Has this happened to you???

[SteelerNation]

I was at the range the other day with my Savage 12 F/TR in .308 and had a problem I never experienced with any other firearm I've ever owned. So, the rifle is pretty much new and has less than 75 rounds through it in a total of only 5 outings.

So....

Last time at the range I took a shot and had a bit of difficulty opening the bolt. Checked the rifle over up and down and thought I had a bad round, etc.... HOWEVER, as I was inspecting the rifle I noticed the entire barrel was jiggling on the stock!

Carefully turned the rifle over and BOTH bolts on the underside of the stock were completely loose to the point I could hand turn them! In addition, the Allen bolts on the trigger assembly were also completely loose!

I almost had a panick attack right then and there. I took the rifle home and took all the bolts out and noticed they were dry. No loctight, etc. had been applied at the factory. Wow.

I ALWAYS check my firearms, disassemble and clean and properly lubricate BEFORE its first outing. However, I've never had to, or thought about, completely removing the barrel from the stock etc. The bolts initially were tight. I remember that, but apparently had loosened within the 75 round or so I fired.

So, lesson learned! I feel like I want to blame myself, but at the same time, I NEVER had suck an issue with ANY other firearm in all my years of shooting...

I don't know if this was a mistake at the factory, or is common for Savage rifles, as this is my first rifle of theirs I've ever owned.

Any comments on this from you guys? Is this strange or not!

In any case, this really upset me. It could have turned into a dangerous situation at the worst, or at the least, damages the rifle.....

AND YES! They are all Loc-tightened now!

[Sawfish]

It is always a good idea to check guard screw and scope mount tightness every couple of trips to the range. Even though you may not have shot the gun very much, many times the vibration of travel (or shipping)will cause screws to vibrate loose. If you check them on a regular basis, and torque your guard screws, Loctite will not be necessary. If you were not removing the rifle from the stock, what were you disassembling when cleaning your gun? Always a good idea to remove the barreled action from a new gun to ensure nothing has gotten into the barrel channel from the manufacturing process, and to thoroughly clean and rustproof the barreled action. This will also give you the opportunity to check other areas for loose screws.

[jonbearman]

I hope you used blue Loctite so they can be removed later if necessary.

[eddiesindian]

While getting load development done on my new model 10 fcp with a hs stock 3 years ago,I to ran into loose action screws as well. I grabbed my range bag, got my Allens and tighten,d away. Finished my shooting,got home,and simply re torqued the bolts to my specs. No lock tight needed. As bear man asked.....I hope you used a medium lock tight. If torqued correctly,you shouldn't need any lock tight on action bolts.

[SteelerNation]

While getting load development done on my new model 10 fcp with a hs stock 3 years ago,I to ran into loose action screws as well. I grabbed my range bag, got my Allens and tighten,d away. Finished my shooting,got home,and simply re torqued the bolts to my specs. No lock tight needed. As bear man asked.....I hope you used a medium lock tight. If torqued correctly,you shouldn't need any lock tight on action bolts.

Yea!

Ok....so its not unusual...

Any yes....I only use Blue Loctite.....

[mousemotors]

Never had any of mine get loose and I don't use Loctite.