Criterion Barrel on Savage LRPV — Pre-Fit Does the Trick
In our Shooters’ Forum, you’ll find a lengthy thread about accuracy problems with a Savage LRPV, chambered in 6mmBR. The gun would repeatedly split groups at 100 yards, and at 300 yards, the “flyers” would open up the groups to 1.5 MOA or larger. Interestingly, the factory test target (at right) showed a split group — not a good sign.
The gun’s owner, forum member LR_Shooter, tried a variety of tweaks: “I did this, done that… [changed] torque, tang floated, bedded action, recut chamber, and [adjusted firing pin]”. But nothing really helped. Frustrated, LR_Shooter asked his fellow Forum members for help. Much advice was proffered, including the novel idea of removing the middle action screw in the Savage 3-screw target action. Some of the advice proved helpful, but none of the suggested remedies produced a major improvement. This rifle, out of the box, tossed flyers and no amount of tweaking (or changes in shooting technique) really cured the basic problem. That is, until, the factory barrel got replaced…
New Criterion Pre-Fit Barrel Works Wonders
LR_Shooter acquired a Criterion pre-fit barrel from Jim Briggs at Northland Shooters Supply (NSS). These pre-fits are designed for easy installation with the standard Savage barrel nut. Wouldn’t you know it, with a new 30″ heavy-contour barrel on the LRPV, the gun started shooting way better. No more crazy fliers, no more split groups, no more excessive vertical. And the improvement came without any other major modifications. LR_Shooter reports: “I got a replacement barrel from Jim at NSS. It is a 30″ bull Criterion barrel. So far, without playing with torque screws and having my old setup… I’m very satisfied with the barrel I got. Now I have no problem getting [groups] under 0.25 MOA. Finally this thing can shoot!” The targets below, shot with the new Criterion barrel, speak for themselves. The left target was shot at 100 yards, while the target on the right was shot at 300 yards (very impressive).
Targets Shot with Savage LRPV Fitted with Criterion Barrel
Read Thread on Savage Accuracy Issues Fixed By Criterion Barrel
Moral of the Story — Sometimes A New Barrel Really Is the Right Solution
All of us have struggled at times with a rifle that won’t live up to expectations. This Editor personally struggled for over a year with a .260 Rem Savage with a factory tube. The gun tended to split groups and the POI walked as the barrel heated. I tried one powder/primer combination after another, working through a variety of seating depths over many months. I was persistent. Out of stubbornness, I just believed that sooner or later I’d find the magic load.Well folks, sometimes there’s really nothing you can do about a sub-par barrel. It is what it is. To really improve a gun’s accuracy (particularly a gun with a factory tube), you may need to open your wallet and get a quality aftermarket barrel. Spending months trying one recipe after another may simply be an overwhelming waste of powder, bullets, and your precious time.
Albert Einstein supposedly said: “Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.” Well that sort of describes my efforts with my .260 Rem. Once I had enough evidence that my barrel split groups no matter what load combo (and seating depth) I tried, it was time to pony up for a new barrel. When I did finally screw on a nice PacNor 3-groove Supermatch, that Savage suddenly became a true tack-driver. As re-chambered in 6mmBR with the Pac-Nor, in calm conditions, my Savage will now consistently shoot in the twos with heavy bullets, and it can sometimes dip down into the ones with Berger 80gr flat-base bullets. The moral of the story here is simple — don’t waste weeks or months chasing your tail with a barrel that just won’t deliver (after a reasonable amount of testing). Save up for a custom barrel, get it chambered properly, and stop your cycle of frustration.
Contact Information for Northland Shooters Supply:
E-mail: briggs.j-b@q.com (that is Q.com not G.com)
Phone: (763) 682-4296
Fax: (763) 682-6098
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 333
Buffalo, MN 55313
Similar Posts:
- Savage LRPV Saga — When A Barrel Upgrade Is The Only Solution
- Pre-Fit Solution — Don’t Waste Time with a Funky Factory Barrel
- Pre-Fit FIX — Savage Accuracy Improves with Criterion Barrel
- Don’t Waste Time (and Ammo) on a Poor Factory Barrel
- Savage Factory Gun Wins Hickory Shoot. Savage 6mmBR Ships This Week.
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Tags: Criterion Barrels, Northland Shooters Supply, Prefit Barrel, Savage LRPV
Did he tried fire lapping? Like the Tubb final finish.It might have solve the problem for 70$. Anyway I would be curious to see before and after result on that barrel.
I seriously doubt that this barrel was so bad that the only fix was a aftermarket barrel. I have gotten a couple of barrels, throughout the years that people claimed “I did everything and this piece of crap will not shoot,” And them barrels was the best shooting barrels I have ever had. The problem was the shooter was addressing problem not related to the barrel such as the myth of floating the tang, and removing the middle screw, and torquing the action. If he would have learned the barrel he might have found that he had a barrel that shoots as good as his new Criterion. Well I guess you can throw money at a problem, I am glad he is happy, and it worked out for him.
EDITOR: Patrick, you could be right. But we think the owner gave this barrel AMPLE opportunity to prove itself, and his fixes included cutting a new chamber — an expensive proposition. You wrote: “If he would have learned the barrel” What does that mean? In my experience with dozens of barrels, a truly exceptional barrel will start grouping small within a handful of rounds. A good barrel should “come in” within 25 rounds, though accuracy may improve after 100 rounds (particularly with a cut-rifled barrel). If anything, with this barrel, I think the owner would have saved himself time, money, and aggravation if he had gone the custom barrel route sooner, not later!
Is this a problem that Savage would fix under warranty?
A quote from the January 2000 issue of “Precision Shooting” magazine: An executive with one of the largest rifle manufacturers in the United States recently remarked to a “Precision Shooting” writer that it costs them approximately $15.00 to make a rifle barrel.
Mike wrote: “Did he try fire lapping? Like the Tubb final finish.It might have solve the problem for 70$.”
Editor: I doubt it. I did use the Tubb Final Finish on my .260 Rem barrel that split groups. It main no difference what-soever in terms of the split groups and there was zero improvement in accuracy.
As a matter of fact, if one were to tally up the total costs involved in multiple trips to the range, and components,and put any value on one’s time, not making a barrel change may be the more expensive alternative. IMO good barrels “want” to shoot, and for that reason finding a suitable load for one is generally a pretty straightforward affair. I should add, that in my opinion, spending much effort on load development for a rifle that has not
been properly bedded, is a major waste of time.
One of the problems that can occur with factory barrels, that can only be seen at the target, is unrelieved stress. Even if you were to fix the dimensional, and interior finish issues, this might still cause problems.
I have have had good luck with varmint weight factory Savage barrels, but I do not expect them to keep up with my aftermarket barrels, for a variety of reasons, including chamber dimensions, and the method by which they are chambered.
Savage used to be a excellent value, lower price and shoot very very well with there button rifled factory barrels. Unfortunately the company appears to sold one to many times and no longer can be counted on to shot well out of the box. Ive always contended it comes down to bullets and barrels, the rest is a very small piece of the pie.