I tried my new Savage 12 FV .223 (1:9 twist) with 69 grain SMK and TMK bullets yesterday.
All 5 round groups @ 100 yards with temperatures in the high 30s, winds under 5 mph, altitude 250 ft. in Northern VA.

I mounted a cheap Leatherwood 8-32x56mm scope I bought on a big sale but never used just to break in the new rifle.
Based on these results, I think there is a scope upgrade in this rifle's future.
This rifle came with the LE/Varmint Accu-trigger set at 1 lb.11 oz. so I didn't adjust it any further.

The first load was used to adjust the scope - first at 25 yards and then at 100 yds and used 5 rounds.
It also seems like there is some truth to the comments on this forum about having to shoot a new Savage Barrel more than 10 rounds before it begins to group.
The groups were shot in the opposite order so the SMK groups got better as the rifle shot in.
The load description shows the powder, charge, seating depth, case trim length, primer, bullet exit time, and load temp/shooting temp.
# Groups Load Description Bullet Bullet Weight Vel. Group (in.) 3-Shots % Minutes of Angle Avg Group (in.) 3 shots % Minutes of Angle Mean Std Dev 1 2 3 4
3 IMR4166 24.4 2.265 case 1.750 CCI BR-4 wf 1.361 * 36/37 deg. Sierra Match King # 1380 69 2953 0.313 30% 0.399 38.1% 0.422 0.078 0.313 0.422 0.463
4 IMR4166 24.2 2.317 case 1.750 CCI BR-4 wf 1.361 *39/37 deg. Sierra Tipped Match King #7169 69 2948 0.289 28% 0.367 35.0% 0.367 0.067 0.289 0.339 0.394 0.444
Overall 0.381 0.394 0.068