New 110 owner

I'll try to give the shortened version. Bought a 110 .30-06 trophy hunter xp two seasons ago. Went to sight it in and it was awful. Checked scope rings, etc. for tightness. Still issues shooting hornady superformance. Turns out the idiot at the rifle club was having me shoot at the wrong target while sighting in and was adjusting the scope accordingly. Wasted a bunch of shells, and ended up shooting an ok group with Winchester ballistic silver tip. I was so turned off I shot my old 30-30 lever action the next season. Now to the present, I figured I'd give it another go with someone who knows what they're doing as this rifle should be capable of 1" moa at 100 yards I would think. I bought a box of 150g core lokt and a box of 165g federal sierra btsp. I'm crossing my fingers that one of them will group well, and that I should've gotten something with a ballistic tip. I also wondered about your thoughts on the wood stock? Am I an idiot for buying the model I did? I see numerous complaints about the triggerguard bolt release. I plan on getting better rings and a new scope next year. Was thinking maybe a bell and carlson stock down the road? I'm kind of a one rifle guy, and would like to make the best of this. I do like wood, so maybe there's a better stock to upgrade to? I've read so much good stuff about these rifles, then read a crap ton of complaints in the next turn. Just looking for thoughts on my model I guess. Thanks in advance, and sorry for my ramblings.

Welcome to the Savage forum from Central Penna.

If you like wood, keep it.
No action can tell whether it's in a wood stock, composite/fiberglass, or an aluminum chassis.
What it DOES know is whether it's being stressed/bent by improper inletting or a bad bedding block, and whether it moves under recoil.

I tell every customer that a wood/laminate stock needs its action to be properly epoxy bedded, and pillars installed. Wood changes dimensionally with changes in temperature and humidity- and compresses over time under the torque of the action screws. Epoxy bedding and pillars solves those issues. Downside, is some woods are heavy compared to composites and chassis systems.

In the end, all will shoot equally well if set up correctly.

I think you’ll find acceptable performance just the way it sits. Just as tobnpr above says there are things that could be improved but most rifles shoot decent out of wood sticks.

I would invest in good optics and bases before stock but maybe that’s just me.

Take it to the range and see what it can do.

I tend to look at everything from a precision rifle perspective, and granted...not everyone (esp. many hunting applications) needs that level of accuracy.
Check to be sure the barrel is free-floated. Take a business card, wrap it around the underside of the barrel ahead of the forend and confirm that you can slide it all the way back to the receiver.

Finding the best factory ammo can be a challenge, but if you want to evaluate the accuracy of the stick you need to do it with match ammo like Federal Gold Medal 168's. Factory ammo like Federal's Gold Medal and Black Hills are used by major manufacturers in accuracy testing/evaluation as they're known to have a large "sweet spot"/accuracy node that works well with most rifles.

Barrel harmonics vary greatly from rifle to rifle, some will shoot just about anything well- and others take a lot of work to find what it likes.

OP, these are good rifles. The complaints you read need to be viewed in proper context. Personally, I think they are as good or better than others in their price range.
Would I choose the TH over other SAVAGE models? No. I have, however, built very nice rifles that shoot very well and were originally TH's. If you're inclined to customize a Savage, there are cheaper options out there. If you want a decent deer hunting rifle that will get the job done out to 400 yards, has a detachable box mag and won't brake the bank, the TH will easily fill the bill

I have a model 11 in 7mm-08 that is very particular on what you feed it. With factory remington 140 gr. the best I could get was a 2" group. Bedding the action didn't help much. I put together some reloads with Sierra 140 BTSP and the rifle groups under 2" at 200 yds. I am strictly a hunter so the accuracy works for me.

I am a fan of Sierra and Nosler Accubonds. They both shoot great in my 30-06 AI 110CL. They also perform really reliably on game. My 110CL is stocked in wood and the stock has a terrible fit. I have always talked of restocking the rifle, but, it shoots quite accurately the way it is.

If you can't get satisfactory groups with the Federal with 165 Sierra BTSP, I would consider bedding the action and getting into reloading.

I do not mean to be insulting, but, are you sure the groups are due to rifle and not the shooter? I watched a guy struggle sighting in his rifle until we had him use a lead sled to hold the rifle steady.

From what I read,... nothing that happened there was the rifle's fault. Some rifles don't like certain ammo. Start cheap on ammo and move up. Try difference weights in different brands if you aren't getting results. Not every rifle or every shooter is capable of moa shooting without some work. Some are. My experience with '06 has also been good with 165 Sierras. However, I had an '06 Howa rifle that shot well with the Sierras but shot even better with 150 gr Winchester Power Points. I also have a 308 the likes Rem 150 Corelokts better that anything I can buy or hand load. I have a 270 that won't shoot anything from a store shelf. Go figure. It's my personal preference to work with the rifle you have. Sometimes getting another rifle get's you another bag of issues or at the very least, makes you start over. Oh,.. and don't have anyone help you sight in. You'll never shoot the wrong target if you hang it and check it yourself. And start at 50 yards if you have to, then move out to 100.

When my wife's trophy hunter XP in .223 was new, I tried vmax in 50, 53,55 grains and sierra 69 smk and a few other bullets with CFE223, H4895, imr4895, and a couple other powders. I could do nothing to make it shoot consistently. Even changed mounts, rings and scope. Made sure it was free floated. At wits end I thought about my Wby vanguard that has to have a pressure point. I shoved a couple pieces of thing packing board from my targets and the groups tightened nicely. Once home I replaced the card board with an equal thickness of electrical tape. The stock has not been removed since. She loves 53 vmax and 69 smk using LT-32. But just about any of the before mention pills and powder combo's shoots well in that rifle. Easy to check and easy to reverse if it doesn't help. On good days my wife can out shoot me with it... by a small margin of course.

So I went to sight in today. I tried Corelokt 150g, Hornady SST 150g, and Fed Sierra BTSP 165g. The picture is my best grouping which was with the Federal. I tightened down the scope rings and action snug, as the rings were a bit loose as well as the action bolts. Don't have a torque screwdriver so obviously my stuff isn't exact. I fired about 30ish rounds, with plenty of time in between to let the barrel cool. I also let my father and uncle shoot. They both shoot Browning BARs in .30-06, 1" MOA consistently. I don't know how I feel about this rifle still. I don't think it's fair I'm expecting precision sub MOA out of a somewhat budget gun, with subpar bases, rings, scope, torque settings, etc. I really want to get this rifle dialed in better. Not sure if I should send it back to savage, or if that's being ridiculous. I'd like to have a rifle I'm proud to own, and right now I'm on the fence. I keep seeing guys post crazy groups with Axis's, Ruger Americans, etc., and I feel this rifle is a definite step above those, it certainly cost more. I can honestly say that I am no great rifle shooter, and don't shoot very often, but am definitely going to make it a priority to change that. Can't expect great results with little practice either and I'm very aware of that.

https://s7.postimg.org/bd6986lvf/IMG_0410.jpg

That’s not terrible shooting. Sometimes the groups you see online I think are very “cherry picked”.

If if you think some of that error is attributed to the shooter, get your hands on a lead sled, or shoot off of two good bags. Also I would recommend trying the 165 grain in a couple flavors. I like remmy corelokt but usually run 165s. They have a premium line also but it’s kinda spendy.

Dont get discouraged.

It's not discouragement. It's brand envy and unintentional reverse gun-divaism. OP is shooting a rifle with the combo scope and expecting dime sized groups with no more effort than buying ammo. So,.. you didn't get a Browning and now you wish you did. You should really just go get the Browning. Good luck, though. My Brother in law has a 270 WSM A-Bolt that wouldn't hit a rhino at 50 yards. But boy is he happy. I don't think the Savage is ever going to make you happy or "proud". When is comes to rifle accuracy, you have two options outside of just getting lucky with a great budget rifle. You can work for it or you can buy your way into it. I have a friend that got a Rem 700 end of last deer season. His gun shot about like yours. He bought Tally Scope mounts, a Timney trigger, a nice Boyd's stock,.. and in the end the one thing that made his rifle shoot better was different ammo. That rifle won't shoot 130s well for anything. He was convinced that it should shoot 130s like laser beams. I gave him some 150 grain somethings I had lying around to try. He never shot those. He spent all his shooting time between seasons hand loading and buying 130 grain bullets trying to make it shoot consistently under 2.5 inches. Just before the season start, in a desperate attempt to make his rifle shoot, he tried the 150s. An instant improvement. Groups were consistently just over an inch. He ended up finding that 140gr Hornday Whitetails shot 3/4" groups without even thinking about it and any 140 grain bullet he shoots goes in under an inch. His 140 gr hand loads are making gnat's ass sized groups with Hornady and Sierra bullets. He had 2 real problems. I didn't really want a budget rifle and he was being a hard headed crybaby about the ammo.

Now, I'm not saying that any brand gun is a bad gun. I'm saying that they are all just guns. Tubes and springs and wood and plastic and such. No gun mfg adds Voodoo or magic or street cred to their guns. That group you posted looks like a fine start to me. The Savage factory isn't going to make that gun shoot any better and they shouldn't. You got 3 inside an inch and a flier. I'm willing to bet your 30-30 doesn't' shoot any better than that. Like you said,.. shoot more and you get more familiar with your rifle. If you didn't get the the Nikon combo, get a better scope. I can't stand that weaver scope that they use on some combos. Get a good one piece scope mount like a DNZ or one piece rail and good rings. Make sure your trigger has a consistent pull. Some folks adjust the trigger to be super light but it isn't consistently the same pull. Adding a little weight back in sometimes fixes that. I'm having that issue with a Savage rifle right now. You can stiffen the stock or free float it if you need to. I've filled plastic stock fore ends with epoxy to stiffen them up. Just do some web research and figure out your problems. But, start with scope mounts, ammo and trigger. Once you feel like you can't improve accuracy any more by manipulating those things, then start down the expensive path. That rifle can be made to shoot MOA if it isn't really already doing that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by deleteyourselph

So I went to sight in today. I tried Corelokt 150g, Hornady SST 150g, and Fed Sierra BTSP 165g. The picture is my best grouping which was with the Federal. I tightened down the scope rings and action snug, as the rings were a bit loose as well as the action bolts. Don't have a torque screwdriver so obviously my stuff isn't exact. I fired about 30ish rounds, with plenty of time in between to let the barrel cool. I also let my father and uncle shoot. They both shoot Browning BARs in .30-06, 1" MOA consistently. I don't know how I feel about this rifle still. I don't think it's fair I'm expecting precision sub MOA out of a somewhat budget gun, with subpar bases, rings, scope, torque settings, etc. I really want to get this rifle dialed in better. Not sure if I should send it back to savage, or if that's being ridiculous. I'd like to have a rifle I'm proud to own, and right now I'm on the fence. I keep seeing guys post crazy groups with Axis's, Ruger Americans, etc., and I feel this rifle is a definite step above those, it certainly cost more. I can honestly say that I am no great rifle shooter, and don't shoot very often, but am definitely going to make it a priority to change that. Can't expect great results with little practice either and I'm very aware of that.

https://s7.postimg.org/bd6986lvf/IMG_0410.jpg

---

What is the size of the black diamond (square??) I'm assuming it's 1" on a side. Center to center those top 3 shots would be a 1" group. The whole four shots is just over 2" budget gun, with cheap rings, cheap scope, novice shooter, with random factory hunting loads. That's not that bad. Was that one shot low a called flyer? Can you call your shots well enough to know when you have a flyer that is your fault and not the guns?

Shooting one 1" group does not make your rifle a "minute of angle" gun and I think a lot of the posts you see on the internet are one lucky group.

I guess I should have been more clear on the grouping. That bottom one was a single shot, made some scope adjustments, then the three together were a group. I appreciate the comments. I'd have to disagree that I have brand envy and gun-whatever-the-hell-dissertation word you used, but I understand what you meant. I guess I was more or less looking for validation in my purchase, and should have straight up asked what an appropriate group would be for my rifle. I am more than well aware that you can't believe everything you read on the internet. Just always heard about these crazy tight groupings from budget-ish rifles. I guess looking at the grouping and what I'm working with I should be more than satisfied. That was a 6" outside diameter target, so I would guess that is a 1" diamond. I will most definitely spend some time and money getting this rifle in order. I've been leaning towards a one piece DNZ mount. I also thought about a badger ordnance mount with a good set of rings from Leupold or Burris. Any suggestions on scope/mount/rings would be great! Was thinking of sticking with a standard 3-9x40 as I won't shoot over 200 yards. I like Leupold, but am considering Vortex due to my LEO discount. Nothing against Nikon either, my fathers Monarch is pretty darn nice.

If you're keeping it budget, that DNZ mount and a Nikon Buckmaster is a good combination. My personal feeling on the Vortex are that they're cheap scopes are a quality hit and miss. That's just my personal experience with those. I like the Vipers and have one that I really like. Anything from Burris is good to go. I like the Fullfields for a really tough scope. And '06 with a 2-7 or 3-9 Fullfield II would last you a lifetime.

IMO if you are around 1" with a 3-9x40, a better scope will be the easiest thing to get better groups. If you are only hunting to 200 yards, just leave it.

I wouldn't be discouraged. That 3 shot group is not bad especially with factory ammo. I don't think you mentioned what scope is on your rifle, but an upgrade to the scope and rings might give you better performance. The viper vortexes are really nice and won't break the bank. I've also come to really like the warne maxima steel rings for around $40-50 depending if you get 1" or 30mm rings. They are pretty solid.

Wished you lived closer. Then we could go out to our club range and work on your rig. There are a few tricks might help. Examples, free floating the barrel, proper torque on the scope and action screws, are the action screws hitting the bolt when tightened, swapping the scope for a known good one, are a few thigs that come to mind. Good luck