And lo! It is finished!

Happy Sunday folks! Joined about the time I picked up a 110 EP in .338LM for a ELR build and things are finally wrapping up! Aside from swapping the Pic rail screws for longer one where possible everything is box stock and I dig the MDT ACC chassis. Still doing load development (Kinda took a HUGE detour into reloading when I priced really good factory ammo :lol: ) but I think she's a shooter for sure! Ladder tests suggest that 94.6gr of Reloder 33 under a 300gr SMK should provide sub.5 MOA at 200. I like Retumbo better but good luck find that right now :sad: Anyways, here she is in all here glory!

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/pki4aq.jpg

One MAJOR challenge was finding a case for the beast! Finally found a case from Explorer Cases that is built specifically for .50BMG rifles like the Mcmillan TAC -50...
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/nB6m6S.jpg

For all the horror stories I find this rifle to be soft shooting in the grand scheme of thing while offering lots of oomph way down range! Fun gun for sure!

P.S. All of Savage's hype about a blue printed action seems to be legit! A little grease on the bolt lugs and the cocking cam and this is by far the smoothest Savage bolt I have ever run. Good extraction, ejection, and the Accu-Trigger really suprised me! I'm a happy boy!

Great lookig setup you have there. Keep us posted on the long range accuracy results.

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Originally Posted by GaCop

Great lookig setup you have there. Keep us posted on the long range accuracy results.

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Thank you! Hoping to get to Texas this fall to see what she can do at 2000 yards!

So I learned an important lesson this weekend. My rifle got to acting erratically in a BIG way and that's when noticed the vertical grip was loose. Turns out it was the inner post where it mount to the chassis. Disassembled, applied 243 locktite to the offending screw, and reassembled. This episode got me to checking other fasteners in the system and almost everything was loose! The rear action action screw was snug at best, the front action screw was about to fall out, and the Sphur rings screws had started backing out. The ring screws were an easy fix as Sphur says they can be de-greased and locktite applied. The action screws were another story as I have heard horror stories. Chatted up a product engineer / comptetive shooter from MDT and he encouraged me to 1) Use said locktite and torque to 65 in/lbs and 2) Put witness marks on the screw heads and chassis for quick visual verification that everything is still tight! The .338 is a punishing round for sure and I hope these adjustments :) are going to have the 110EP shooting better that ever! I know I can crack .5MOA!

I've been loading ammo for my shooting buddy's 338LM. He's shooting a stock Savage 112 with factory brake, and the grouping hasn't been the best. Previous 300SMK over 88 gr of H1000 proved fairly good, and 285 ELDM's shot well to 1750. But the A-Tips over RL 33 are proving to be erratic. Two in one hole at 300 yds followed by a flier two moa away.

Was talking to a very experienced Marine sniper from several wars back, and he stated emphatically that on the 338 LM, the brake MUST have a 11 degree or better crown. A flat face crown will not shoot boat tail bullets. The stock Savage brake has a flat faced crown. I'll be testing it in the near future with a different brake and will write back.

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Originally Posted by Texas10

I've been loading ammo for my shooting buddy's 338LM. He's shooting a stock Savage 112 with factory brake, and the grouping hasn't been the best. Previous 300SMK over 88 gr of H1000 proved fairly good, and 285 ELDM's shot well to 1750. But the A-Tips over RL 33 are proving to be erratic. Two in one hole at 300 yds followed by a flier two moa away.

Was talking to a very experienced Marine sniper from several wars back, and he stated emphatically that on the 338 LM, the brake MUST have a 11 degree or better crown. A flat face crown will not shoot boat tail bullets. The stock Savage brake has a flat faced crown. I'll be testing it in the near future with a different brake and will write back.

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I'm still shooting ladder tests but the Area419 sidewinder hasn't given me much trouble. 9 shots with a 300gr SMK loaded over charge weights ascending from 82.0gr to 86.0gr. of Retumbo gave me a group of .85 MOA at 200 yards. This was with an ES of something like 113FPS. Not sure what the crown angle is but it seems to work. I've managed some .6MOA groups but I really think there is more in the rifle.

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Originally Posted by nikonNUT

I'm still shooting ladder tests but the Area419 sidewinder hasn't given me much trouble. 9 shots with a 300gr SMK loaded over charge weights ascending from 82.0gr to 86.0gr. of Retumbo gave me a group of .85 MOA at 200 yards. This was with an ES of something like 113FPS. Not sure what the crown angle is but it seems to work. I've managed some .6MOA groups but I really think there is more in the rifle.

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My little experience with big guns is that they hold the MOA further out than smaller guns obviously because of BC.
A gun that size at .6-1 moa. Is awesome and should hold out to the 1400yd mark or better. 10” groups at 1400yds is well below moa and you should love it.

That’s pretty awesome. Good looking rifle.


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Glad to hear about the smooth action. All my savages (4) suffered from binding including the 338 FCP. Plus magazine issues too. My 338 was a great shooter though. Shoulder fatigue after around 10 rounds. Ended up selling it to fund a RPR in 338. Awesome rifle and action was smooth as butter. Heavier though. Zero shoulder fatigue after 30 rounds. Back issues got me to sell it though. Both rifles shot 285 ELD -X real good using H1000. Enjoy your rifle. Always loved shooting big boomers. I miss my 50 BMG.