How about the recoil lug?

[Farmerj]

Good illustration for lock time…

Consider shooting blackpowder vs a modern bolt action. The amount of follow through for allowing the lock, hammer etc to all function is night and day different.

Lighter pins, heavier springs, finer tuned sear/trigger etc all lead to faster lock times and more accurate firearm.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Heard mixed reviews. Went with a Gre-Tan shroud and fluted firing pin assembly. mtmuley

Those look pretty sweet. Sounds like they are an improvement over the Tubb's. The whole lock time thing is just something I have been curious about for a long time.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Curious, in your experience does a high speed firing pin make a huge difference?

It is hard to say exactly. As long as you have a completely solid rest/follow through they should make zero difference. That being said, if you have perfect trigger squeeze and support, you should be able to shoot great with any trigger. That's why in my original post I was just asking if it was considered, versus just recommending one.

I have two. One on a factory Rem 700 barreled action in .223 and another on a custom .260 Rem 700. Both rifles shot great before and after off the bench, but it is hard to quantify the impact it has had on their forgiveness in field positions....

I think it could help in field positions, in reducing the impact of human error. This is anecdotal, but the Tikka T3 has the fasted lock time of any factory rifle, it seems reasonable to believe that is part of what makes it so shootable for the average hunter.

 

[cahunter805]

Gretan makes a great firing pin.
A properly fitted pin/trigger and timed action is a thing of beauty.

 

[std7mag]

Probably come a day when the finish on the stock will create a more accurate rifle!

Funny you should mention that!

Precision shooters have noticed that different finishes slide in the rest & rear bags differently.

Eric Cortina threw some points in a match last year because he wiped some grease from when he was lubing his bolt on the sliders of his rifle where it sits in the rest.

 

[44hunter45]

Lock speed benefits are really obvious when you convert a @#)(#-on-close Mauser like a M96 to a fast @#)(#-on-open. That one change turned my 1896 Swede into a 1/2 MOA rifle.

 

[winmag]

Only matters if you’ve got a trued action face and a trued barrel matting surface.

I was absolutely of this opinion as well until what I observed with the 2 rifles I rebarreled this week.

Something that I didn’t consider was that the existing factory recoil lug may be bent due to recoil. Sounds crazy, right? A 7mm Rem Mag bending a short piece of 0.187” steel against a shoulder? Well I’m a believer now.

Both Savage 110’s. The first was a blued chrome moly 7mm Rem Mag that shot horrendous, like 5” groups at 100 yards. It also couldn’t be zeroed at 100, which I [incorrectly] suspected at that time was misaligned drilled and tapped scope base holes. The recoil lug was comically bent. I rebarreled it with a cheap takeoff Savage 7mm Rem Mag barrel and a new 0.250” thick recoil lug and now it zeros in the optical zero of its scope. Haven’t shot it yet but I’m assuming it’s now fixed.



The second one a stainless 300 Win Mag that shot great, consistent 3/4 MOA gun but my buddy wanted to swap for a threaded muzzle Proof so he can get a suppressor. This one was also bent.



I’ve heard Savage’s are particularly bad about bending the factory recoil lugs, especially the stamped ones, but it’s something to consider when spending $500+ to rebarrel. What’s an additional $30 to prevent a possible faceplant at that point?

 

[Farmerj]

I was absolutely of this opinion as well until what I observed with the 2 rifles I rebarreled this week.

Something that I didn’t consider was that the existing factory recoil lug may be bent due to recoil. Sounds crazy, right? A 7mm Rem Mag bending a short piece of 0.187” steel against a shoulder? Well I’m a believer now.

Both Savage 110’s. The first was a blued chrome moly 7mm Rem Mag that shot horrendous, like 5” groups at 100 yards. It also couldn’t be zeroed at 100, which I [incorrectly] suspected at that time was misaligned drilled and tapped scope base holes. The recoil lug was comically bent. I rebarreled it with a cheap takeoff Savage 7mm Rem Mag barrel and a new 0.250” thick recoil lug and now it zeros in the optical zero of its scope. Haven’t shot it yet but I’m assuming it’s now fixed.

View attachment 267614

The second one a stainless 300 Win Mag that shot great, consistent 3/4 MOA gun but my buddy wanted to swap for a threaded muzzle Proof so he can get a suppressor. This one was also bent.

View attachment 267615

I’ve heard Savage’s are particularly bad about bending the factory recoil lugs, especially the stamped ones, but it’s something to consider when spending $500+ to rebarrel. What’s an additional $30 to prevent a possible faceplant at that point?

Personally, I put aftermarket trued and and thicker recoil lugs on my rifles. So it makes sense what your seeing.

I also make it a point to avoid and stay away from anything “magnum”. I tend to make my loads also low recoiling