Savage 93r17tr, Proper Bedding

The Savage rimfire rifles are tack drivers right out of the box. There is simply no denying that Savage is leading the charge with accurate rifles in both centerfire and rimfire. But if you are like me, good can always be better! 

I recently bought a new Savage 93R17 TR. This is the Tactical version of the venerable 93 series rifle. Kind of a “One Shot-One Kill” for close range varmints of rabbit and prairie dog size. 93r17tr
The first thing I did after a quick range session to verify that the rifle goes “bang” was to tear it apart. The trigger needed adjusting and the magazine wasn’t seating properly, therefore not feeding consistently. But these two subjects will make future articles. Once the barreled action was removed from the stock, it was clear there was zero bedding and absolutely no recoil stop. Now we all know a rimfire rifle has nearly no recoil, but there is some and controlling it can only improve accuracy. I also observed that the stock this rifle cones with is a laminated wood painted black. The wood used in the laminate appears to be a very soft birch. The bottom metal that the front action bolt is secured through is nothing more than a piece of thin tin. If you try to torque down the action into the stock, you will deform this metal plate and compress the soft wood measurably. Not good for accuracy. My plan is to pillar bed the rifle with total metal against metal and letting the entire action and barrel float within the wooden stock. The only thing in contact with the rifle will be two aluminum pillars that are epoxied into the stock. Heat and humidity will have zero effect on the bedding in this fashion. If the stock was an inert fiberglass I might be convinced to glass bed it, but because it is very soft wood, pillars are the way to go. With the action removed from the stock, you will see the two “bosses” that screw into the bottom of the action and into which the action bolts are screwed into. Instead of the action bolts going directly into the action, they are screwed into these threaded bosses. DSC_1831-vi The two outboard bosses are the only two that are used to secure the action into the stock. the middle one simply secures the magazine guide. This boss was removed and a simple socket head bolt was used. Savage uses standard 1/4-28 threads into the action. Same as Remington and Winchester. Nice! DSC_1846-vi DSC_1847-vi Next we had to deal with the front action boss. The plan is to remove it and use a conventional action screw directly into the action. DSC_1836-vi It appears that this front boss is not screwed all the way into the action. But it is. In fact it screws right up tight and touches the barrel tenon. It seems Savage screws this bolt into the action, and then bores right through it to secure that front roll pin. DSC_1843-vi This front “boss” was abandoned and the front roll pin needed to be cut into two to clear the way for a conventional action screw. DSC_1904-vi With the action squared away, it was time to start on the pillars. A quick look at the front area of the stock showed that the front action bolt wasn’t even contained by the stock. The bolt fit into a slot and simple friction kept everything in check. DSC_1827-vi The rear action bolt did go through the trigger guard and the stock stock, but this area was approximately 3/8″ thick and not dense enough to hold up its end of the bargain. DSC_1826-vi The first thing I needed to do was build up that front action area with Brownell’s Steel Bed and install a pillar. A pillar was turned on the lathe out of 6061 Aluminum. DSC_1881-vi And the same was done for the rear DSC_1890-vi I needed a way to guide the drill bit when I bored out the front action bolt area. Here’s what I came up with. I turned another pillar without the grooves for epoxy that you see on the pillar above. Using a simple nut and a bolt, I secured this smooth pillar in the area where the new pillar would go, using the thin bottom metal to locate it. DSC_1858-vi Using a thin strip of metal, I built a “dam” to contain the epoxy and a piece of surgical tubing was wrapped around the bottom metal to keep it tight against the bottom of the rifle. CAUTION!!! be sure to put a good release agent on the temporary pillar and the metal dam. These need to be removed once the epoxy hardens. I used simple RIG grease, but any release agent will do. Nest is mix up a batch of steel bed and using small wooden Popsicle sticks, fill the area around the temporary pillar. DSC_1861-vi You need to let this Steel Bed to cure for at least 24 hours. Got to bed. Goodnight! Good morning! Once the Steel Bed is cured you can remove the dam and the temporary pillar. DSC_1869-vi I used a small rubber sanding drum to clean everything up and get the level of the hardened epoxy down below where the action will sit. Remember we don;’t want any of this bedding material to touch the action when we are finished. DSC_1871-vi DSC_1872-vi Now we need to drill out that pillar hole down through the stock. The pillars I made are exactly 1/2″ in diameter, so a 1/2″ Forsner bit was used. DSC_1874-vi I used a simple electric hand drill to bore this hole, using the epoxy channel as a guide. Here is what you end up with. DSC_1876-vi The pillar with the grooves is now epoxied in place. It was first cut to length to be perfectly flush with the bottom metal and a bit proud to keep the action from touching the wood stock. DSC_1885-vi This is the view from the bottom. DSC_1888-vi NOTE: The front pillar is flat across the top where it sits against the action. The action has a small flat section that allows this. No need to make the top of the pillar concave as you would do on a Remington 700 round action. With the front pillar done, it’s time to focus on the rear pillar. Because there was no real way to guide the drill bit, this process was done on a simple drill press. DSC_1892-vi This hole and it’s associated pillar need to go right up against the routed trigger guard area. DSC_1896-vi Like the front pillar, the rear pillar is epoxied in place, flush on the bottom and a bit proud on the top. Surgical tubing is employed once again to hold the trigger guard in place while the epoxy cures. DSC_1900-vi Both pillars installed, glued in place. DSC_1897-vi Because these pins stick out a bit on the side of the action. DSC_1904-vi I used a small countersink bit to create a create reliefs DSC_1906-vi A standard 1/4-28 Remington action bolt was cut to the proper length DSC_1964-vi And installed along with the Savage factory rear action bolt DSC_1963-vi As you can see, the barrel and action are completely free of the stock. DSC_1883-vi FINISHED! Now lets go shooting! DSC_1912-vi RIFLE: Savage 93R17 TR CALIBER: 17HMR SCOPE: Vortex Viper 4-12X40 V-Plex RINGS: Vortex Tactical

 

UPDATE 1-2-10 

I finally got out to do a bit of shooting with the Savage 93R17 TR. Things went extremely well at 100 yards. Five shots could be covered with a dime! But after the sixth 5 shot group, the accuracy went to heck. Groups opened up to 1-1.5″. I thought the barrel needed cleaning so I pulled the bolt to insert my bore guide. As I removed the bolt I felt movement in the action / stock juncture. It seemed the rear action acrew had losened up. But when I tried to tighten it, it was rock solid, but the whole front of the trigger guard was moving! Something was wrong. I took the rifle home and pulled the trigger guard and here is what I found. bedding_027-vi It seems the wood around the rear action screw had completely failed. You can’t see it in the photo but the stock actually cracked between the magazine opening and the trigger opening. If you look at this area closely, you’ll see that there is VERY little material here. And it is that extremely soft Vermont birch. It needs attention. First thing I did was remove the broken piece. bedding_043-vi Not wanting to remove the whole trigger assembly, I covered it with a piece of tape. A hole was drilled for an 1/8″ steel cross bolt that will be epoxied in. bedding_030-vi bedding_031-vi A piece of 1/8″ steel rod was cut to size and using a small file, grooves were cut to lock it into the epoxy. bedding_034-vi This “cross bolt” was epoxied through the stock as a clamp held everything tight. bedding_041-vi You can also see the trigger guard is covered with release agent, ready for a build up of bedding compound. A dam was made with a piece of thin aluminum and using JB Weld rather than Brownell’s Steel Bed, everything was epoxied in place. I used JB Weld in this situation because it can be “poured” into all the little nooks and crevices. bedding_045-vi Once it is dry I’ll clean it all up with a file and reassemble the rifle for further shooting. If I was to do another Savage TR or any other rifle that uses very weak wood with very little material in this area, I would simply install a cross bolt from the get go. I believe a free floating barrel, with the barrel weight pulling down and stress being placed on this area caused the damage. If you did not simply pillar bed the action like I did, but full contact bedded the action to the stock, you run the risk of tightening down the action screws and splitting the stock ever worse than you see here. This stock should have reinforcement in this area from the factory, or use some other type of wood that would afford the resistance to splitting deemed necessary.

 

I sure hope you enjoyed this article. If you did and you want to contribute to this web site you can drop a couple bucks into my PayPal account. Not necessary, but much appreciated PayPal account rvb100@comcast.net

 

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25 comments on “Savage 93r17tr, Proper Bedding”

  1. Jay Reply

    I enjoyed your article.
    I have a .22 BSEV that I made a second stainless bottom metal for and all is good. It shoots extremely well so I won’t touch it. I just picked up a 93R17 FV and put a Boyds Evolution stock on. I like to shoot from both sides so these stocks are great. I replaced the bottom metal with a plate from 4130 x .063. That realy fits nice. The gun doesn’t shoot very good groups so i am doing R & D on something similar to what you showed. Jury is still out. The laminate stocks are definately hogged out too much. Boyds probably makes them as a one stock fits all thing. Send me your email and I’ll send you a picture of the Savages.

    Thanks

  2. roscoguy Reply

    Very nice work & you did a great job documenting your work, too! I’m thinking about restocking my MKII FV with a Tacticool & noted your work with interest. I agree 100% with your goals, but I’d be REAL reluctant to cut that front pin! I’d feel much better finding a way to use that boss/standoff (or whatever), maybe with a shorter or cupped pillar. Then again, Savage apparently changed the threads in the MKII to 1/4″-32, so I probably have less options anyway…

  3. Steven Reply

    Hello all,

    I have read your article with great interest as I too believe the stocks and bedding arrangement on the Savage 22 Magnum is sub standard.

    A close friend of mine has purchased a Save 22WMR with a laminated thumbhole stock and found that it is inconsistent when shooting 30 Grain Varmint bullets – CCI and Hornady VMAX.

    It stabilises when it shoots 40 and 50 Grain CCI and 40 gn Winchesters but the 30 Grainers would be nice for the extra velocity.

    My sorepoint with these rifles is tha the stock hogged out way too much and there is no real bedding to the receiver.

    I would be keen to read more about the results following the rework and cross bolt placed on the stock.

    Hope to hear back from you

    Warm regards
    Steven
    Sydney, Australia

  4. Roy Bertalotto Reply

    Hi Steve,
    A bit of an update after the bedding project. The rifle shot great before all this work and the bedding improved it a bit. Most importantly, the bedding stopped the erratic flyers that I was experiencing. Usually this is all you can ask of a bedding job.

    • John spevock

      Hello I recently purchased a Savage 93r 17Hmr and I’m gona install pillars on a Boyds thumbhole Varminter laminate stock, the front action area has almost nothing there, definitely HOGGED OUT, THEN WALLERD, anyway did you happen to measure the length of your front n rear pillars before putting them into place n epoxied??

    • Jred

      Hey thought I’d pick at you a little and get your thoughts on the adjustable pillars from Brownells,what’s you thoughts? I will say Pete’s pillars guy told me he doesn’t much care for them because they didn’t do as good of job, thought to myself that’s kinda lame, at least it’s a fail safe as far as using standard aluminum pillars and cutting them to short,then it serves no purpose .

  5. Daniel Reply

    What did you find was the optimum torque in pounds per inch for your action screws?
    Thanks,
    Daniel

  6. dave Reply

    Ive taken a simpler aproach to bedding my sasvage.. stock hogged out, piece of tin to fasten front of action, barrel pinned to action. Nice looking gun, in fact beautiful gun, but with the work being done, then done over and again etc, etc, this gun i have is a piece of crap. shoots good for awhile, then needs more work, over and over, no substance to work with at any point. It looks like if I want a 17 hmr ill need to buy a real gun.. Im done with savage. This gun never should have made it to the sales floor, they knew it was a peice of crap, put it out to save face in the research dept, and they have lost thier reputation.. … ….dave

  7. Andre Reply

    Great Article,

    How did it end up shooting? I have re stocked a MK II into a Tacticool stock and it keeps shooting flyers… I am guessing after reading this that the action screw is not long enough as it barely gets any tension!

    Thanks for this!!

    Write more now!!!

    Andre

  8. Pingback: Help with pillar bedding Savage Mark II FV-SR

  9. Marc Reply

    I like your idea of splitting the front roll pin and placing a taller pillar from the top of the front bottom metal plate with a longer screw that engages directly into the receiver. For those looking to do this and have found that 1/4″x32 is an oddball thread, you can shorten a Winchester Model 70 trigger guard screw which has the same 1/4″x32 threading as the newer Savage receivers have.

  10. RoyB Reply

    You can get the allen head action bolt shown in the article from Brownells

  11. Tash Reply

    My savage 93r17 has a 5/16-32 front and 1/4-32 rear action screw holes. I saw the post about the Win Mod 70 screw for the 1/4-32. Any ideas on where to find a 5/16-32???

  12. Leon Reply

    Hi all I’m another “unfortunate” having problems with a savage 93 fvss by the time we get them over here (UK) they cost rougHly 990+ USD. I purchased mine because I wanted something light weight and weather proof. But it seems that savage don’t give a care to their plastic stock design that flexes way too much. So as a result I too have gone down the tacticool route because over here there are NO other choices! The main problem with the tacticool besides the weight is the inletting job they do removes way too much material. After reading this blog it seems more like the rifle needs a bedding block rather than anything else. (Yet more UNWANTED weight) I really wish that choate would make a dragunov stock for this model then I could actually get what I wanted in the frist place. It just shouldnt be this hard.

  13. John B. Reply

    Any update on the bedding job ?

    I just bought a 93 BSEV in 22wmr and want to bed it.

    Thx

  14. Jim O'Connor Reply

    I’d love to send you my Savage Mark ll BV and have you give it the same treatment. It has the laminated stock but I think to head off any issues the cross bolt should be put in from the begining.

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