How accurate is Savage out of the box?

My wife got me a Savage Model 11 in 243 about a year ago. I have been trying to work up a load that it likes. The best group I can get is about an inch and a half at one hundred yards. I keep hearing how accurate Savages are and this one can't stand up to my 700 or my Encore. They are both 243. With the 700 I can get a half an inch and with the Encore I can get three eights of an inch. I use the same type of scope on the Encore and the Savage. It is a Weaver 4x20 first focal plain. The Savage has the accu stock and safe accu trigger or what ever they call it. I shoot 100gr Sierra Game King and they work great in the other rifles. I have tried 6 different powders and I don't know how many different loads. Is this the best I can get out of a Savage? I was looking for at least half inch groups. Thanks for your time.

Usually Savages are rather accurate out of the box.
If I were you, I'd check the simple things (usual suspects) first: (in no particular order)

• All the scope and mount screws.
• Try changing scope in case it is an internal problem with the scope.
• Make sure the tang is free floating.
• make sure the accustock is torqued correctly to the action (http://www.savageshooters.com/conten...-the-AccuStock)
• make sure the barrel is free floating.
• If the accustok has the accu-wedge, you may want to remove that and see if it helps.
• Check the crown for the soot pattern to make sure it is symmetrical.
• Make sure there are no dings or nicks on the muzzle edge of the bore.
• Is the bore clean? (Savages tend to shoot better slightly fouled, but too much schmutz in the barrel is not good either.
• Try different powder and bullet combinations. Just because something works well in one rifle, does not guarantee it will work well in another.

When you have exhausted these possibilities, and any others that might be offered by those smarter than I, contact Savage customer service about returning the rifle. Perhaps you got a bad barrel?

All mine have shot great right out the box. Thomae has got you on the tight track.

What Thomae said, especially varying bullet weights powders and loads....My 243 loves 80gr Vmax but 95gr soft point, not so much....Mine also prefers IMR 3031 powder but will all rifles and all bullet recipes, YMMV

I have 243, 2 7mm-08s, 308, and a 223 in Savage and they all shot good out of the box, and great when I found a load they liked.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by stomp442

All mine have shot great right out the box. Thomae has got you on the tight track.

---

Yup...I agree. Thomae has got you in the right direction. My Savages do what your looking for. Half-inch or less at 100 yards. Also, give your bore a good copper cleaning with wipe-out or another quality copper scrubber. I know my new .223 had some initial "shoot out the rough spots" that coppered up quickly. But after about 50 rounds, and with some good copper cleaning, it now shoots 1/4 MAO as long as I don't flinch when the Gnats buzz by my eyes. :) (And yes.....I mean all THREE of my eyes!!!)

Dave

i love my savages and love to play and mess around with them, always something new happening.
i did get one that didn't shoot worht a crap out of the box and that was my model 16 in 308. i put a nice nikon buckmasters 4x12x40 scope on it and bore sited it and took it to the range to site it in. darn thing was all over the place no matter how i adjusted the scope.
got it home and checked all the scope screws and noticed that the barrel was touching the right side of the stock really hard, couldn't get a piece of paper through there. loosened the action screws and retightened with proper torqueing technique and now it shoots great.
i think someone at the factory was in a hurry for breaktime and didn't care about quality control!
check everything you can, it will shoot good if you can find the problem!

If you clean it too much or too clean it can do that also. Looking at my .223 data book entry, I cleaned new, then 80 rounds, 249 rds, 402 rounds and settled on cleaning after every 153 rds and it seems to suit my barrel.

Other than that, Thomae has also named the usual culprits.

Sometimes when attaching the scope mounting the forward most screw is too long and hits the barrel threads so you havnt got the front of the mount tight. A simple thing to check. If so just grind a little foo the screw.

El Lobo

Also the stevens is a very light gun and if your trigger pull is stiff then you will pull your shots everytime. Bag that thing in and concentrate on your trigger seeze and see if it improves. Also make sure you have a heavy enough boolit. Light boolits in a fast tist don't mix unless your shooting a loooooong boolit Like a VLD. In that case your OK.

My M11 .243, 1/9.25" twist shoots all my handloads under an inch. My 70g NBT w/ varget goes into .460-530" @ 100 yds. My 85g & 95g loads w/ imr 4320 also go under an inch, the 55 noslerBT CT, 58 & 65g Vmax w/ W760 & imr4320 or BLC2 stick about .600" - .800" in it at 100 yds, so yes they shoot sub moa out of the box. I have a nikon buckmaster 6-18x40 SF mildot scope on it. I have the accu-trigger set at 2lbs and standard tupperware stock & I shoot w/a bipod on it.
My scope base is a 1pc 0 moa Ironsetter rail.

I have shot dozens of Savages, and right out the box, with an experinced shooter ,and a tuned load ever one I have shot will shoot a 5 shoot 100 yard average of around 1/2 an inch, with an ocasional group in the .3's Every Savage I have also shot shot better with the barrel dirty, or fouled. If it wont then their is something wrong.

Thomae I took the stock off and put it back on. As for the wedge my rifle don't have one. It has three screws. One is a wood screw and the other two are machine screws on the action. The wood screw is in the trigger guard. I tightened the front screw first then the back one in ten inch pound steps. As I said starting at the front. I then tightened up the trigger guard screw till it was snug. There is no way it will take 40 inch pounds of torque. It would strip out in the rubber. I also checked the scope screws and base screws. All was fine. I checked the barrel and it is free floated. As far as I could tell the tang is free floating. I didn't have any chalk dust to check it with. As for the barrel being clean? Yes it was cleaned for every shot for the first ten shots. Then it was cleaned after every 5 shots for twenty. Now it is cleaned after every ten shots. I use Shooter's Choice to clean it and Kleen Bore formula 3 to protect it. After 100 rounds I will clean it then polish it with Flitz polish. After that it will get cleaned and polished after ever twenty rounds. This is how I have dun all my rifles and it has worked for me well. I don't have any barrels with pits or dirt, they all shine. I will shoot it in the next day or two to see if that helped. If it didn't I will change scopes with one of the other rifles and see if that helps. Stangfish I am using 100gr bullets, that is the heaviest they make in a hunting bullet. Well at least Sierra. If I can't use hunting bullets in this rifle it is of no use to me. As far as not letting the rifle move I use a rifle rest for testing loads and setting up scopes. Movement of the rifle is not the problem. If it was I couldn't get three eights inch groups from my Encore. When testing things you have to take out as much of the human movement as possible. Thank you all for your post and your time. I will let you know how it goes.

Quote:

---

...I am using 100gr bullets, that is the heaviest they make in a hunting bullet. Well at least Sierra. If I can't use hunting bullets in this rifle it is of no use to me.

---

Why not try 95 gr bullets and see what happens, the performance you get from 95 is nearly identical to 100 gr bullets. Not identical but close. I think the stability would be greater on 95 gr, once you hit 100 gr I think you are at the max for stability in the 243. I know some shoot the 105s but they are past the recommended weight for that rifle.

There aren't any mid sized game in North America that can't be taken with a 85 to 95 gr bullet fired out of a 243. As with any firearm, shot placement is key. If you do your work, the rifle will do its. If you needed heavier bullets maybe a 7mm-08 or a 308 was in order instead of trying to max out the 243 from the get go.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TRguy

Why not try 95 gr bullets and see what happens, the performance you get from 95 is nearly identical to 100 gr bullets. Not identical but close. I think the stability would be greater on 95 gr, once you hit 100 gr I think you are at the max for stability in the 243. I know some shoot the 105s but they are past the recommended weight for that rifle.

There aren't any mid sized game in North America that can't be taken with a 85 to 95 gr bullet fired out of a 243. As with any firearm, shot placement is key. If you do your work, the rifle will do its. If you needed heavier bullets maybe a 7mm-08 or a 308 was in order instead of trying to max out the 243 from the get go.

---

You could also try the 85 grain Sierra BTHP Game King, the Speer 90 grain Hot Core or the Nosler Partitions or the Ballistic Tip Hunting bullets. At one time or another I have had great results from all of these bullets. The 95 grain Ballistic Tips shot best out of my Savage .243.

Bob

Continue checking the stuff above. It may give up what's wrong. If all is well, perhaps you have a finicky rifle. In this case, my suggestion is to change one loading variable at a time and experiment with bullet seating depth. Of my three Savages, two are finicky. The third I just got, so, don't know what its like.
My .243 is a Model 11 FHNS, AccuStock, maybe like yours. I started with the Sierra 70 Matchking. Tried three different powders with unspectacular results. About to give up on the bullet, tried H414 and shot 7/16" groups with that combo.
My 7mm-08 is even more finicky. I've had it two years, averaging around one inch at 100 yards with the Nosler 140 and Hdy 139 SST. For the Hdy 139 SST, I tried four powders, a couple of weeks ago. 43 grns of IMR4350 showed the best grouping, just under an inch. I then loaded up four more sets of these, changing one variable on each set, and shot them Friday. The first set was identical to what I had previously - 43 grns, bullet seated .015 out from the lands. Again, it grouped under an inch. The second set was the same charge, but, the bullet was seated out .030 from the lands. Four shots at 100 yards gave an overall group of 0.574 inches. Three of those shots were in one hole. Third set was 1.3 grns higher charge, bullet seated .015 out. The rifle did not like this combo and the group opened up considerably. Forth and final set was the same 1.3 gns higher charge with the bullet seated .030 out. The group tightened up, though, it wasn't as good as the second combo. All of the previous loads, which I've ran through this rifle and have been unspectacular, have all been with the bullets seated .010-.015 out.
I'm a novice at all of this. For load development, I kind of go by the Sinclair Precision Reloading book:
Pick a bullet and 3-4 powders. One powder should shoot better than the others.
Vary bullet seating depth.
If you try and try and it still doesn't shoot, check the neck concentricity. Run out is a common problem.

Ishooter, is this your first savage? Just wondering as you mentioned an Encore and you are correct, most other rifles do well with a good frequent cleaning, Savages don't.
Most shoot way better dirty. If all else fails take 3 boxes of Amer. Eagle or other cheap ammo and plink for a while, then cool barrel, setup and shoot a fouled cold bore and repeat the FCB you may be suprised.

I helped a friend and his son inlaw sight a factory package gun yesterday, federal 150gr ammo and after 24 rounds had them both shooting a little better than 1"@100. This is a mod. 111 30/06 With a sporter barrel, it was the second range session and started with a clean barrel,I told them to leave it alone until the accuracy falls off or when they start shooting reloads and then we will start over.Both were impressed with the accuracy for factory gun.
Then I shot my custom barreled 250 savage working up a new load,3 out of 6 test loads fell in right at .5-.6 the forth was .4 all @100.They went home to search for custom barrels and a VLP.

If you cant get the accuracy from this barrel,why not try a replacement from northlander shooters supply 1-763-682-4296. Jim is the man with the most reasonable replacement barrels that are close to custom for average joe price. I have all of his brands and I like mcgowen the best so far.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jonbearman

If you cant get the accuracy from this barrel,why not try a replacement from northlander shooters supply 1-763-682-4296. Jim is the man with the most reasonable replacement barrels that are close to custom for average joe price. I have all of his brands and I like mcgowen the best so far.

---

OMG it's a Savage it should shoot MOA out of the box. Hell if I would go buy another barrel. It would go back to Savage to be re-barrel at their expense before I did that. I doubt Savage guarantees MOA but it should be accurate within some tolerance or they should replace the barrel.

Honestly I think sticking with only one weight bullet (One that is at the upper most in weight for stable flight) and one powder is a bit narrow and a lot to expect to perform MOA merely because you demand it from the load you choose. Would be nice is rifles worked that way but they don't.

Ishooter, just another note in the spirit of helping....I noticed you mentioned 100 gr bullets. Go buy a box of Federal 70 grain Nosler Ballistic tips and you'll be fine I wager. I believe that may be the issue.

Sorry to hear your Savage is under performing
My 110BA in 338LM really didn't tighten up until after the first 75 rounds.
Since then I've found that it does (as others have suggested) shoot much tighter dirty, and it takes as many as five to ten fouling shots to come back after a cleaning. I'm at 150 rounds on my current "last cleaning" and if I do my part it is sub 1moa. I plan to keep shooting without cleaning until I see a noticeable drop in accuracy... hmm, maybe I'll never clean! (one can dream can't they?)

My Model 10 Predator Max-1 in 6.5 Creedmoor is the most accurate out-of-the-box rifle I've ever shot. I get 3/4" three-shot groups @ 100 yards with the Hornady factory 120grain load.That's plenty of accuracy for any four-legged critter I may decide to shoot.

What rings and bases are you using? I helped a fellow out this past weekend who couldn't get his gun to shoot under 1.5" groups. I tried a couple things and then put on an EGW rail and it immediately went .3" groups.

Hi all. I didn't get a chance to shoot the savage today. To much stuff to do. I hope I will get to that tomorrow.

TRguy I don't know where you got that I only used one powder. I have used six to date and have ordered others to try.

As far as going to a lighter bullet, I will try that last. Because I use Sierra 6mm 100gr in three other guns, 2 rifles and one hand gun. I stock about a thousand of them. I don't want to have to stock other bullets if I don't have to. Very short on space. I reload for every thing I shoot. So if I can work out a load that will work with the same bullet then that is one less thing to stock.

My feeling is that most modern rifles will shoot factory ammo,( Remington, Federal and Winchester all sell 100gr loadings for the 243 ) and should shoot a one inch five shot group at one hundred yards. My Savage will not do it. So I tried reloads, lots and lots of reloads. I am not new to reloading. I have been reloading for over thirty years.

Yes this is my first Savage. I used a Warne picatinny 20moa tactical base and Burris xtreme tactical rings for the scope.

It is my understanding that Savage uses a 1 in 10 twist in there rifles and that will stabilize bullets up to 120 gr, so the 100gr shouldn't be a problem.

Now if I have to re-barrel this rifle to make it shoot, this will be my last savage. If I had bought it I would sell it. My wife got it for me so I have to make it work. I will call Savage if I can't get it to shoot and see what they will do about it. If they do nothing I will re-barrel it to make it work and that will be the end of me and Savage. You all have a great day. I will get back to you all after I shoot it.

The Rate of Twist on Savage .243 is 1 in 9.25"

I have never read where the .243 will stabilize a projectile effectively past 105gr, I have never gotten results out of 100gr bullets with my savage like I have with with 85, 87, and 95 grain bullets. 243 is my favorite cartridge and very versatile and minimal recoil with Lazar like accuracy in the field.....But like all rifles it is limited in its ability due to powder capacity and bullet weight.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TRguy

The Rate of Twist on Savage .243 is 1 in 9.25"
I have never read where the .243 will stabilize a projectile effectively past 105gr.

---

Others (On this site.) and I have had good luck with 107 SMK in them. I shot some nice groups out at 1000 yards with them.

Well my factory Fclass 6.5x284 shoots great but got out done by another Savage shooter.
http://benchrest.com/showthread.php?...atch-5-Results

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 82boy

Others (On this site.) and I have had good luck with 107 SMK in them. I shot some nice groups out at 1000 yards with them.

---

Were you shooting a factory barrel at 9.25" ROT, heavy contour?, Sporter?, FCLass? I never said it can't be done...But on the average....

....and when I say "read" I mean published work or data based work from a known writer or manufacturer, not what some bloke on some forum writes which may or may not be worth anything.

It's TRUE I read it on the internets, said George Bush. Only gets worse if you believe what the current marxists in chief says. You know, Prezzy Odummer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ishooter

Hi all. I didn't get a chance to shoot the savage today. To much stuff to do. I hope I will get to that tomorrow.

TRguy I don't know where you got that I only used one powder. I have used six to date and have ordered others to try.

As far as going to a lighter bullet, I will try that last. Because I use Sierra 6mm 100gr in three other guns, 2 rifles and one hand gun. I stock about a thousand of them. I don't want to have to stock other bullets if I don't have to. Very short on space. I reload for every thing I shoot. So if I can work out a load that will work with the same bullet then that is one less thing to stock.

My feeling is that most modern rifles will shoot factory ammo,( Remington, Federal and Winchester all sell 100gr loadings for the 243 ) and should shoot a one inch five shot group at one hundred yards. My Savage will not do it. So I tried reloads, lots and lots of reloads. I am not new to reloading. I have been reloading for over thirty years.

Yes this is my first Savage. I used a Warne picatinny 20moa tactical base and Burris xtreme tactical rings for the scope.

It is my understanding that Savage uses a 1 in 10 twist in there rifles and that will stabilize bullets up to 120 gr, so the 100gr shouldn't be a problem.

Now if I have to re-barrel this rifle to make it shoot, this will be my last savage. If I had bought it I would sell it. My wife got it for me so I have to make it work. I will call Savage if I can't get it to shoot and see what they will do about it. If they do nothing I will re-barrel it to make it work and that will be the end of me and Savage. You all have a great day. I will get back to you all after I shoot it.

---

I believe that is a 1/9.25 twist barrel. If it is it won't stabilize 100gr consistantly. As I said it will probably shoot 70 gr well, but if you are determined to shoot what you wish rather than what the barrel is designed for that's a frustrating road to take. Savage and other manufactures "design and build" around a test cartridge that is popular for the caliber they are building. I don't believe the Model 11 was barreled for 100 gr.


It should list the bullet Savage tested with for that caliber in the owners manual. I will see if I can determine what they used for the .243. Mine loves the 100 gr Win X2432 factory, but is a 40+ yr old gun.


EDIT: I found his on page 24 of my owners manual and on SavageArms.com under manuals and accutrigger .pdf.
Here is a text copy of the content.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT: WWW.SAVAGEARMS.COM
Bullet specifications and trajectories are available directly from the ammunition manufacturer.
The following table lists the bullet weights used for 100 yard targeting evaluation at Savage Arms.
Performance may vary based on brand/type of ammunition, individual characteristics of the firearm,
and/or shooting conditions.
USE ONLY THE CORRECT AMMUNITION THAT IS STAMPED ON THE SIDE OF THE BARREL.
THE USE OF RELOADS, HANDLOADS, MILITARY SURPLUS, OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL /
NONCOMMERCIAL AMMUNITION NOT MANUFACTURED TO SAAMI (SPORTING ARMS AND
AMMUNITION MANUFACTURERS’ INSTITUTE, INC.)/ ANSI (AMERICAN NATIONAL
STANDARDS INSTITUTE) SPECIFICATIONS WILL VOID THE WARRANTY.
Caliber
Bullet Weight
(Grains)
220 Swift
Federal Premium 52 grain Sierra Match King BTHP
223 Remington
Federal 69 grain Sierra Match King BTHP
204 Ruger
Hornady 32 grain V Max
22-250 Remington
Federal V Shock 40 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip
243 Winchester
Federal 70 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip
25-06 Remington
Federal 90 grain Varmint HP
270 Winchester
Federal 130 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip
270 Winchester Short Magnum
Winchester 130 grain Ballistic Silver Tip
7mm-08 Remington
Federal 140 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip
7mm Remington Magnum
Federal 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip
7mm Remington Winchester
Short Magnum
Winchester 160 grain Fail Safe
300 Winchester Magnum
Federal 165 grain Partition Gold
300 Winchester Short Magnum
Winchester 150 grain Ballistic Silver Tip
308 Winchester
Federal 168 grain Sierra Match King BTHP
30-06 Springfield
Federal 168 grain Sierra Match King BTHP
325 Winchester Short Magnum

338 Winchester Magnum
Nosler 210 grain Partition

END OF REFERENCE MATERIAL..........................

If it is a 1 year old Savage Factory out of the box .243, it is probably the 70 gr. barrel. If it is that barrel, stretching a 30 gr bullet weight from 70-100 gr is a recipe for frustration and failure. Anyway you have enough information now from all the postings to correct any problem.

I have and shoot a mod. 11 sporter barreled 243,it is my hunting rifle so I really never looked for a load for bench rest accuracy.I also use 100gr. speer bullets pushed by IMR 4895 CCI primers loaded in the middle of the load range from the speer manual and it is always .75" or better @100 yards, usually the first two in the same hole with the third just outside.
The rifle is a later 1990's model 1:9.5 twist no accu anything, the only change was to a Boyds laminate thumbhole stock but it shot this way before the stock change even with the tupperware.I never shoot rapid fire or more than three shots at a time and let it cool in between strings.
It will stabalize that 100 gr.

rjtfroggy I am with you. This rifle should shoot 100gr bullets. Shilen barrels lists the max of 120 gr for a 1 in 10 twist for a 243 barrel. skypilot said that Savage uses a 1 in 9.5 in there barrels and that is faster by a half inch so I don't see a problem with the barrel not stabilizing 100gr bullets. I will go with Shilen barrels information, they have been making barrels for along time and have a very good reputation for shooting well.

IMR4895 is one of the powders that just was delivered today. The other one was TAC, I ordered that for my 223. I will load up some bullets with that and try them tomorrow.

skypilot the information you posted is what they used to test the rifle not what they are saying has to be used in the rifle. (The following table lists the bullet weights used for 100 yard targeting evaluation at Savage Arms.)

You all have a great night and I will get back to you tomorrow after I shoot it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ishooter

skypilot said that Savage uses a 1 in 9.5 in there barrels and that is faster by a half inch so I don't see a problem with the barrel not stabilizing 100gr bullets.

---

You misquoted skypilot, he typed:

Quote:

---

I believe that is a 1/9.25 twist barrel. If it is it won't stabilize 100gr consistantly.

---

...and skypilot is correct the Rate of Twist is 1 in 9.25" for the .243 on current production Savage Rifles. You can check the Savage website or call them yourself.

rjtfroggy referenced a rifle made in the 90s and he didn't seem totally for sure on the ROT.

Anyways let us know how your groups tighten up, pics are always good.

Ok, about my posting.... re: Savage's 100yd factory TARGET evaluation at 100yds was listed as being done with 70 gr NBT. If "Savages shoot less than MOA out of the box" AND Savage factory does their .243 caliber testing for their 1/9.25 twist barrels @ 100 yds with 70 gr NBT, it might be worth trying what the Original Equipment Manufacturer used.

The texas barrel maker you mentioned uses a button as does Savage. The Button rifling by the very process can be off quite a bit on rate of twist. A button rifled barrel listed as 1/10 may actually be a 1/9.25 or 1/9.5. If you want to bet the bank on what twist a barrel says it is buy a Kriegar or Bartleins cut barrel.

Anyway, most of us are just trying to help you get where you want to be with the .243.

Just keep this in mind..... a hen can TRY all she wants, to hatch a golf ball, but it ain't gonna happen.:pop2:

Hi all. I got to shoot the Savage today. There must have been some thing wrong with the way the rifle was put together because she is shooting much better now. I used a load of 42gr of Reloader 22 and the 100 gr Sierra. The first group was 7/8 of an inch so was the second one and the last group was 5/8 of an inch. Not bad for a rifle that wasn't shooting under a inch and a half with the same load three days before. Thank you all very much for your time and information. Now I can go back to trying to find a good load for this rifle. You all have a great day. Oh, I may be looking for a Savage 223 in the near future. I think this time I will get the one with out all the acu stuff. As I said before you all have a great day and thanks a lot for all the information and help.

Good deal, sounds like success and appears to be shooting tight. Can't wait to see the results of a good handload.

My Savage 116/111 shot 1 inch moa with the Tupper wear stock. I ordered a Boyds Laminated and set it up with the intention to pillar bed and full bed the action. Six shots into the break-in of the Boyds stock I had a 3/8 and 1/2 in group off bags. I put in in the case and made it the seasons hunting rife. I'll be bedding it after January. So mine was pretty accurate. I did do a load work up after 40 rounds of break-in but by 15 rounds I knew my powder and bullet. My hand loads are typically a ragged hole or nearly a single hole once I bed. It continues to get better the more I shoot it. On a white clean cold barrel first shot it tends to be 3" above my normal POI and on my 4th shot right back on the original POI. All shots coming straight down a vertical line from 12 O'clock. So I don't over clean it and always hunt with a fouled barrel to make that first shot count and not have to worry about hold under. Follow the great gouge on this page and it should do better. Sometimes it's just a small thing over looked or just the load bullet distance off the lands etc. I'd work on it a while before I gave up. Usually the .243 is pretty tight right out of the box but every barrel, action and set up is unique. It will be obvious when you find the sweet spot. I's probably there somewhere.

mps

I am glad you got your rifle shooting. There's absolutely no reason that rifle shouldn't reliably shoot the 100g and higher bullets...as a 1:9.25 twist is faster than a 1:10 (which we know will reliably handle 100g bullets). The only think I will add to this conversation is that not all bullets are created equal...I have 4 different .243's they have several different twists (1:10, 1:9.5, 1:12) and they all eat 100g bullets very well (even the 1:12)....but they don't all eat the same 100g bullets well...3 of them really like Noslers 100g Solid Bases (they don't make this bullet anymore...thank goodness I stockpiled some 20 years ago)....the 4th, which is a Remington 700 BDL and the most recent acquisition to the stable...doesn't seem to like much of anything over 80g in any brand except for Speer....I had some older 100g Speer softpoint solid base bullets it eats very well (1/2 MOA). I'd say you are lucky to have so many rifles like the same bullet, as that's not always the case.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ishooter

Hi all. I got to shoot the Savage today. There must have been some thing wrong with the way the rifle was put together because she is shooting much better now. I used a load of 42gr of Reloader 22 and the 100 gr Sierra. The first group was 7/8 of an inch so was the second one and the last group was 5/8 of an inch. Not bad for a rifle that wasn't shooting under a inch and a half with the same load three days before. Thank you all very much for your time and information. Now I can go back to trying to find a good load for this rifle. You all have a great day. Oh, I may be looking for a Savage 223 in the near future. I think this time I will get the one with out all the acu stuff. As I said before you all have a great day and thanks a lot for all the information and help.

---

Glad to hear you got it shooting tighter. Please tell us what you did to correct the issue, you stated there must have been something wrong with the way the rifle was put together?