Savage 110 Flat-back long action 308/5R conversion range report
This is going to be my primary hunting rifle this year. Hunting season opens in 3.5 weeks.
I re-bedded my Savage recently to free float the barrel. Torqued all the screws and such and headed out on Friday for a range test. I met my uncle who had his Savage 30-06 and his friend who will join us this year. His friend was packing a 340 Weatherby.
I got my Savage on paper with some 125's at 50 and called it good.
His friend had a hard time getting consistent groups. He was flinching really bad! His Weatherby was a featherweight and the recoil was brutal! After watching me shoot my Savage, he asked me to shoot his Weatherby. Man, my shoulder took a beating! I fired 3 rounds at 50 to get on paper, then we moved to the 200.
I got my uncle and his friend sorted out at 200, then I moved to mine. I broke out my hunting loads that I made 2 years ago with 165 grain Nosler Accu-Bonds, 42.8 grains of 4064 and a 9-1/2 primer.
My first 3 rounds on paper at 200 measured 1.246" (0.595 MOA). I adjusted the scope and fired 3 more which grouped at 0.680" (0.324 MOA).
I figured that was good enough for a hunting round and ran a few rounds of 175 FGMM for giggles. Groups were okay at 0.745 MOA and 0.612 MOA. By this time, my shoulder was hamburger and the heat waves were bad. I didn't feel like I was at the top of my game that day but the results were satisfactory. Since this rifle is set up for hunting, the scope wasn't really ideal for precision work. The crosshairs were way too fat.
I'll do some precision work after hunting season.
http://i.imgur.com/MSpSAqf.jpg
This rifle is a mid-1980's Savage 110 long action flat-back that started life as a 270 win. I started overhauling it 6 years ago. So far, the only thing left that is original is the receiver and trigger mechanism. Here is the breakdown of the parts:
-Savage 110 flat-back long action receiver with old style 3-screw factory adjustable trigger
-New jeweled Savage bolt with small-shank firing pin and new bolt face
-Savage black steel trigger guard (original one was plastic)
-Northland Shooter's Supply heavy duty recoil lug and stainless steel barrel nut
-McMillan HTG stock in McMillan camo, pillar bedded with Marine-Tex
-Evolution Gun Works picatinny rail with upgraded Torx screws, bedded at the rear
-Benchmark barrel:
-22" varmint contour (0.9" at the muzzle)
-Chambered in 308 using their "Gold Medal Match" chamber with 0.090" freebore
-5R rifling
-1:11" twist
-Barrel threading with thread protector
-Ziess Conquest 3-9x50 with Rapid-Z 600 reticle
-Burris medium height Zee rings
-Sharp Shooter's Supply improved extractor kit (ditched their custom ejector, it was causing feeding issues)
-Trigger tuned down to around 3 pounds. This was as light as I could get it and still be safe.
Total weight as pictured is around 11.5 pounds.
I'd like to throw on a nice Nightforce or US Optics at some point and a Surefire suppressor.
If I could do it all over again, I'd use a newer Savage with detachable magazines, but this was given to me by my late step-father as a high school graduation present back in 1991.
Thanks for looking!
Tony.
