Savage 12 Long Range Precision - 6.5 Creedmoor
- Thread starter alpha0815
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I had a 260 lrp and it was great. For a factory rifle I'm not sure if you can beat it for the price and the trigger is fantastic. If your looking for a heavier rifle with a detachable mag give it a try, if it's not what your after you'll only lose a few hundred bucks flipping it. IIRC there was room in the mag to seat the bullets out further than factory and other than a long action action sako there is not many other factory rifles that I know of with a detachable mag that allow you to do that
There is a couple guys at my club who are beating the custom class in the bench shoots with lrp's in 223
There is a couple guys at my club who are beating the custom class in the bench shoots with lrp's in 223
I think a more specific question might be helpful. Are you asking about if the 6.5 Creedmoor is a good choice for someone who doesn't handload? Or are you asking if the Savage is an accurate enough rifle to use factory ammo with and still attain good results? Or Both?
If you are asking about the 6.5 creedmoor IMO it is the best "Match" grade cartridge you can buy factory ammo for, I Have a Ruger #1 in 6.5 Creed and it shoots amazing out to 800 yards. I haven't been able to shoot farther with it tho to say about extended ranges. I do handload for it but when I first got it it came with a box of Hornady match that it loves too.
If you are asking about the Savage my opinion about them is you cannot get more Bang for you buck than a Savage, they flat out shoot and they are cheap. Are there better rifles, Yes but for the money.... No. Again just my opinion.
If you are asking about the 6.5 creedmoor IMO it is the best "Match" grade cartridge you can buy factory ammo for, I Have a Ruger #1 in 6.5 Creed and it shoots amazing out to 800 yards. I haven't been able to shoot farther with it tho to say about extended ranges. I do handload for it but when I first got it it came with a box of Hornady match that it loves too.
If you are asking about the Savage my opinion about them is you cannot get more Bang for you buck than a Savage, they flat out shoot and they are cheap. Are there better rifles, Yes but for the money.... No. Again just my opinion.
As others have said for factory match grade ammo the 6.5 Creedmoor is hands down the best option.
As for the Savage 12 LRP...18 months ago I would have said unequivocally "yes, that rifle is the best budget option". Now I'm hesitant to recommend it due to number of recent post here on the Hide detailing short throats and chambering issues.
https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/...ds-cse&usg=AFQjCNH9zXBCBHSRrT-zuhl_5juRYpVBGg
https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/...ds-cse&usg=AFQjCNHh4pcde36MEtBbEGaYqBv0gKhJ8g
https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/...ds-cse&usg=AFQjCNEfiv3rCbyEXIYkhKZEFslTeTCFVw
If your budget allows my recommendation would be to make your own 12 LRP. You can get a 12 Varmint action and HS stock from Jim Briggs at Northland Shooter Supply (skip the precision ground recoil lug) and spin on a Shilen or Criterion match grade barrel. Add an EGW or Warne 20MOA base, your favorite optic, and grab some 10 round magazines from Dana at Dark Eagle Customs.
As for the Savage 12 LRP...18 months ago I would have said unequivocally "yes, that rifle is the best budget option". Now I'm hesitant to recommend it due to number of recent post here on the Hide detailing short throats and chambering issues.
https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/...ds-cse&usg=AFQjCNH9zXBCBHSRrT-zuhl_5juRYpVBGg
https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/...ds-cse&usg=AFQjCNHh4pcde36MEtBbEGaYqBv0gKhJ8g
https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/...ds-cse&usg=AFQjCNEfiv3rCbyEXIYkhKZEFslTeTCFVw
If your budget allows my recommendation would be to make your own 12 LRP. You can get a 12 Varmint action and HS stock from Jim Briggs at Northland Shooter Supply (skip the precision ground recoil lug) and spin on a Shilen or Criterion match grade barrel. Add an EGW or Warne 20MOA base, your favorite optic, and grab some 10 round magazines from Dana at Dark Eagle Customs.
I've owned two Savage 12 LRP rifles, and aside from the lack of lapping and polishing on the factory barrels (which causes immediate copper fouling) they were both great shooters. They were purchased a month apart, but each came with a different H-S Precision stock. When you get serious about things, I suggest a Criterion pre-chambered barrel from Jim at Northland Shooting Supply. If I were to do it all over again, I would have pulled the factory barrel on day one and paid $350 for one of these custom barrels. They've made a world of difference!
Now for the cartridge: .260 Remington and 6.5 Creedmoor are virtually identical, with extremely minuscule pros and cons between the two. You said you're not loading your own ammunition, but will this always be the case? You can find more 260 ammunition on the market, but 6.5 Creedmoor is slightly less expensive. Once you start loading your own ammunition, which might happen sooner then you think, the picture changes.
Another thought: purchase the http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/firearms-sale/259819-wts-savage-target-repeater-action.html I'm selling, buy that Criterion barrel in 260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmoor, get the stock and scope you want, and never waste a cent on a barrel that sends your bullets (and money) into the dirt.
Now for the cartridge: .260 Remington and 6.5 Creedmoor are virtually identical, with extremely minuscule pros and cons between the two. You said you're not loading your own ammunition, but will this always be the case? You can find more 260 ammunition on the market, but 6.5 Creedmoor is slightly less expensive. Once you start loading your own ammunition, which might happen sooner then you think, the picture changes.
Another thought: purchase the http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/firearms-sale/259819-wts-savage-target-repeater-action.html I'm selling, buy that Criterion barrel in 260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmoor, get the stock and scope you want, and never waste a cent on a barrel that sends your bullets (and money) into the dirt.
I have that exact rifle, or rather savage has it. Had major pressure issues using factory ammo. Crack bolt face and broken ejector. Shooting partner of mine had the same issue with his, sent it to savage, still blowing primers. It is important to point out that I have a ruger hawkeye that shoots the same ammo side by side with zero problem. Have made first round hits at 1000 yds on 12"x12" steel with it. Not nagging on savage just letting you know true stories. I look forward to getting it back as I do love the rifle otherwise
Solid info here. But as always...has me left with decisions decisions. This is the first I've heard of pressure issues using factory ammo. Lots of folks out there with nothing but good things to say about it shooting factory Hornady 120 and 140 A-Max
Alpha, keep in mind that like all volume production manufacturers, Savage will have some rifles that do not do well and will have many more that are excellent rifles out of the box. Statistically, that's how it works with almost all manufacturing processes. Like other things in life, you will hear much more written about those that have negative experiences than those that are happy. That is natural, as most do not bother writing about their positive experiences with a product, but most will want to tell others about the negative or outright horrible experiences.
What I am saying in short is, that while you should do your research on any potential purchase of that size, keep things in perspective to reality.
What I am saying in short is, that while you should do your research on any potential purchase of that size, keep things in perspective to reality.
The issue is not overly abundant, but it has happened quite a bit. Since sending mine off, I've read of quite a few cases of the exact same thing. I still feel they are damn good other than that. But, look into it cause I promise you it's reL
And one caution on the savage Creedmoor. After putting in a factory class in our local ranges bench rest match many people went out and bought Savage rifles. There were a few 6.5x284s, a few 6brs, and many 260s& 6.5 Creedmoor 3 or 4 of the Creedmoor all had the same problem. The chambers were terrible in them. Brass couldn't be reloaded after fired in it.savage fixed the prkblem and allowed smiths of their choice to fix it and they picked up the bill. Just going to give a heads up if there were any problems you thought you might have. None of the other cartridges had a problem and a few of the other Creedmoor were awesome. And BTW, I love my Creedmoor gap built for me. Awesome round. They are within 20fps +/- of my 260s as well. Good luck
Two buddies ordered the LRP's. When they received them one had a chip on the stock and was sent back for replacement.
We took the good one and did barrel break in with hornady factory ammo. It did not group well with 140, 120 Amax nor 120 GMX. We started looking a load and could not get it to shoot. We noticed the chamber was cut short when we extracted a unfired round and it had rifling marks on it.
looking for similar posts we did find that it is an occurring issue with the 6.5 LRP. Savage did send UPS to pick up the gun and buddy stated it took him longer to give info on who he was than describing the problem to the rep. Stated rep said "I've heard enough" when he told them about the marks on bullet.
Meanwhile the other LRP, one that had chipped stock, arrived and showed all the potential we have heard about. Sub MOA with factory Amax
We took the good one and did barrel break in with hornady factory ammo. It did not group well with 140, 120 Amax nor 120 GMX. We started looking a load and could not get it to shoot. We noticed the chamber was cut short when we extracted a unfired round and it had rifling marks on it.
looking for similar posts we did find that it is an occurring issue with the 6.5 LRP. Savage did send UPS to pick up the gun and buddy stated it took him longer to give info on who he was than describing the problem to the rep. Stated rep said "I've heard enough" when he told them about the marks on bullet.
Meanwhile the other LRP, one that had chipped stock, arrived and showed all the potential we have heard about. Sub MOA with factory Amax
Well Savage seems to be a pretty solid and stable gun manufacturer, wouldn't you think they would address the issue and solve the problem instead of continuing to put out bad chambers?
Juno, how long ago was this? I would hope that if you found a late 2014 produced rifle, it would not have an issue. But I'm completely speculating here.
Juno, how long ago was this? I would hope that if you found a late 2014 produced rifle, it would not have an issue. But I'm completely speculating here.
I also would expect that they would have resolved the 6.5 creedmoor clambering issue by now. From a pure manufacturing point of view, I can imagine that they could have produced hundreds of barrels in a single production run that were out of spec. Should quality control have caught this? We'll yes, of course they should have, but obviously they missed it.
Now, if Savage found this out and then failed to correct the manufacturing problem, I would really have a problem with that.
Now, if Savage found this out and then failed to correct the manufacturing problem, I would really have a problem with that.
Not sure what good it will do, but I am going to contact Savage about this. I just did a few searches and this is much more of a common problem than I thought. Not comfortable dropping 1000 bones on a rifle that may or may not have a properly sized chamber.
We'll see what Savage has to say.
We'll see what Savage has to say.
Good advice here but when I ordered my CIB barrel from Jim, their 12 action was a single shot and no detachable mag versions were avaliable. That was my plan to get a receiver and barrel from him but didn't want a single shot. Ended up taking my 10PC apart and using it for the build.
I had the same issue with my 12lrp 6.5. Sent it back to savage. They "polished the chamber" and got it back to me in about 3 weeks. It no longer scratched up the brass and the 140's no longer jammed into the lands, but it still doesn't group worth a damn. Factory 140 Amax shoots about 1.25 moa. I've tried working up loads with 140Amax, Hornady 140hpbt and Nosler 140 cust comp and haven't found a consistent sub moa load yet. I'm about ready to junk the barrel for a Criterion or something similar. I have 2 other Savages in .223 and .308 and both are sub moa. I was hoping for more with this rifle, but its been a real disappointment.
I have a Savage 12 LRP in 6.5, it has about 2000 rounds through it, still shoots 1/2 moa if I do my part. No short chamber on mine, I can load to mag length.
You are one of the lucky ones then. I had one as well and got rid of it. The chamber was pooched on it. Loading factory ammo, when chambering a round, about half way there would be resistance and you had to force the bolt forward. When you ejected a case, it was getting gouged on the side. It was a significant gouge as well, not a scratch. Some Savages shoot good but its a hit and miss and there are issues with them which is evident just in this thread alone. You get what you pay for and as far as I am concerned Savages are cheap junk in my opinion.
Not sure if correlation equals causation, but it seems like most of these Savage chambering issues (be it the LRP or the short throats on 308) began surfacing right around the time they were purchased by ATK.
While I wouldn't be surprised at a run of bad barrels and/or chambers, Hornady putting out bad lots of 140 A-Max certainly doesn't do much to help narrow things down...although if handloading doesn't "fix" the accuracy issue then it obviously goes back to the rifle itself.
2013 sure seems like it was a crappy year for QC in the firearm industry as a whole.
While I wouldn't be surprised at a run of bad barrels and/or chambers, Hornady putting out bad lots of 140 A-Max certainly doesn't do much to help narrow things down...although if handloading doesn't "fix" the accuracy issue then it obviously goes back to the rifle itself.
2013 sure seems like it was a crappy year for QC in the firearm industry as a whole.
I had the same issue with a 25-06 back in 07 or 08, and my mother's 243 also had the same issue, that was bought in '12. Her throat was bad enough it would frequently pull bullets out of the casing.
I've always been a Remington guy, but it seems I've constantly heard the cries of Savage fans screaming they are the best thing since sliced bread. So after a little research and a want for a 6.5C, I figured the 12 LRP would fit the bill.
Now it seems like the problems are coming out the woodworks
Guess I'll just have to save up and go custom. And wait a long time for the build to be complete. I'm sure I'll start reloading before too long, but I was excited that at least 'some' of the LRP models really like the factory Hornady loads.
Now it seems like the problems are coming out the woodworks
Guess I'll just have to save up and go custom. And wait a long time for the build to be complete. I'm sure I'll start reloading before too long, but I was excited that at least 'some' of the LRP models really like the factory Hornady loads.
I've always been a Remington guy, but it seems I've constantly heard the cries of Savage fans screaming they are the best thing since sliced bread. So after a little research and a want for a 6.5C, I figured the 12 LRP would fit the bill.
Now it seems like the problems are coming out the woodworks
Guess I'll just have to save up and go custom. And wait a long time for the build to be complete. I'm sure I'll start reloading before too long, but I was excited that at least 'some' of the LRP models really like the factory Hornady loads.
Problems aren't coming out of the wood works, they're just being reported in small numbers. A few dozen mis-machined chambers doesn't equal numerous Remington model recalls.
And here we go...lol. I want the LRP, I really do. But do a search and look how many issues you will find on them. Not only chamber issues, but it seems around mid-2013 sometime, there are a lot of owners not happy with the accuracy. Experienced shooters that cant get grouping below 1.25" @ 100 yards. One of my factory Rem 700's shoots < 3/4" regularly. But this isn't about Remington. I wanted to try the Savage LRP 6.5C and I still may. Just a bit discouraging to see some of these responses and findings.
I'll be the first to admit that of the three center-fire Savage rifles I've purchased in as many years, all three have had accurate* barrels that fouled almost immediately because none of them were lapped. The first few rounds would be fine, but once copper collected as the heat increased they would spread out. Buying a Criterion barrel was the best thing I've ever done to one of my Savage rifles, and not something you can do as simply (or cheaply) with a Remington. On an unrelated note, my Savage MKII barrel is made in Canada and IS lapped and polished.
If I were to 'pull the trigger' on a new Savage LRP and it ended up not shooting sub MOA, what all is involved to switch over to a Criterion barrel? If I were to bring a new barrel and factory LRP rifle to a qualified gunsmith, how much work and funds (estimate) would it take?
I've also recently read that these actions have 3 screws and the torque values sometimes take a little tweaking to get grouping tight
I've also recently read that these actions have 3 screws and the torque values sometimes take a little tweaking to get grouping tight
Or, you are one of the unlucky ones. Savage has a few bad copies go out the door, as do Remington and everyone else. I highly doubt only a few "lucky ones" get good copies. As with any product, those dissatisfied few are very vocal about it and the very satisfied majority is quietly enjoying their product. Rifles are no different, regardless of manufacturer. Even GM with their 26+ million recalled vehicles so far this year still manages to sell vehicles to satisfied customers.
Savage Target Action (no magazine) has three screws, but the 12 LRP comes with a Target Repeater Action (magazine) and uses only two screws. At the end of the day, "tuning" the action screws amounts to almost nothing. You'd have to secure the rifle into a benchrest carrier just to eliminate shooter error, and even then, action screws torqued to 20 lbs won't make much different than screws torqued to 30 lbs when you're fighting against physical and environmental effects. The more experienced shooters would laugh at some of the claims made by members here, because they get ridiculous at times.
At any rate, all that it would take to change the barrel is five minutes with the proper hardware. Secure it in a vise, remove the barrel nut with a barrel nut wrench, unscrew the barrel and screw the new barrel on with go/no-go gauge in place, tighten and torque the barrel nut, and remove from vice. It took me three minutes the first time I did it.
At any rate, all that it would take to change the barrel is five minutes with the proper hardware. Secure it in a vise, remove the barrel nut with a barrel nut wrench, unscrew the barrel and screw the new barrel on with go/no-go gauge in place, tighten and torque the barrel nut, and remove from vice. It took me three minutes the first time I did it.
The LRP's actually only have 2 action screws.
As far as spinning on a new barrel with the LRP make sure it is a large shank. A competent gunsmith with the Savage barrel nut wrench head space gauges should only need 30-45minutes to complete the work.
I went this route with my LRP spinning on a Shilen and could not be happier with the results.
http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...-rifles/222848-savage-12-lrp.html#post2817021
Ok, done deal! Thanks for all the advice. Sometime within the next 2 months I will hopefully have a 6.5C Savage LRP. I'll break it in properly and see how it does, but I think I'll ultimately end up with a Criterion or Shilen stick.
If you buy it and shoot the factory barrel, you will never finish breaking it in because the tooling marks will never go away. If you buy aftermarket, don't waste time breaking anything in because it's not necessary.
I guess you could look at it that way as well. In any event there was issues with the rifle and I promptly got rid of it. I won't buy another Savage but thats just me. Its funny I never had any issues with Remingtons but I don't have any Remingtons now either. I have 3 bolt guns, A TRG 22 and 2 AI's. Again you get what you pay for.
12LRP comes with a Savage Bull Contour barrel, VERY similar to the Criterion Bull dimensions.
Factory contour is bull barrel 26" length 1.00" at the muzzle with flutes. The rifle tends to be barrel heavy.
So we called Savage to see if we could get an update/status of the rifle.... lady looked up the service request and provided a work order number so we can reference on later calls. She states work request is still pending and does not have an approximate time frame. Her exact words "We do not have any ammo for that rifle and we cannot do any work to it until we can get ammo"...
What ammo does Savage use?.... Seems 6.5 creedmoor is plentiful on most retailers.....
Not what we were expecting to hear!
What ammo does Savage use?.... Seems 6.5 creedmoor is plentiful on most retailers.....
Not what we were expecting to hear!
HMM,they called me tuesday and said my son's gun was ready to be shipped back.I requested pics of the target's to be emailed to me before shipping.Second time that I have had to send it back.The guy said he would call me back later that afternoon, have not heard back from him..
I just replaced the barrel on the LRP with a Shilen from Northland. Although I could load to 2.825 with the factory barrel and it shot pretty well, I wanted to try a barrel swap myself. Could not be happier with the results. I started load development for it yesterday and it is hard to decide which load shot the best because they all shot great. I am relying on good chrono numbers and low ES to point me in the right direction. I don't think you will be disappointed if you go that route. Plus it looks pretty good too.
