110 Engage Hunter XP First Impression

I recently picked up a 110 Engage Hunter XP in .243 Win. I'm new to Savage Firearms and bolt action rifles in particular. I don't have anything to compare this with as my only other rifles are 760 Gamemaster in .35 Rem. and a .50 Hawken.

I'm pleased with the fit and finish and feel that this combo package will serve it's intended use of informal paper punching and plinking well. The only negative was the scope instillation. At the 100 yd. line with some factory ammo I couldn't get on paper and had no idea where my shots were going. Backtracking to the 50 yd. line more ammo downrange and not a hole to be seen! So much for getting started with the load series I had worked up. I stopped on the was home and bought a bore sight which when tested showed the scope way left and high. Also upon closer scrutiny, the scope was out of level by about 2 degrees.

Hopefully with my scope tinkering I can be on target and get some accuracy testing done this week.

In conclusion, Pro: I like the rifle and think it will work well, Con: I don't know how Savage can claim that these scopes are bore sighted when it was as far off as this was.

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Originally Posted by Britiron

I recently picked up a 110 Engage Hunter XP in .243 Win. I'm new to Savage Firearms and bolt action rifles in particular. I don't have anything to compare this with as my only other rifles are 760 Gamemaster in .35 Rem. and a .50 Hawken.

I'm pleased with the fit and finish and feel that this combo package will serve it's intended use of informal paper punching and plinking well. The only negative was the scope instillation. At the 100 yd. line with some factory ammo I couldn't get on paper and had no idea where my shots were going. Backtracking to the 50 yd. line more ammo downrange and not a hole to be seen! So much for getting started with the load series I had worked up. I stopped on the was home and bought a bore sight which when tested showed the scope way left and high. Also upon closer scrutiny, the scope was out of level by about 2 degrees.

Hopefully with my scope tinkering I can be on target and get some accuracy testing done this week.

In conclusion, Pro: I like the rifle and think it will work well, Con: I don't know how Savage can claim that these scopes are bore sighted when it was as far off as this was.

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A real easy way to get them on the paper is to pull the bolt out, look down the bore at your target and adjust the scope till they are similar... helps to have bags or bipod for this method but it has never failed to get me within a few MOA and then fine tune is only another 4 or 5 shots away:) but I've loved all my savages.. very good rifles for the money and a excellent piece to start a budget precision build with.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Ted_Feasel

A real easy way to get them on the paper is to pull the bolt out, look down the bore at your target and adjust the scope till they are similar... helps to have bags or bipod for this method but it has never failed to get me within a few MOA and then fine tune is only another 4 or 5 shots away:) but I've loved all my savages.. very good rifles for the money and a excellent piece to start a budget precision build with.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

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+1

Like any precision tool, bore sighters should be calibrated but most aren't and have no means to make adjustments. I've had magnetic laser ones that you stick on the end of the barrel that had the magnet glued on way out of square making it all but useless. Rotate in while the laser is pointing at a target 15 feet away and it would make about a 15" circle. My Bushnell collimater has adjustment screws to dial in the grid, but even with those it's never "exact". First you have to calibrate it one a scoped rifle that's already zeroed in. Then when you use it on a different rifle, any difference in scope mounting height is going to affect the vertical and if there's any misalignment with the barrel to action or a slight bow in the barrel it could throw off the horizontal a little.

In short, a bore-sighter can only get you in the ballpark no matter what brand it is, what style it is or how much it costs. Using the method Ted descibes above of pulling the bolt and looking through the bore is much, much more effective and I've gotten so good at it these days that the POI of my first shot is usually within 3-4 inches of my aiming point at 100 yards. Only downside of this method is it really only works on bolt-actions and AR's - and on the AR's you have to pull the upper receiver off the lower and remove the BCG to do it.

While at the range I did pull the bolt to try that method to no avail. I was reluctant to do that amount of cranking as it seemed excessive. Once I had the bore laser I felt more comfortable cranking away and I could see the movement taking place. Lesson learned.

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Originally Posted by Britiron

While at the range I did pull the bolt to try that method to no avail. I was reluctant to do that amount of cranking as it seemed excessive. Once I had the bore laser I felt more comfortable cranking away and I could see the movement taking place. Lesson learned.

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With experience, you'll never need a lazer again. Not to mention the fact that the alignment of those lazers is kind of a crap shoot to begin with.

Sadly, about half the rifle reviews I read anymore have more to do with the bore sighting than the rifle, which is a shame because that's a process that's not specific to any brand, and nobody should reasonably trust a factory bore-sighted rifle. Why not? Because the first thing a person needs to do when they buy a rifle/scope combo (assuming the base and rings aren't crap, which most of them are...) is remove the scope, re-tighten the base screws, replace the scope and tighten the rings on the bases, then loosen and re-tighten the ring screws. That alone would render any factory bore-sighting job useless, and if a person isn't doing that then they really are just asking for trouble.

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Originally Posted by J.Baker

Using the method Ted descibes above of pulling the bolt and looking through the bore is much, much more effective and I've gotten so good at it these days that the POI of my first shot is usually within 3-4 inches of my aiming point at 100 yards. Only downside of this method is it really only works on bolt-actions and AR's - and on the AR's you have to pull the upper receiver off the lower and remove the BCG to do it.

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I haven't had a rifle "professionally bore sighted" since the late 70s. The only method I use is the one Ted described, and like JB, am usually within the same 3 - 4" at 100yds using my rifle's barrel and my own eyes.