220 Swift. My scope mounts are 2-piece, but have served me exceptionally well since the early 70s! My rig is a single shot, same excellent trigger you praised, with a target-style factory stock. All of my HB varmint rifles are JB Weld-bedded except this one. It shoots so well that I was afraid to mess with it. It is my go-to problem solver on feral dogs, chicken predators like possums and coons and feral cats. This a 40 yr old rifle, shooting a batch of loads (52gr Sierra HPBT/4064(Sierra 1971 Manual) near 3900FPS, loaded in 1996(did 200) that a month ago took a feral dog that stupidly stopped to look back after running 350 yds across a neighbors pasture. DRT! Enjoy you rifle they are great!

Check on EBay. Redfield made single base mounts for quite a few years for this length of action.