Savage 334

[jds535]

Hello all,
I just bought a Savage 334 in .243. It is the walnut stock model. I set it up with a Leupold 3-9x40 ( new ) and Timney replacement trigger. The first round of sight in shots as stock were aweful. So I changed to another Leupold scope ( also new ) and dropped the Timney in and shot off my bench with bags using American whitetail 100 gr ammo. 3 shot groups at 50 yards is 5". I have never had a rifle shoot this bad. Everything is tight.
I have several other Savages ( 110's ) and they shoot dime groups at a hundred yards. I did notice that the barrel is supposed to float, but if you squeeze the fore end of the gun the stock moves and touches the barrel and stays there. The bolts in the stock are as tight as I can get them.
Is there anybody out there that has a 334 and has seen this issue. I will get different ammo and try that but even if the ammo is part of my problem the stock moving is still definitely a problem.
What do you think?

Thanks, Jeff

 

[ONE-TEN]

So, the 334 rifles are not actually made by Savage. They are made by ATA from Turkey. Sorry, I don’t have much information on them. However, grouping THAT bad is a tell there is something seriously wrong. If it’s new, I would send it back to Savage. They won’t repair it, but will likely test to verify & swap it for a new one. Not sure exactly.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

The stock moving against the barrel bothers me. A wood stock should not be that flexible. Something is surely wrong. Call Savage and let them fix it. Put your factory trigger back in before you send it out.

 

[jds535]

So, I squeezed the forend of the stock until the barrel was back in the center. I went back to the range and shot another 3 shot group, sliding a piece of paper between the stock and the barrel before each shot. At 50 yards, I got a 1 3/4" group this time. Now 3 1/2" at 100 isn't good but it's about as good as any group I have gotten with American Whitetail ammo in any caliber.
What do you think?
BTW, I called Savage and they are closed for summer break.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

If you can squeeze it back into place. Something is loose. Take the stock off. And start over again. Go back and forth on the mounting screws. Until all are tight. And check free float as you go.

 

[jds535]

If you can squeeze it back into place. Something is loose. Take the stock off. And start over again. Go back and forth on the mounting screws. Until all are tight. And check free float as you go.

There are 2 screws holding the stock to the barrel assembly. One screw on either side of the magazine. They are both super tight. I think the screws are too close to each other, and the forend of the stock is far away from the two screws giving very good leverage to move the stock. I will loosen and reset the screws again.
I was also thinking about bedding the recoil lug in the pocket. But I am not gonna do anything until I talk to Savage.
I also want to get another box of ammo and see what I get with them. All of my other rifles LOVE Nosler Accubonds and Federal Fusion.
I don't have dies for .243 yet but will probably just stay with factory ammo anyway if I can get something to group decent.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I torque action screws to 35 inch lbs for wood stocks.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

And Jeff welcome to the forum.

 

[jds535]

And Jeff welcome to the forum.

Thanks bud. ....and Thanks for the advice.

 

[ONE-TEN]

One thing I forgot? Did you do the Timney trigger yourself?

And:

If you did, had you ever shot any groups PRIOR to the replacing the factory trigger? If so, what were the results?

Also yes! Welcome to the Forum Jeff! Good to have you with us pard

 

[jds535]

One thing I forgot? Did you do the Timney trigger yourself?

And:

If you did, had you ever shot any groups PRIOR to the replacing the factory trigger? If so, what were the results?

Also yes! Welcome to the Forum Jeff! Good to have you with us pard

Hi Dave, I did shoot it at camp off shooting sticks. Didn't get a group, more like an 8 or 9 inch circle @ about 80 yards. That was with a 3-9x50 scope that was too far away from my eye due to the front bell being too low and had to be kept forward to not contact the Picatinny rail.
So, as I said, I took it home and got a new 3-9x40, and used the 50mm scope on another gun that needed one anyway. I also replaced the trigger with a Tinmey myself. Just 2 screws, and moving the safety bar over. Super easy. I set it to just over 3 lbs. The stock trigger had waaaay to much creep and was very heavy. I also did my testing at home off a bench with bags.
Now I gotta admit that my eyes aint what they used to be, but they are sure better than a 5" group at 50 yards.
One thing that I saw that was weird was on two groups of shooting was the grouping. Shot the same day with a couple of hours between, the 5" group was with a warm barrel ( had shot 6 shells already ), the 1 3/4' group was after the barrel cooled. No other changes.
Both groups had two bullets very close to each other, then one bullet away.
The 5" group went, first round - dead center of the bulls eye, the next 2 bullets were 5" high and almost touching.
The next group went two - close to each other in the bulls eye area, and the third 1 3/4" high and just left of center. Both groups at 50 yards.
I am gonna pull out one of my other rifles that is sighted in. Just to test the tester.

 

[ONE-TEN]

Ok, here’s what I can tell you. Understand, we don’t know your familiarity with firearms or shooting. Only what you tell us. If you are positive it’s not the scope or mounting, if you know you put everything back together correctly & you know it’s not because of you, it’s likely the barrel was bad from the start. It’s recommended you call Savage in plans to send it back to them. If you just purchased, they will likely replace it under warranty.

 

[jds535]

Ok, here’s what I can tell you. Understand, we don’t know your familiarity with firearms or shooting. Only what you tell us. If you are positive it’s not the scope or mounting, if you know you put everything back together correctly & you know it’s not because of you, it’s likely the barrel was bad from the start. It’s recommended you call Savage in plans to send it back to them. If you just purchased, they will likely replace it under warranty.

Thats my next step, when they get back from summer break next week. Thanks.

 

[jds535]

I spoke to customer service at Savage and explained what I was seeing. They said to ship the gun back, so its on its way. She said its usually a 3 week turn around. Thats really good.

 

[CFJunkie]

From my experience, they will get it fixed and back to you.
My issue wasn't accuracy, but high pressure signs with factory ammo and even loads that were at minimum loads.
They bored out the chamber by 0.002 and returned it.
It was just as accurate but never showed high-pressure signs again, even up near Pmax.
Turns out it was probably a worn reamer.

 

[ONE-TEN]

Yup. They’ll verify and like I said, I believe they will simply send you a new 334. Savage does not make the 334. Again, it’s made by ATA out of Turkey. So Savage is merely the importer & distributor. So they won’t try to “fix” anything with it.

 

[jds535]

From my experience, they will get it fixed and back to you.
My issue wasn't accuracy, but high pressure signs with factory ammo and even loads that were at minimum loads.
They bored out the chamber by 0.002 and returned it.
It was just as accurate but never showed high-pressure signs again, even up near Pmax.
Turns out it was probably a worn reamer.

Wow, thats dangerous!! Shouldn't that have shown up with a NO GO gauge? I would think they check all guns like that before they box them, no?

 

[CFJunkie]

The chamber wasn't short so the GO and NO-GO gauges would have shown it to be correct.
It was slightly below desired diameter.
If it was short, I probably wouldn't have been able to close the bolt.

Tighter chambers increase pressure, apparently.