Savage Model 12 LPV 223 Rem Accuracy

[Engineering101]

See attached target.

This target was shot from 200 yards with a stock Savage Model 12 LPV in 223 Rem. How does this compare in the 223 world? What kind of accuracy are you all getting out of yours? I've never owned one before but it seems pretty decent coming from the big bore world. It does pretty much the same thing no matter what the powder or load. Is that typical of these low power rounds? Should I keep messing with it until all the bullets are touching or is this the best it will do?

 

[roninflag]

awesome groups . i bet a berger will do even better. ron

 

[Engineering101]

roninflag

Bergers have always shot really well for me (probably better than anything else) but I am kind of committed to this bullet since I have 1,000 of them. Also this is a dedicated prairie dog gun and the bullets need to fragment so as not to disturb the occasional cow with a ricochet.

It is shooting good enough to shoot some prairie dogs though there is that occasional flyer. It took 7 shots for it to show up this time which is typical and if nobody has a magic recipe to get them all into one hole, I suppose I'll bed the recoil lug and call it good. The wind over in the Montana prairie dog patch is a bigger problem than the occasional flyer anyway.

 

[Ol'Gator]

Good shooting. Where in Montana? My group will be there late May for our annual trip. I usually use same rifle but just today beginning the fun of breaking in an new Savage of the same model but have been wanting to give the 204 a try.

You're so right about the winds. Getting the handle on elevation is never a big deal, windage, not so.

 

[MMERSS]

7 or 9 twist?

 

[ZSteinle]

plenty good of groups for anything but I am betting that model 12 will do better than that. This would be my best group with my stock model 12 F class 6BR at 200 yards. The model 12's are amazing!

 

[Rich Coyle]

I bought one years ago and a friend of mine purchased Remington varmint special. I worked up the best load I could for him, which was five shots in 3/4" at 100 yards. He tried and came up with the same results. He ask what I would do so I told him I would sell it and buy a Savage. He did. I took it to the range to break in the barrel. When I arrived I realized I forgot the cleaning rod. There was no way I was going to leave without firing three shots with my varmint ammo. The group was 3/8". I called him and ask what he wanted to do. He wanted to meet in Klamath Falls and shoot some rock chucks.

The first thing he did was pace off 110 long steps. He flopped the rifle across some sand bags on the hood of the truck and fired five shots into a .4" group. Yours, mine and his seem to be a pattern.

 

[Engineering101]

Ol' Gator

South of Billings there is a 20,000 acre ranch my nephew's buddy runs his cattle on and he lets us shoot there. He even supplies an ATV. We also hunt some spots (which you can see on Goolgle Earth) North and East of Billings. They are so thick around there you can shoot all day from just a few spots. Property owners are generally glad to let you kill all you can.

MMERSS

My 223 is a 9 twist. Rather than going with the 7 twist and AMAXs and such I switch to the 260 Rem past 500 - 600 yards. I prefer to use VMAXs to keep the ricochets down. There are cattle around.

ZSteinle/wildcater

Yep the M12s are amazing. Looks like you guys both know how to get the most out of them too. My M12 260 Rem shot 0.484" at 200 yards Wednesday so it appears to be ready too go also.

 

[MMERSS]

My 223 is a 9 twist

Sorry about load data. I have a 7 twist.

 

[Greyfox]

Both my Savage LPV and DPMS 24" bull barrel AR get .25-.4 MOA with 25gr of Varget, Lapua brass, CCIBR4 and 69 gr SMK's. Both rifles have a 1:9 twist. I use both for 200-300 yard egg shoots and compete very well.

 

[Engineering101]

Greyfox

The LPV has to shoot better than the AR - right?

 

[Greyfox]

Greyfox

The LPV has to shoot better than the AR - right?

I would have thought so but the accuracy of my AR rig surprised me. I originally decided to try the AR as an experiment to see how it would fare against the bolts. The DPMS barrel is floated over a very solid Colt receiver with s match trigger and weighted butt. I have shot both rifles extensively and the .25-.4MOA accuracy on both has been pretty consistent. I believe that the Savage should be inherently more accurate but short of going to a full bench rest set-up and load the current accuracy level that I'm getting is sufficient to break eggs at 300 yards and win matches. It drives the guys at my club nuts when I win a match with my AR against the bolt rifles. Now a few more shooters have decided to try the AR and have had similar results. The rapid fire capability of the AR can also be an advantage in an egg shoot when trying to catch a lull in the wind. Overall, I think the AR platform is underrated.when used within the scope of the .223 caliber.

 

[sedancowboy]

Great gun, Try 26.0 gr of 748 and a 50 gr V-max. Also a new load I am using is
28.4 grs of CFE223 with 50 gr V-max. i moly coat everything, keeps on shooting
between cleanings. Barrel stays cooler in a dog town. one of these loads should shoot
5 shots under 1/2 inch in Savage. I shot the same gun yesterday 120 rounds without cleaning with CFE223 and was still hitting Gophers at 200-300 yds.
the fun is experimenting. Happy shooting.gun)