newbie with 12FV, so many questions...

[upinthehills]

I did get a look with a x10 magnifier and it seemed like it might be some finish material, it makes sense. It was a couple threads down though. I did get the bottoming tap and was worried about getting it started but that went fine. It started OK in all the holes but had trouble about 2-3 turns down. One hole, second from back, has a flaw now and the screw wants to get crooked after a couple of turns but if you hold it straight it lines up and goes down fine. I was very glad I bought the bottoming tap when it came time to do the front hole.

I found some old Savage catalogs here and see the listed the 12FV as a standard model several years ago. So far I am happy with it. People who have handled it say they are impressed with how smooth the action is. The stock is plastic but seems stiffer and stronger than one I saw being used as an example in how to bed an action on some other thread here. It need to upgrade to wood, but will do fine for now until I decide what to get.

It took most of a box of 20 cartridges to get the scope zeroed. It's the first time I've shot a centerfire rifle and there was some practice involved. I shot 2 or 3 rounds at 30 ft. and then moved to 100 yds. but couldn't find the first shot or two. The last 2 rounds where under an inch on the center of the target. I have the trigger set light and a couple rounds went down range a little before I intended, it's just a much lighter trigger now than my Model 19.

When I got home the scope looked like it was backed up to the rear of the rail, so I think it moved a bit. So I'll check it's vertical and rethink if I like where it is and then torque it down a little harder. I don't have a torque wrench for something this little.

[RC20]

Wheeler makes one, $45 or so as I recall.

I don't use one but a lot of experience with screws and what tight is and over doing it.

I just got the 12FV barrel back into an action (I call it my play setup, long actions I can put short or long cartridge in, single load setup)

Range temp was 10 (we do have overhead heaters) I was pretty Michelin man like (bit of breeze so down range it was crisp). I got one 3/8 inch group out of it. Another 5/8 and one 7/8. That can be a good barrel indicators were it was 1/2 MOA when I was shooing it at 75 yds (scope limitation)

First rounds in a long time and generic good shooter in another gun.

I replaced my stock with a Laminate but I did shoot it in the plastic before I did. (Boyd's Thumbhole)

[upinthehills]

Is your stock the "featherweight thumbhole"? I am unsure of the need for using laminate. My Savage Model 19 is 75 years old and doesn't seem to have a problem with warpage on it's stock. The laminate nutmeg stocks seem sort of wood-like from the pictures as opposed to something made from Neon. So maybe that would do for me. I'm trying to decide between the shapes in the Classic, Prarie Hunter and Pro Varmint stocks. I need to measure my barrel and compare to their specs.

My 12FV holds different than my Model 19 and I need to spend some time practicing this and figuring what is comfortable. I saw advice the other day to pick up the rifle with your eyes closed, bring it to your shoulder and then open your eyes and see how it fits. You should be lined up properly with the scope when you get it right. I'm not sure if I've learned a funny habit for holding it because my Model 19 has peep sights, so you sort of lower your head to use it.

While trying this last night I noticed the scope had a good divot in the focus ring where it started hitting the scope mount rail. I am glad I chose a scope known to be rugged, it seems fine. I'm wondering if the EGW scope rail mounts the scope higher than some others. Earlier in the thread someone with the same scope said they got a very tight clearance, but mine seems to have nearly 3/8" of an inch. I need to practice some more but it seems a little high for me with the stock stock.

I measured my fired brass out of curiosity and it seems like it grew about 0.004" in width and about 0.002" in length. Does that sound like I have a loose or tight chamber for a production unit?

[RC20]

I actually have both the featherweight Thumb Hole and a Varmint Thumbhole.

I wanted to put together both a good looking (in my opinion that leaves plastic and composites out) and one I was sure was not a factor in shooting.
The Laminate in Nutmeg does that by default. I like it. I have other colors now just to differential but the Nutmeg is my favorite as it looks like nice wood.

The Nutmeg stock, blue receiver and stainless barrel get a lot of looks and compliments (I was out to please myself but interesting its pretty wide spread)

So Laminate not a have to, but it does eliminate a variable for me, Boyds can cut it spot on and I don't have to get my brother to bed it for me! (he did the EABS)

I bench rest shoot only so any of the walking hunting end is not a factor for me.

.002 is well with any normal for OAL. Varies a lot with loads and mfg of brass.

Diameter. .004 if measure at the base is a severe problem, I think (caveat, warning, alert) that .004 at the neck is normal.

[upinthehills]

OK, so I'm looking at the cases and measuring more carefully. I took 5 cartridges out of the next box of 168 Federal Gold Match and I pulled out 5 of my fired cases. I guess it would be better to measure the same cases before and after, but this is where I a at the moment. The unfired cases seem very consistent, my dial caliper finds the same numbers on all of them. The fired cases are consistent too, they are just a different shape. I think the change in shape is what made trouble. They are very slightly bulged, I can see this with a straight edge but it's not easy.

This time measured carefully, I don't know all the terminology but will try to describe. At the head of the cartridge ( primer end ), there is an indent for the extractor to grab the shell. I measured right at the beginning of the powder section of the case which should be the widest part considering the taper. At this point they all measured between 0.001" and <0.0015" of stretch. Before I was measuring about an 1/8" further down the taper. THe fired brass does not really taper for about the first 0.3"-0.4".

The top of the neck and also the wide part of the shoulder both show about 0.004" of stretch.

RC, thanks for taking the time to respond. I don't reload now, but I'm saving my brass and expect to spend some time learning about it before I invest in the equipment etc.

[upinthehills]

I've been going thru the Boyd's web site carefully trying to find a stock that seems attractive and appropriate for me. I'm just a beginner so not looking for something that's all "Tacticool" that I need to wear sunglasses and camo with and constantly use the word "dude". I'd rather just show up and try to shoot well. At my last match I was one of only a couple of people that had iron sights, it was a rimfire silhouette match and I was using my antique Model 19 with peep sights. I did OK though and wasn't eliminated until the last round. So on the way out though people where all looking at my rifle and saying "nice rifle". It definitely looks 75 years old.

After going thru their website it appears the only "normal" stock that would fit my varmint barrel is the "Rimfire Hunter", the description says it will take up to a 1" barrel. The quote below indicates the centerfire stocks will not have enough wood in them to do that though. You could do it, but it would be goofy looking without any rail left on the sides of the stock.

You cannot fit a varmint barrel into our Classic, FT or Prairie Hunter design stocks unless you are willing to give up the 'flats' or rails on the top and sides of the forend.

After talking to them on the phone they said they can't make the Rimfire Hunter for my Model 12, you can only get stocks their selector tool will allow. :-( The Pro Varmint will work, but it just seems a little "chunky" for what I want and the the tacticool appearance isn't really attractive to me. Plus you have to pay extra to not get it painted black. Possibly attacking it with a belt sander would help but that really ups the size of this part of the project.

Is the Pro Varmint style stock a big help in shooting prone or targets in general or something? Trying to understand the issues here.

This is the Rimfire Hunter stock:
https://www.boydsgunstocks.com/desig...ment-gunstocks

[WV1951]

I had the same issue when I was looking for more of a "traditional" wood stock for my 12FV. Fortunately, a member here had some for sale in a laminate that was nearly a perfect fit. Boyds didn't offer this style in a varmint contour. Seems the thumb hole is the popular style and this one would fill that slot.

http://www.eabco.net/Savage-Thumbhol...k_p_14233.html

[RC20]

It will and I have one, I don't plan on getting antoher one.

Its to the pillars and that means you need to bed it.

For some not a big deal but I am a klutz when it comes to glues and that stuff.

I wound up removing a lot of material so I could do a poor mans bedding and it was ok (strips under the front receiver.

My brother bedded it for me and its good now.

There was a lot of inconstant interference inside the receiver area that had to be cleaned out, rear tang as well. Some around the trigger.

Nice thing about Boyds is its carved perfectly and a nice tight fit out of the box.

[indianasavage]

I put my 12FV in a Bell and Carlson A2 pictured here. I had it inlet by CDI.

[upinthehills]

Groan... I found this link on a thread about stocks for a 12VT, I never considered specifying my rifle this way:
http://www.boydsgunstocks.com/FindAS...=008&Action=1U

If you specify you have a Model 11 with a bull barrel but don't specify top or bottom bolt release, they will offer you lots of stocks. Looking at the version of the classic style stocks with this setting gives a barrel measurement of 0.930" for point "B" ( 9 inches in front of the recoil lug ). My rifle has a measurement of 0.965", so about 1/32" larger...

Tomorrow I'll take off my plastic stock and try to see if the top bolt release is some kind of deal breaker on this. If it's just some custom fitting that doesn't bother me too much. Are there versions of these rifles that don't have a bolt release? My Savage Model 19 only requires you hold the trigger down to release the bolt...

I've looked at some other sites for stocks too like Richard's Microfit Stocks. It's similarly complicated to figure out. One thing they do though is describe the differences between the stocks pretty well. It still takes a lot of work but eventually they describe how each of the stocks in a category can be made by modifying a basic stock in that catagory. That's helpful if you're willing to get a rasp out and go at the shape.

[SageRat Shooter]

I've been going thru the Boyd's web site carefully trying to find a stock that seems attractive and appropriate for me. I'm just a beginner so not looking for something that's all "Tacticool" that I need to wear sunglasses and camo with and constantly use the word "dude". I'd rather just show up and try to shoot well. At my last match I was one of only a couple of people that had iron sights, it was a rimfire silhouette match and I was using my antique Model 19 with peep sights. I did OK though and wasn't eliminated until the last round. So on the way out though people where all looking at my rifle and saying "nice rifle". It definitely looks 75 years old.

After going thru their website it appears the only "normal" stock that would fit my varmint barrel is the "Rimfire Hunter", the description says it will take up to a 1" barrel. The quote below indicates the centerfire stocks will not have enough wood in them to do that though. You could do it, but it would be goofy looking without any rail left on the sides of the stock.



After talking to them on the phone they said they can't make the Rimfire Hunter for my Model 12, you can only get stocks their selector tool will allow. :-( The Pro Varmint will work, but it just seems a little "chunky" for what I want and the the tacticool appearance isn't really attractive to me. Plus you have to pay extra to not get it painted black. Possibly attacking it with a belt sander would help but that really ups the size of this part of the project.

Is the Pro Varmint style stock a big help in shooting prone or targets in general or something? Trying to understand the issues here.

The Pro Varmint is designed for the prone shooting and tactical applications based upon information from military snipers who gave their opinion on what stock is the most comfortable for staying on the scope for extended periods of time as well as function.

I have a Pro Varmint that I just put one on my 11/111 260 Rem build, and it is my favorite stock thus far (Prairie hunter also). It's got enough meat around the forend and barrel channel so you can open the channel wide enough to accommodate a varmint or bull barrel contour.

The black stock is actually just your basic wood (or plywood) stock. The colored ones are Laminated (pressure treated and glued) which reduces the chance of warping when being exposed to the elements and moisture.

[upinthehills]

I learned a little more about the Boyd's stocks, but I'm reconsidering the order to make changes to my rifle. Sometimes Boyd's specifies a barrel channel of .930 for a bull barrel and sometimes 1 1/16". Then they don't always offer you the choices of laminate and only the black paint. So you really have to grovel thru their site to get what you want, a model 11 bull barrel is different than a model 12 bull barrel.

Now I'm thinking getting started on reloading might be a better first choice for me. Saving money on ammo would pay for the stock, and getting range practice is probably what will improve me the most right now. The price was $28 for a box of Federal Gold Match last time.

What I'd like advice on is the types of parts to get for reloading and also the order to buy them. It occurred to me the order is important because spreading the costs over several months sort of puts my new hobby under a certain threshold in terms of things really standing out on my card statement, LOL. This is just a theory at the moment, we'll know if that works in 2 or 3 months.

My thought is that at least the first time or two I can reload my Federal brass which I have saved, then move up to the Lapua cases. I have measured a couple of fired cases and they are the same length as the new ones so I don't think I need to buy a case trimmer up front.

From what I've seen, I like the Redding mechanical scale because it has the little marks that show how far off the balance is at the end of the arm. It should be accurate to a fraction of .1 grains. Or I could start with a cheap electronic scale for the first months, it would be better for weighing things like bullets or my .22 ammo. Not sure if I would learn anything from that though.

I'm thinking of starting with the LE Wilson hand dies for neck sizing and bullet inserting because that would avoid buying a big press right away. I only have one centerfire gun so neck sizing might be enough for a couple of reloads per case? I did see a comment somewhere that these dies do not allow for compressed loads? Is thqt a problem right away?

I am really surprised at the number of powders available and also that there is not more information available on them. I think what I want is very consistent ammo, so looking for powder with low temperature variation and maybe also low copper fouling. Modern powders may be better about these things, but I can't even tell which ones are the modern powders in many cases.

My shooting will mostly be 100-300 yards ( all at targets ), but I found a 1000 yard range I'd like to try this year too. The shorter ranges are a priority getting started.

[hereinaz]

If you shoot prone or off a bench, the provarmint is designed for it and the product of years of design for the style. I love it and I'm no tacticool dude.

The problem isn't the stock design is useless, its exactly what the tactical guys use, and it happens to fit other shooting styles for the same reason.

There is no reason to torque your wrist into a contorted position with a hunting style rifle stock. Seriously, find a gun and shoot it. You may be converted, or not.

If you wear jeans and flannel, no one will judge you as a "tacticool dude". That is the tactical camouflage I prefer for the range so no one bothers me! Maybe even wear corderoy. LOL

[hereinaz]

And, be sure to get the laminate, it is sturdier than the black which is just plywood. The laminate resin is what does the trick. And, it makes it less tacticool.

[SageRat Shooter]

And, be sure to get the laminate, it is sturdier than the black which is just plywood. The laminate resin is what does the trick. And, it makes it less tacticool.

What he said^^^^ The coyote laminate is a really nice color... I actually feel it's more of a field gun then a Tacticool or tactical look. I think it blends in to the natural surroundings if you're in states such as AZ or states that have the high desert which have more light and dark brown colors...

[upinthehills]

If you wear jeans and flannel, no one will judge you as a "tacticool dude". That is the tactical camouflage I prefer

OK! I'm with the program, jeans and flannel I can do.

I'll get the pro varmint in laminate. Only $15 more for walnut but I think the laminate will be good looking. I'm in the northeast so the zombie green is probably the color that fits in, but I'll probably just get the Nutmeg. It's funny, on a classic stock they charge extra for black paint and on this stock they charge extra for laminate.

[hereinaz]

Coyote is my favorite. I do have a nutmeg laminate in a traditional stock on one of my rifles, and it looks good.

[RC20]

At this point probably should open up a post on the reloaders section

Firstly, a lot of reloading is personnel preference. And the other part is superstation. A while back I read an article that the guy had asked like 8 of the top match shooters what was the important aspect of reloading. You could think they all were from different planets. They agreed on almost nothing that was the same as the important aspects. Phew.

Ok, here is my take.

1. Case Trimming: Yes you need one and fairly early. The brass is going to grow. Once fired brass is helped with a prep (de-burr and chamfer as it allows bullets to seat in easier) The ones that really work are what they called the off the shoulder trimmers . They index on the shoulder not the putting the whole case in a device. You would think that does not work, it does.
I have a full length trimmer, no mater where I set the limits, it over trims or under trims. I have to pull each one out and check it.
So, the one to get is the Gerard Tri Trimmer (there is another one I can't remember, same setup ) Both on drill motors. I lock mine in a vice. Gerard makes a bench one that has different adaptors, $450 or so. If you have 5 calibers to do, that's the way to go. Changing adaptors is easy on that. It not only trims to length, it also chamfer and deburs saving those steps and its accurate as opposed to doing that with a hand tool or on a prep statin. $98. Some limit on calibers. .002 or so accuracy.
Little Crow makes a nice one but it does not chamfer or de-burr, $78 or so.

2. Brass: FC is great one time shooting brass, it won't last the reloading process past about 8-10 max no matter what you do. I don't collect it any more, if I had a lot of it I would shoot it till it started to go and dump it. Its very soft, nice for chamber formation, no so much for reloading.

3. Scales: Some charge by volume, I don't like it. I do it by weight. I have used and have two beam scales that some laud as the only things a real reloader should use. Bull (IMNSHO). An electronic scale is the only way to go (and I tend to be a stick in the mud)
It not only does powder down to 1/10th of a grain, you can weight anything with it. Not sure you charged that case, weight it. Want to sort bullets and cases by weight , easy. You can do it on a beam, its a total pain. Frankly I would have two electronic conic vs even a beam as a backup.
The key to them is they drift and you need to watch it. You weight your pan, zero it, then watch the scale when the pan is OFF. Mine weight 150.0. As soon as I see it drift to 150.1 or 150.2, I re-zero the pan. Its as simple as that. You have to re-zero Fairley often at times, other times they stabilize out and you can do 10 or 15. Its much quicker and easier doing it than reading about it.
The one I like now is the Lyman with a trickler built onto the unit. My MO is to under charge, trickle up to what I want. Its not the best triclkler out there, its a bit close and a tad hard to get the pan out but overall it works, has good buttons and display.

Things People Don't Talk About Soon Enough:
1. Sizing: What you need are some tools, you can use them for this as well as COAL (latter). The die mfg will say something like, turn the die down to the shell holder, then another 1/8 turn. That pushes the shoulder back to far, stressed the brass and breaks cases at the base in 8 to 10 rounds.
What you want is the Hornady shoulder adaptors for their measuring (compared set). You also need a decent micrometer. Good ones out there at low cost. Mechanical or digital. You then resize you case, measure what the shoulder is on the case and then with the die above the shell holder, turn it down until you bump the should back .002 of .003. That will fit in one rifle and iffy on others as its sized to that chamber and head space. Mine are all set close to the same so it works for the both 308s.

2. Annealing: Each time you fire the round, the case mouth and shoulder take the heat and are stretched (ergo the trimming). At something around 10 rounds, the brass around the shoulder and neck harden. Bullets become harder to seat (and how tight they are and how consistent that tight is in the neck does have an affect on accuracy)
Worse yet is that if not addressed they will start to split. You can pitch at that point or anneal before it gets to that point.
The problem is that means heat, 700 or so for a short time (few seconds).
Torch: Most use torches. It an be done but its dicey as getting the right temperature and time without going too far is not easy, takes a lot of practice. Don't buy into the it changes to orange and that is just right. Its gone too far.
The biggest caveat is that you don't heat the case up so much that heat goes down the body. That will ruing it. Larger cases like 308, 30-06 are very hard to do that on but not impossible. . . Its smaller cases like 223 and such that it can get dicey.
Ruptured cases will occur if the base gets too soft. there is a lot of heat treatment that goes into a case in mfg to get it right.
That said, usually you under anneal or over anneal and that mans the shoulder and neck are soft, but will not fail. They just are not consistent (over anneal does not re-harden, it stays too soft). Under anneal just means it hardens up quick and may split.
I am lucky, my brother had an inductive annealer I take my cases over and in 30 minutes I can do 500 or more. Its eppensive . His is an Annie, about $550 for the annealer and the right adaptor.

Dies: Phew, opinions all over the map. I pretty much like them all. I am a Full Length die proponent as I shoot my rounds in two guns and neck sizing does not appeal to me.
What I do like is the match dies, a bit better tolerances and the seating dies with the micrometer head for accurate shooting and COAL adjustment is a must. RCBS makes a good one of that type, Forster does as well but theirs is caliber specific where as RCBS can be used for at least common caliber (there is a long shell adaptor to allow use for 308 and 30-06.
Forster makes a nice one, its caliber specific though. Redding, Lyman and Lee all work and I have some of each.

Bullet Seating: Like the case sizing, bullet seating is done best referenced off the OGVIE (shoulder) of the bullet not the tip. Tips have quite a bit of variant. OGVIE has variation but not as much.

Same device you screw on the micrometer blade as the Case shoulder is used for the bullet adaptor . Its just caliber specific (30, 7mm, 243/6.5 etc. COAL does make a difference in what gun likes what length best.

Ok, enough for now. Press? They are all ok, again I have RCBS not because its the best, its what we had and it works fine after 35 years (actually have 3, a Junior I take to the range to adjust COAL as I shoot to fine tune new loads)

Forster has a nice one that may align better or have less run out on a load.

If you have room two is easier.

I do single stage press, lots of discussion about merits of turrets and progressive etc.

I learned a little more about the Boyd's stocks, but I'm reconsidering the order to make changes to my rifle. Sometimes Boyd's specifies a barrel channel of .930 for a bull barrel and sometimes 1 1/16". Then they don't always offer you the choices of laminate and only the black paint. So you really have to grovel thru their site to get what you want, a model 11 bull barrel is different than a model 12 bull barrel.

Now I'm thinking getting started on reloading might be a better first choice for me. Saving money on ammo would pay for the stock, and getting range practice is probably what will improve me the most right now. The price was $28 for a box of Federal Gold Match last time.

What I'd like advice on is the types of parts to get for reloading and also the order to buy them. It occurred to me the order is important because spreading the costs over several months sort of puts my new hobby under a certain threshold in terms of things really standing out on my card statement, LOL. This is just a theory at the moment, we'll know if that works in 2 or 3 months.

My thought is that at least the first time or two I can reload my Federal brass which I have saved, then move up to the Lapua cases. I have measured a couple of fired cases and they are the same length as the new ones so I don't think I need to buy a case trimmer up front.

From what I've seen, I like the Redding mechanical scale because it has the little marks that show how far off the balance is at the end of the arm. It should be accurate to a fraction of .1 grains. Or I could start with a cheap electronic scale for the first months, it would be better for weighing things like bullets or my .22 ammo. Not sure if I would learn anything from that though.

I'm thinking of starting with the LE Wilson hand dies for neck sizing and bullet inserting because that would avoid buying a big press right away. I only have one centerfire gun so neck sizing might be enough for a couple of reloads per case? I did see a comment somewhere that these dies do not allow for compressed loads? Is thqt a problem right away?

I am really surprised at the number of powders available and also that there is not more information available on them. I think what I want is very consistent ammo, so looking for powder with low temperature variation and maybe also low copper fouling. Modern powders may be better about these things, but I can't even tell which ones are the modern powders in many cases.

My shooting will mostly be 100-300 yards ( all at targets ), but I found a 1000 yard range I'd like to try this year too. The shorter ranges are a priority getting started.

[upinthehills]

Ordered the Pro Varmint in nutmeg last night. (Actually a couple days ago, I have so many questions it takes me three days to write this thank-you note to RC :-) )

RC20, thanks for taking the time to write such detailed answers for me. I figured I would get to the reloading section when I get a little more figured out, maybe the answers get complicated right away though.

So far I like what I've read about the hand dies from LE Wilson. Right now though I'm trying to decide between the Wilson "case length head space gauge" and something that is adjustable like the RCBS "precision mic cartridge headspace tool". The RCBS unit costs $15 more and comes with a plastic adjustable cartridge! There is also the Whidden Gunworks case gauge which is mic adjustable. I think I favor the Wilson gauge, because it's the most simple. It will function as a standard to measure my dial caliper too, maybe have a machinist friend check it with a really good micrometer...

I didn't see the Hornady case gauges right away because they are listed in a different section of the reloading area on Brownells/Sinclair. I'm not sure what the advantage of those is yet...

This 12FV is my only centerfire rifle, my first reloading will be 6 boxes of saved brass from Federal Gold Match. If I can get 2-3 reloads out of this then I can get better brass and also full length dies. I'm trying to choose a case gauge that makes sense.

http://www.brownells.com/reloading/m...prod80617.aspx

[Newtosavage]

Fixed :)

As for everything else, before you start jumping in to change things I would recommend going out and shooting it a good bit to see what YOU like and don't like about YOUR rifle. Everybody has their opinions on what does and doesn't need done to a Savage to make it better, but you can't know what needs fixed or improved on YOUR rifle if you don't know what you have to start with or what you like/don't like about what you have. All you end up doing when you start changing things without first getting a base line is chasing your tail because you have nothing to compare it to to know if the changes made things better or worse.

This is probably the #1 biggest mistake I see so many people make when it comes to firearms. You would serve yourself better by spending that money on higher quality ammunition or getting setup to reload your own ammunition as that will do more for improving accuracy and consistency than most any modifications you might make.

Two things I've learned running this site over the last 14 years is that 1) most Savage's will shoot better than you can right out of the box, and 2) folks throw a lot of good money away buying upgrades they really don't need.

Some solid advice right there... I removed the Accustock for a tupperware stock, swapped bottom metal for plastic, and dropped the "tactical" bolt knob for a lightweight knob on a .308 model 11 I used to own. All I lost was about 2 lbs. of carry weight. Still shot sub-MOA to 300 yards, as a sub-7 lb. rifle.

[RC20]

upinthehills:

You are welcome. Its does not hurt to start out with basics, just that once I got past 8 rounds I found that no longer worked with broken case base (the minimum bump back of as close to .002 as you can get. ) and split necks (the need to anneal)

My take was that I just got the Hornady tool, measured the shoulder when fired and then bumped back the minimum.

http://www.hornady.com/store/Lock-N-...h-Body-1-Each/

Also works for Bullet Ogive with the adaptors that go on the body for that use as well.

[upinthehills]

I removed the Accustock for a tupperware stock, swapped bottom metal for plastic, and dropped the "tactical" bolt knob for a lightweight knob on a .308 model 11 I used to own. All I lost was about 2 lbs. of carry weight. Still shot sub-MOA to 300 yards, as a sub-7 lb. rifle.

That's great information, I believe it. They say once people spend money on something they tend to believe it works and if they pay more they are more convinced. Maybe I should have waited on the wood stock, but I just like wood. There was a great picture on the LE Wilson website showing the founder shooting bench rest years ago with what looked like a home made gun mounted on a 2x4 or maybe a 4x4 with some chiseling.

Also works for Bullet Ogive with the adaptors that go on the body for that use as well.

Can you use a micrometer bullet seating die to measure this?

RC, your brother's setup with the induction annealer seems like the right thing. Just using a propane torch seems pretty random.

[wfournier]

Interesting thread, I can't help but notice the similarities between your situation and my own having just picked up a 12FV (in 223 though) that I have been thinking of putting in a Boyds stock and I'm getting equipment together to start reloading. It's also my first centerfire rifle and I'm in Massachusetts lol.

[upinthehills]

Wfournier, that's great. Feel free to use this thread for your questions. Have you mounted a scope yet? You can borrow my tap if it's convenient. I am very happy with my SWFA scope. What part of the state are you located in? We can compare notes on places to shoot. I am in MetroWest area.

My stock is on the way somewhere between Illinois and here right now according to the tracking. When I install the stock I am going to double check the length of engagement on the screws. I found the front screw was a little loose when I worked on my scope mounts the other day. I'm not sure it engages as many threads as would be ideal. It's definitely a good idea to clean the threads and use some Loctite on them.

[wfournier]

I did mount my scope, I got some Talley rings with the integrated bases and mounted an SWFA 10X42 I got years ago back when I was in high school (with the idea of eventually putting it on something like this rather than the 22 I had at the time, took a little while lol). Mounting was uneventful for me everything went together smoothly, I did lap the rings a little (I picked up a wheeler kit on a Amazon deal), things were pretty close out of the box but I figured it wouldn't hurt. The SWFA scope I have has been solid but has has developed some internal dust so I'll be sending it in to SWFA soon to have them go over it. Did you end up with the pro varmint stock in the coyote color? I've been looking at them and do like that combo but I am feeling a little unoriginal after reading all this.

I'm in western MA out near umass about 10 minutes from the Granby club with the 1000 yard range, I'm not a member there but probably will be before long but the membership fee is just a bit of a pill to swallow.

I finished breaking in the rifle today and shot a couple groups with the Federal match ammo I had picked up and was pretty happy with the results, about .55 center to center for 5 shots at 100 yards