Ordered a 116 TH XP

I am a new Savage owner, but no where near new to rifles. Until recently I have only owned M77s, 700s, 70s and Mausers. I purchased a 10P 308 Heavy Barrel a couple of months ago and was extremely impressed with the groups I achieved first time out with very little load development. It shot most everything I fed it into 1.5" and 3 different loads into .5" on the first trip to the range. Incredible value and performance IMO.

Now I have a 116 TH XP on order in 260 Rem. I figured this would be a great all-round, lightweight and very tough gun for running around on the farm with for everything from varmints and predators, to deer and black bears. I've got a spare Leupold 3-9x laying around I may replace the Nikon with. Not sure how good the Nikon that comes on it will be...

Anyone here willing to comment, and suggest where to start with load development? I have some Speer 120 soft points and Nosler 130 Accubonds on hand with both Remington and Lapua brass.

I almost went with the 16 th xp in 7mm-08, but at the last moment decided on the model 10 in 308. I thinck the 260 will serve you well.

Im curious as well about the Nikon that came with the rifle. I replaced it with a Nikon Buckmaster. I emailed Nikon about it, but all they would say was that it was from the Pro Staff line. I mounted the factory supplied Nikon on an AR, bjt havent shot it yet.

I have a 10 in 308. The reason I got the 260 is because the 308 shoots so well. I guess I can use the Nikon for something. I have a 22 mag with a very cheap Simmons. Maybe I will stick it on that.

I have / had the TH xp in 260. I think the Nikon scope is okay. Nothing special, but definitely usable for hunting inside of 200-250 yards. On the range I was keeping it well below 3/4 inches at 100 yards before tearing the rifle apart and using the parts for other projects. Be sure to double-check the mounts for tightness and add Loctite or you'll likely get frustrated with it quickly before giving it a fair chance. When I first got it I figured I'd sell it for cheap, but now I'm thinking it's worth more than I can get out of it. It'll probably go on a back-up deer rifle.

those Nikons are actually pretty good scopes. They are around $150 retail when purchased alone. I have been using one for 6 years now on a couple of rifles and it has been on a hard kicking .35 Whelen for the last two years and held up just fine. They are a super value for a package scope imo!