F T/R Competition savage 12f/tr in 223 questions

[Shootnjunky]

Considering purchasing this rifle and want to know if anyone has one and their opinion on it.

Also curious if it can handle 5.56 ammo as well, since i have quite a bit of Atlanta Arms and Ammo 5.56 77gr match (same the AMU uses in their AR's)

Thanks

 

[XTR]

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/5-56-vs-223/

Personally I'd shoot anything that would chamber. A bolt action Savage target action it far stronger than an AR action, if it can be shot in an AR it can be shot in a bolt gun. Just look at the difference in the steel around the chamber.

Take a good look at the reamer comparison chart.

http://ar15barrels.com/data/223-556.pdf

 

[Denys]

It's not really a question of being stronger, it's more to do with the dimension of the leade. The 5.56 NATO cartridge (there is only one, excluding the tracer round,) is topped with a 62 grain bullet with a 10gr mild steel penetrator. That bullet has a contour and ogive such that it touches the lands in a regularly chambered .223 Remington. I should think that Savage was smart enough to extend the leade of their FTR rifle to allow the use of long bullets such as the 80grains seated to 2.50 or more. The Atlanta Arms and Ammo 77gr offering is NOT 5.56 NATO as it probably uses the 77gr SMK just like the military's Mk262 Mod 0 or 1. That is bullet has a different ogive compared to the SS109-type bullet in the 5.56 NATO cartridge.

I do not have a Savage FTR in either chambering but since these rifles were designed specifically for the F-class game, I'm confident their chamber was cut accordingly. A quick call to Savage should clear this up.

 

[memilanuk]

The reamer used, is as close as I can tell, for a .223 Wylde chamber. Both fired brass and and loaded round dimensions are, for all intents and purposes, identical to those from my WOA 'space gun' Match Rifle with that chamber. It's not as long in the throat as I would really like for a dedicated single-shot bolt gun - i.e. it runs 80-82gn bullets really well, but its a little short in the throat to work really well with 90s.

YMMV,

Monte

 

[ChemE1975]

Considering the Savage as well, net rested to hear any thoughts.