Accufit issues

[cprstn54]

Just bought a 110 Tactical Desert LH in 6.5CM, my fourth Savage rifle. 100% satisfied with prior stuff.

Out of the box, the iron bolt handle base had a thru-crack. A new one was sent under warranty.

Bolt lift was brutal, so I added a lift kit.

Then I went to adjust the accufit buttstock. My rifle rifle came with the biggest (around 1") pull spacer installed, requiring the provided #10, 2", pan head sheet metal screws. Instructions say use only one spacer, but I needed 1-3/4" to get a correct pull, which I reduced to 1-1/2" due to what screw lengths were on hand at Home Depot. Now I have to worry about maybe too much leverage on what looks to me to be a dubious arrangement. Anyone with some experience?

The buttstock is hollow and held together with the aforesaid two sheet metal screws that thread into molded-in thin plastic tubes attached to the shell interior. I have seen this construction on consumer items and toys, but never on a gun. This rifle is so barrel-heavy they could have made the buttstock sold plastic and you wouldn't have noticed, or beefed up the plastic and used captive metal nuts and machine screws.

There is a chunk of rigid foam jammed into the hollow. My guess is it prevents oil-canning. Anyone know for sure?

Lastly, I do not see any provision to keep water out of the hollow interior. Anyone know if it can migrate to other parts of the rifle?

On the positive side, the gun is accurate.

Ken

[big honkin jeep]

The 2 screw arrangement to retain the recoil pad/butt plate arrangement has been used on the factory synthetics for decades on several brands of rifles.
Despite many deluges while hunting over the decades, I've never had water get into one of the the stocks.

I even shortened one of the old staggerfeed flatback factory synthetics well beyond the "thin plastic tubes"which were cut off and then rebuilt the arrangement using tape to hold epoxy in the "upper and lower "corners" (for lack of a better term) and coating the screws with release agent. I did have to reshape the recoil pad/butt plate on a belt sander to taper the fit to the new shorter and smaller stock profile of the carbine I had created.

As long as you didn't run the wrong size screws into the "plastic tubes" using mechanical advantage to split them then you should never have a problem.
The foam has been in use for decades as well and as far as I can tell just acts to help deaden sound and keep it from sounding like a drum.
Good luck BHJ

[cprstn54]

They use the same arrangement on Hayward above-ground pool skimmers. The tubes last around 10 years of two screw-out-screw-ins per year and then give up. I guess they will not wear out on the Savage, which would require a cycle only each time the rifle changes hands.

Nevertheless, captive nuts and machine screws would last forever and cost very little.

[Newtosavage]

Captive nuts are only good until they strip out of the plastic. Then they are worse than sheet metal screws in plastic "tubes."

I've had plenty of Savage hollow plastic stock now that use the sheet metal screws to hold on considerable recoil pads. I've removed said recoil pads dozens of times to repaint or adjust or whatever, and have never experienced a problem. I'd say it's a simple approach to a simple issue.