Savage 12 FV from Cabelas

I’m a little frustrated with the inconvenience of this gun. The internal magazine has a crimp like a dbm and I can’t feed the rounds into it. I’ve tried the ridiculous measure of putting the round in front of the long crimp and sliding the round into place but it’s so far up the chamber to do this that I can’t get enough grip or pressure to slide it backwards. Better yet, the idea of going single shot is also a pain because the setting is too low for a bolt slide. The round hits low and won’t feed into the chamber! Hand feeding a single round is all I can do. Any suggestions? The gun is cheaply made….. should’ve hunted down a 700 ADL Varminter in 204 instead.

I shoved 800 rounds into that clip this weekend killing dogs as fast as I could load them and only slowing down when gun was too hot.

We’re my fingers sore… For sure.

It is not impossible.

I wish it was easier to load a single round without pushing it into the internal mag.

When I first got it I kept the mag full to help settle the springs some. It is still a challenge, let me know if you find an easy fix.

I’ve been considering modifying to a retractable clip for a few years now but haven’t.

Attachments:

1. 

   CameraZOOM-20180525170819477.jpg
   

I use a single thumb, or when that gets sore I use my index and middle finger.

Either way, press straight down. I can fit 5 round in the mag. Number 4&5 can be a pain, but keep trying you’ll figure out how to make it work.

I’ve considered opening up the mag sightly but concerned that I cannot put it back if take too much off.

I have that same tripod!

I have a solid rail for the scope mount. I can’t tell if you have one piece or front and rear mounts. The single does take away even more space when trying to work with it.

I did the hard push once and got the round started but it was out of position so in a greater concern for jamming, I worked it back out instead of forcing it in.

I was on the prairie last weekend too…. hot and periodically very windy. I switched over to a Remington 700 ADL Varminter in 22-250. I expected the Savage to be a pain in the field and brought options because of it. Comparatively speaking, the Remington was only $150 more after the rebate and it’s built SO much better! If I can dig one up in 204 at a good price, my first choice would be to trade off the Savage, but the rebates are over and I won’t be back on the prairie until next year, so I have time to look into a fix, if one exists. If I don’t find the fix, I’m likely to dump it. My other rifles are solid shooters too so I’m not overly compelled to keep the Savage 12FV solely because of its accuracy.

I’ll let you know if I come up with anything.

I don’t have a solid rail, so I do have a little more finger space for my bratwurst fingers.

Was cleaning up my gun yesterday after the trip and opened the mag up ever slightly. It is noticbly better.

There are conversions available for removable mag. The same company also makes an insert that will make loading a single shell easy.
I forget they’re name, just do some searching for Savage dbm and you’ll run across it.

I doubt I’ll do anything more to mine as I get by just fine as is. The only reason I really want a removable mag is so I can pound more pdogs

Sharpshootersupply makes the single shot loading ramp.

Cdi or Savage can help with the conversion to dbm.

Thank you sir! That’s helpful info!

Funny you mentioned monkeying with the clip, I just finished tweaking the flanges and they loosened up enough to feed the rounds with much greater ease. Things are definitely better!

I’m still thinking it’s not my best option for belly crawling in the hill country but that would fix with the single shot adapter.

Thanks again for following up!

You bet.
Happy hunting