16 lightweight hunter...finally!

So the Reader's Digest version of my four month journey of frustration with my 16 LWH in 6.5 Creedmoor finally ended today. I learned in that time shooting OCW load development with four different bullets that you no poop have to learn how to shoot lightweight rifles.

After endless googlerin' on techniques for shooting lightweight rifles I ended up with the technique and load (Berger 135 gr classic hunter and RE 16) that gave me a final solid sub-MOA node at Mag length that I'll hopefully improve on working with seating depth.

I thought I had a turd out of the box and it turned out I was the turd behind the rifle. Whitetail beware....

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Glad to hear you have made progress and found a good load. Also I congratulate you on being honest enough to come back and publicly admit the problem was you and not the rifle. Most wouldn't.

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I congratulate you on being honest enough to come back and publicly admit the problem was you and not the rifle. Most wouldn't.

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Agree.

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you no poop have to learn how to shoot lightweight rifles.

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My first Savage LWH was in a Creedmoor also. It had the 20" pencil barrel. The muzzle flip was sharp and although "inspiring" did not enhance accuracy even a little. I finally just went with a 22" sporter barrel from another Savage and all ended well. It is what Savage should have put on the LWH's to start with.

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Originally Posted by wbm

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I congratulate you on being honest enough to come back and publicly admit the problem was you and not the rifle. Most wouldn't.

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Agree

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you no poop have to learn how to shoot lightweight rifles.

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You sure do. My first Savage LWH was in a Creedmoor with the 20" pencil barrel. The muzzle flip was sharp and "inspiring" but did not enhance accuracy even a little. I finally just went with a 22" sporter barrel from another Savage and all ended well. It is what Savage should have put on the LWH's to start with.

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I agree and that's probably what I would have done if I could have found a take off barrel. I was in between re-barreling with a higher end medium sporter or trading it away. Yesterday fortunately changed my mind.

As I learned some of the lightweight rifle techniques my groups got smaller and it all came together yesterday. Pull the rifle hard into the shoulder pocket, down on the fore end and what turned out to make the big difference was very light cheek pressure on the stock. It took almost all the reticle wobble out and the snug hold controlled the recoil.

Can't wait to take it out to 500 yds and make sure it's minute of antelope.


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+1. I've played with two Remington 7 models (260, 308) and three Savage LWH rifles (260, 280AI and 7mm08) over the past 10 years. Just ordered another Savage 16 LWH in 6.5 Creed that BGS had listed for $467. As you said, it was a learning curve to get consistent sub MOA groups off bags or bipod. Good positioning behind the rifle and firm forearm control to minimize muzzle jump and rifle torque are a must. Another must is allowing the thin barrel to completely cool after every 3 rounds. I've also had the rear action screw loosen over time with recoil. Check action screw torque frequently. I replace the plastic BBR trigger guard with a metal one. Bedding the action and recoil lug area in the wood or plastic stock can help. Adding a barrel pressure point at the tip of the forearm worked for me. Swapped to a 22" factory sporter barrel will work and only adds about 6 oz to overall rifle weight. But in all honesty, the Savage Trophy Hunter XP is a lot better value. It has the same stock, plastic trigger guard and Axis-style magazine as the Savage LWH. It already has a 22" factory sporter barrel and overall weight is only about 7.5 oz more than the Savage 16 LWH.

Oh you are very correct on letting the barrel cool. Yesterday I gave 2-3 minutes between shots. That was probably a little excessive but I can't argue with the results.

I dropped my 16 LWH in a Hogue with the full bedding block. Not a huge fan of the overmold feel but for this application the tackiness really helps especially gripping the fore end.

Good heads up on the Trophy Hunter when I'm looking again.


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Shooting a lightweight rifle really does take a learning curve. My son and I went through that with his B Mag.

I have found that most lightweight models like a very firm grip and want to be pulled tightly into the shoulder for best accuracy results. Unfortunately in the case of the Savage 16/116 LWH's comes with a very flimsy stock that makes it extremely hard to have a consistent firm hold with due to how much it flexes. Any slight deviation in the pressure you apply to the grip or in how tightly you pull it back into your shoulder can and will affect POI down range due to flex in the wrist area. This is something I will be demonstrating in the video portion of my upcoming review of one of these rifles, but if you want to see for yourself sooner than that just lay the rifle on a table so that only the buttstock is on the table and the edge of the table is just behind the grip area. Now while holding the butt down to the table with one hand, use the other to grab the forend/barrel area together and apply light downward pressure to see just how much and how easily the stock flexes in the grip area.

Couldn't agree more. I bought a Boyds for it initially but that didn't work out (PM me if you want details). Then I got the Hogue and that made a big difference. After that it was just finding the right combination of techniques for me. As an example putting downward pressure on the forward scope mount didn't work but pulling down on the fore end did.

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I agree with MrFurious on the hold on the 16 stock. I have a mdl 16 TH in 260 and the with the factory stock the point of impact moved drastically depending on how it was held. I have to be honest though, my barrel was junk and Savage replaced it. Before I sent it back I bedded it in a Boyds TH stock and it still wouldn't shoot much under 2".