Anyone else a fan of the Savage .308 ??
07-24-2013, 12:36 PM
#1
Anyone else a fan of the Savage .308 ??
I might have posted this a while ago and can't remember if it's on this forum or not. But anyway...
Probably about 6 or 7 years ago, I bought a used older model Savage 110 (manufactured: Sept 1998) chambered in .308 which came with a cheesy POS Simmons scope on it. I remember tossing the cheap scope and bought a nice Bushnell Trophy 3-9x40 scope and new rings for it, and then had it mounted and bore sighted for me.
Here it is... Still in pristine condition for being about 15 years old.
If you look close, it looks like a .30-06 or a .270 or something. But it's a short action .308 in a long action rifle stock. See, when I wrote to Savage back then (to get a date of manufacture off the serial#), they said that back in the mid-late 90's they were almost about to declare bankruptcy. To save costs, they used the model 110 for everything, regardless of caliber and long/short action.
Anyway, I believe this next photo can testify to the legendary out-of-the-box accuracy of Savage rifles - more especially the .308 cartridge. This was from about 3 years ago at the nearby rifle range. I had my Savage .308 secured tight into a solid bench rest that I bought at Bass Pro. 168gr BTHP target rounds @ 100 yards. (I then tweaked the scope "up" 4 clicks, so it is now 1" high at 100 yards = 150 yard zero)
And of course, this is from Nov 2010 when I went up to my sister & brother-in-law's farm up in Upstate New York and went deer hunting. This was one of the common "farm deer" up there and I nailed him at 120 yards with one shot. He was a small 5 pointer (was a 6 pointer but got his a$$ kicked by a bigger buck and had a tine get broken off). My Savage .308 did the job and nailed him cleanly and dropped him in his tracks!
Long story short... Anyone else have a Savage .308 ???
Probably about 6 or 7 years ago, I bought a used older model Savage 110 (manufactured: Sept 1998) chambered in .308 which came with a cheesy POS Simmons scope on it. I remember tossing the cheap scope and bought a nice Bushnell Trophy 3-9x40 scope and new rings for it, and then had it mounted and bore sighted for me.
Here it is... Still in pristine condition for being about 15 years old.
If you look close, it looks like a .30-06 or a .270 or something. But it's a short action .308 in a long action rifle stock. See, when I wrote to Savage back then (to get a date of manufacture off the serial#), they said that back in the mid-late 90's they were almost about to declare bankruptcy. To save costs, they used the model 110 for everything, regardless of caliber and long/short action.
Anyway, I believe this next photo can testify to the legendary out-of-the-box accuracy of Savage rifles - more especially the .308 cartridge. This was from about 3 years ago at the nearby rifle range. I had my Savage .308 secured tight into a solid bench rest that I bought at Bass Pro. 168gr BTHP target rounds @ 100 yards. (I then tweaked the scope "up" 4 clicks, so it is now 1" high at 100 yards = 150 yard zero)
And of course, this is from Nov 2010 when I went up to my sister & brother-in-law's farm up in Upstate New York and went deer hunting. This was one of the common "farm deer" up there and I nailed him at 120 yards with one shot. He was a small 5 pointer (was a 6 pointer but got his a$$ kicked by a bigger buck and had a tine get broken off). My Savage .308 did the job and nailed him cleanly and dropped him in his tracks!
Long story short... Anyone else have a Savage .308 ???
07-24-2013, 01:29 PM
#2
I am a huge fan of the .308 caliber...have several including a win Model 88, Savage Model 99, Browning BLR (Model 81)...I have a thing for lever guns...hahaha... and a Savage Model 10 (FLCP-K) that is relatively new. I love the older (pre-1970) Savage Model 99's and the newer Savage Model 10/110 based rifles. Savage is finally back to making good rifles again and it's certainly hard to beat the .308!
07-24-2013, 06:19 PM
#4
I had the Savage 110 locked in tight into the bench rest at the rifle range. That grouping was the rifle's doing, not mine. All I did was just squeeze the trigger. Heck, if I remember, I hardly even shouldered the rifle since it was secure in the bench rest!
07-25-2013, 07:04 PM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
This is just one example of the fact that practically every maker is capable of offering hunters a fine shooter without breaking the bank account.
Lord only knows how many different center fire rifles I have sighted in over the past 30-35 years. Hundreds. A few (not any of mine !) were custom built rifles that cost in the thousands. Some retailed for under $250. Only two did not group well ... I mean well under 2.5 MOA. Most the owner and/or I were able to find a load that would group around 1 MOA.
The two that did not come up to what I think is a minimum standard as far as grouping, were a Winchester Model 70 in 300 WSM and the other was an NEF in 30-30 Win. I was not skillful enough to determine the cause of either, but both were dogs regardless of the several combinations of powder charge, bullet type or bullet weight we tried.
Lord only knows how many different center fire rifles I have sighted in over the past 30-35 years. Hundreds. A few (not any of mine !) were custom built rifles that cost in the thousands. Some retailed for under $250. Only two did not group well ... I mean well under 2.5 MOA. Most the owner and/or I were able to find a load that would group around 1 MOA.
The two that did not come up to what I think is a minimum standard as far as grouping, were a Winchester Model 70 in 300 WSM and the other was an NEF in 30-30 Win. I was not skillful enough to determine the cause of either, but both were dogs regardless of the several combinations of powder charge, bullet type or bullet weight we tried.
