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Riflemen these
days have access to some of the most intrinsically accurate
weapons ever built. Gun manufacturers have the tools and
technology to produce very accurate barrels at relatively low
cost, along with improved metallurgy and the ability to produce
actions with precise concentricity and close tolerances.
Accuracy is also enhanced by precision-molded synthetic or
laminated wood stocks, resulting in a rifle with great intrinsic
accuracy.
The problem with
most factory produced rifles is the trigger. A seven pound or
heavier trigger pull on a factory rifle is very common these
days. A trigger pull this heavy will move the rifle at the
moment of firing, making precise shot placement difficult at
best, and very unlikely. This is no great concern to most big
game hunters at close range, but is very detrimental to
precision target shooters, varmint hunters, and law enforcement
sharpshooters. Manufacturers have, over the last couple of
decades, shipped rifles with increasingly heavier trigger pulls.
It is not that a decent trigger cannot be mass-produced. The
problem lies with product liability. Society’s ever increasing
tendency to blame the product for the user’s ignorance or
carelessness has resulted in heavier and heavier trigger pulls.
It is discouraging to spend several hundred dollars on a new
rifle, only to find that it almost takes two hands to pull the
trigger to fire the thing! Precision shooters have grown
accustomed to having their triggers reworked by a good gunsmith
or replacing them with an aftermarket unit. Also, many trigger
designs do not lend themselves to lightening, without serious
safety concerns. A light trigger can be easily bumped off if
dropped, with potentially fatal results. This has been the
thorn in the side of factory rifle accuracy for several years;
good barrels, stocks, actions, and horrible triggers...
...until now.
Savage has
just kicked butt in the gun world with their new trigger system.
It is by far the best trigger in any factory center fire rifle
that I have tested in several years. No longer are we forced to
live with heavy trigger pulls or expensive and delicate custom
units.
Savage Arms
has introduced the AccuTrigger system for their bolt
action center fire rifles that is simple yet ingenious at the
same time. The pull weight is user-adjustable from 1-½ to 6
pounds, with complete safety against bump-off if dropped.
I just received
here for testing a new Savage model 12BVSS .22-250
varmint rifle with the AccuTrigger system, and I can’t stop
grinning. I had intended to write an article covering the entire
rifle only, but after trying the AccuTrigger, I decided that it
warranted an article on the trigger alone. It is that good.
Savage has had a
long-standing great reputation for accuracy in their varmint
rifles, but has been, like other makers, forced to ship their
rifles with heavier than needed trigger pulls for reasons of
safety. The new AccuTrigger has just made a good rifle
better.
The heart of the
AccuTrigger is the Accu Release; a thin blade that rides
within the main trigger blade to prevent the sear from releasing
unless the Accu Release is held to the rear. In the accompanying
photos, the function of the Accu Release can be easily seen. If
the trigger is accidentally bumped off, the Accu Release catches
the sear, preventing the rifle from firing. Ingenious.
In use, it takes
about one pound of pressure to move the Accu Release to the
rear, where the trigger finger then touches the trigger, which
has a pull as light as one and one-half to as heavy as six
pounds. The pull weight is adjusted with the tool provided with
the rifle, and can be easily adjusted up or down, at the
user’s discretion. The actual trigger pull feels much like an
excellent two-stage trigger, only better. It is easy to discern
the difference between the feel of the Accu Release and the
trigger blade.
For bench testing,
I set the AccuTrigger to its lightest setting. Before
actual firing, I tried to bump off the trigger by bouncing the
butt of the unloaded rifle onto the floor with the action cocked
and the safety off, to no avail. I could not get the gun to
accidentally "fire".
The AccuTrigger
also has a new three-position safety that allows the gun to fire
in the forward position, locks the trigger but allows the bolt
to operate in the mid position, and locks both the trigger and
bolt in the rear position. The safety button is large, easily
operated, and is mounted in the center of the rear tang, just
where it should be.
The new
AccuTrigger has a crisp, precise feel to the release, resulting
in the rifle firing just when the shooter wants it to. This
trigger is such a welcome addition to a good varmint rifle,
making precise shot placement so much easier than with a heavy
trigger pull, and with absolute mechanical safety.
The AccuTrigger
will first be available on Savage’s varmint and tactical
rifles.
With the new
AccuTrigger, Savage has just left other manufacturers in the
dust. It will be interesting to see what the others will offer
while trying to play catch-up. Hopefully, this will start a new
trend toward better triggers for precision shooters. For now,
Savage is way ahead of the game with their new AccuTrigger.
It is simple, safe, precise, and user-friendly. When it comes to
mechanical devices, I rarely use the word "perfect".
Most things in the real world are compromises, with perfection
rarely achieved...
The Savage AccuTrigger is perfect.
Check out the new AccuTrigger online at:
www.savagearms.com.
Jeff Quinn
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Click pictures for a larger version.
The heart of Savage's amazing new AccuTrigger system is
the Accu Release.
Using the included adjustment tool, the AccuTrigger
system allows easy user-adjustability from six pounds down to
a crisp, feather-light (and absolutely safe) one and one-half
pounds.
Top picture shows the sear, center picture shows the
sear blocked by the Accu Release, and the bottom picture shows
the sear released to fire. Jeff was greatly impressed by the simplicity and genius of
Savage's AccuTrigger.
Topping off Savage's new trigger system is an excellent
three-position safety. This safety is well designed, works as
it should, and is perfectly positioned for either
right-handers or southpaws like the author.
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