The question has come up on the smooth nut removal, this is a one off report so it could be dramatically different on another rifle.

I like to start with minimal force and or affects, so on the 116 I put it in the action vice and then used my good 18 inch pipe wrench which is the longest one I have at home.

This one came off easily. Almost effortless. No pin hole in the bottom either. I was ready to use heat as that's not a great grip ( or cut ) neither in this case was required.

The 12FV bought about a year ago took all I could do without heat. I had the nut wrench (17 inches) as well as a breaker bar at 90 degree and had to put the bottom handle in the action wrench to bear against the vice before it came loose. Very close to using heat. Probably should have.

The thing that really got my attention was putting on the barrel that I am going to test with, it would not screw in.

Cleaned the threads good, added the abhorred anti seize, crossed my mind what NSS said about the action wrench torque should be under 25 lbs on the cap screws, hmmm, put on at 20, but.

So I loosed them up and the barrel went in just fine.

That is a first and I don't know if Savage is making the receivers lighter for that line or what, but I had almost no torque on the cap screws.

Its the 116 Hunter XP if anyone has had similar experience it would be good to hear.

Not a warm fuzzy to have light set and how much squeeze that put on the receiver at the threads.