Savage Model 12 Palma

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Originally Posted by GEORGEABYSS

What size allen wrench fits in the hole to adjust the up and down of the recoil pad lock screws? I can’t get anything to fit.

IIRC, its a 3/16" allen head. Those blind holes thru the rubber butt pad where the fit is so snug that you can't 'feel' if you are lined up and in the hole or not are a pet peeve of mine (on any gun, not just a Savage). On a gun like the 12 Palma though where you do actually need to access them on a regular basis, they become significantly more annoying.

After you get it off, I'd suggest taking something and drilling out the hole so as to make access easier. Here's what I do: use a chamfer/deburr tool to sharpen up the case mouth of an old .308 (or .30-06, etc.) case and chuck it in a 1/2" hand drill or drill press. Use that to cut out a plug of the recoil pad so you can actually reach in with the 3/16" allen wrench as needed to get to the adjustments on the butt plate.

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The rubber bumper on the bottom side of the bolt seems to only be attached on one side.

Thats a newer change; neither of my Palma rifles (one from the initial production run in 2008, and one from early 2011) have that but my 12 LRP (just slightly later in 2011) does. If it really bothers you, call Savage Customer Support - otherwise I'd say take some super-glue and fix it.

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The cheek piece was loose when I got the rifle it sesames to snap on but if you screw it down too far it pops off is this normal?

The cheek piece hardware is a nice idea, but I'm not a real big fan of the execution of that idea on this rifle (they took an existing design and subbed it out to a small job shop and it shows). There is a small c-clip inside the hole that the little 'ball' headed allen bolt that runs the cheek piece up and down fits into. The fit is somewhat touchy, and can easily come loose at inopportune times. Here's my fix: unscrew the cheekpiece all the way out, and remove it from the rifle. Be careful to not lose the adjuster thumbwheel or the nylon spacers for it. Look at the underside of the bar that ties together the threaded allen bolt and the two guide rods for the cheek piece. You should find two counter-sunk holes in that bar, with matching holes in the metal bar that is inletted into the wooden cheek piece. Go to the hardware store and get two #10 x 3/4" or 1" wood screws, and permanently screw the cheek piece to the adjuster bar. No it won't be 'quick detachable' any more, and you'll have to crank the cheek piece all the way down to clean the gun (or all the way down and remove it) but it will eliminate most of the 'problems' with the adjustable cheek piece hardware on this rifle in my experience.