1st shots with new Trail Hunter...Happy and Impressed as usual!
I posted the other day about my first impressions at pickup time of my new .270 Trail Hunter. Overall high marks, great fit and finish, and I like the look and feel of the rifle. The main reason for this purchase was the threaded barrel...wanted to be able to use my suppressor with a .270. Besides that, I liked the Cerakote as well as the Hogue stock. I went ahead and got the scope mounted and was hoping to take it out this week and sight it in. Unfortunately...we've got a winter storm over us right now, snowing and COLD so an outdoor range trip was out of the question. I decided to go to a nearby indoor range just to shoot a few rounds thru it and get it sighted in at 25 yards in anticipation of an outdoor longer range trip later on.
I had my Omega suppressor attached via the direct thread method (as opposed to the flash hider mount). The benches at this indoor range are very SHORT so I couldn't really use a bipod or even a front and rear bag...I had to sort of just balance it in the middle on one bag. It took 3 shots to get it close to 1 to 1.5" low at 25 yards, which should be fairly close to the bull at 100, with some adjustments after each shot. For shots #4, #5 and #6, I put up a new target. One ragged hole...granted, this is only at 25 yards, but even with a substandard rest I was extremely happy with the initial sight in. And this is with factory Hornady Whitetail 130 gr .270 ammo. (Which I've had REALLY good luck with in my other .270's). I do handload, but I haven't had to handload for any of my Savages yet. Factory ammo works great for hunting purposes.
This rifle feels GREAT shooting it with the suppressor. Not only does it mitigate the sound, but it dampens the recoil also. Not that a .270 kicks much anyway, but it's more like shooting a .223 or maybe a .243. Really no noticable kick. The trigger felt good, but still just a LITTLE stiff for my liking. It's adjusted all the way down, so I hope it breaks in a little over time. Smooth shooter and from what I can see should be very accurate also. It's a better 25 yard group than my 300 win mag that I recently got (also a savage), and that one ended up shooting a .562"group at 100 yards (and a .653 and .906...all back to back to back), so now I'm anxious to take this one out to some distance.
I have multiple Savage rifles and they are ALL shooters pretty much right out of the box. (I do have a .308 that's a little picky with ammo...but once I found the right stuff it's very accurate also).
Here's a pic of my 4th, 5th and 6th shots at a 25 yard target this morning, and some pics of the gun and scope setup. Love this rifle/setup so far!
https://i.imgur.com/JOm1vF5.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/7hyThMS.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qf5cuJH.jpg
