Predator Max .223 Range Report / Accuracy

I recently bought a Predator Max from a friend and retired SWAT sniper. The gun had 30 rounds through it and is in like new condition.

I've had a Mark II FV in .22LR for some time, but his is my first Savage Centerfire.

I mounted a Redfield Revolution 4-12x40 on Leupold rings, and a bipod. It's an inexpensive, but practical setup. It was shot as pictured, bipod and bean bag in the rear, shot off the bench. http://imageshack.us/a/img62/5571/nb6p.jpg



I took it to the range with some cheap ammo and got it dialed in at 150 yards. At this point the range was closing, it was 20 degrees with 4-5mph wind, a "feel like" temperature in the single digits, and the RSO was (understandably) very eager to leave.

I loaded 4 rounds of Winchester Match (69 Grain Sierra MatchKing bullet in a factory winchester case) and shot a final group (the only one with good ammo). I knew the group would be low compared to the other ammo, but i had no time to make dope changes and was only interested in the group size. The group was very rushed due to the circumstances, and if i got 1 MOA out of it i would have been happy. The results shocked me. 1.04" group at 150 yards...or 0.66 MOA:

http://imageshack.us/a/img189/7128/6gjl.jpg


At this point, i set a goal. 5 Shot groups under 1/2 MOA. I knew there was more in the setup if i just slowed down and did my part, but i might have to experiment with different ammo to get there, maybe adjust the accu-trigger and get some trigger time.

On my second trip to the range with the Predator Max (52 degrees with 2-3mph cross winds and occasional gusts from the left) i set up a target at 200 yards, made my elevation adjustments, and shot two 5 round groups with the Winchester Match ammo. The first group was 0.8 MOA thanks to some wind gusts. The vertical spread was inside 3/4", but a few rounds were blown wide.

The wind stabilized for the second group, and i shot this:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...g?t=1387685056



That's 5 rounds, 3 of which went through the same keyhole, at 200 yards, for 0.46 MOA.

Those were the only two groups i shot with good ammo, then i switched to Winchester 45 Grain JHP Varmint rounds and my groups increased to 1.1-1.4MOA.

Needless to say, i'm thrilled with the performance for a completely out of the box rifle. No adjustments or tweeks whatsoever. The trigger is still at factory weight, and i have done no ammo testing yet. This rifle is quickly showing itself to be an honest 1/2MOA gun.

In my state we can use centerfires up to .229 from April 1 to September 30, so there is a 6 week window when it is legal to hunt Coyotes with something besides shotguns and rimfires. This is going to make an amazing Coyote gun, and it definitely won't be my last Savage 110!

1 small correction: What you have is a model 10. The 110 is a long action used for 270 Win, 30-06, 7mm Rem etc. You should be able to shoot up to 75gr match ammo (I have been using Hornady 75gr HPBT). Not 75gr VLD's though, they need an 8 twist to stabilize.

Savage recommends the Federal 69gr MatchKings in their .223 rifles, and seems like you got yourself a shooter. Congrats!

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Originally Posted by Westcliffe01

1 small correction: What you have is a model 10. The 110 is a long action used for 270 Win, 30-06, 7mm Rem etc. You should be able to shoot up to 75gr match ammo (I have been using Hornady 75gr HPBT). Not 75gr VLD's though, they need an 8 twist to stabilize.

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Good call on the model number. I was afraid to attempt to stabilize anything in the 7x grain range. Do you find the Hornady's to be more accurate?

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Originally Posted by shawnhu

Savage recommends the Federal 69gr MatchKings in their .223 rifles, and seems like you got yourself a shooter. Congrats!

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Thanks, it was just dumb luck on the ammo matching the recommendation, as the 69 Grain MatchKings were the only target ammo on the local shelf.

Any recommendations for an accurate Varmit rounnd for the 2-400 yard range??

What is the twist of that barrel?

For factory ammo you might try hornady vmax. My 204 loves that stuff. Shoots .75" at 300, less than 2" at 500, and 100 groups are under .2. For MOA the 204 is under .25MOA easily with factory ammo under 300.

My Savage 10PC with its 20" 1:9.25 barrel shoots the 75gr match bullets to 1/2MOA. The only time I have fired 55gr bullets is as fouling shots on a clean bore at the range. PMC bronze is usually what I have for that purpose. I started with a box of Hornady Superformance match ammo (it is loaded a bit hotter than their regular match loads) but now I would not recomend it since Hornady went to crimping the primers on their superformance ammo which makes it a pain to deprime and reload. Now I load my own.

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Originally Posted by Yankee

Good call on the model number. I was afraid to attempt to stabilize anything in the 7x grain range. Do you find the Hornady's to be more accurate?

Thanks, it was just dumb luck on the ammo matching the recommendation, as the 69 Grain MatchKings were the only target ammo on the local shelf.

Any recommendations for an accurate Varmit rounnd for the 2-400 yard range??

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I've had really good luck in the accuracy department with the 69SMK over 25.5grains of Varget in more than 1 rifle.
As always, drop that by 10% and work up to a safe load in YOUR rifle.

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Originally Posted by Brent

What is the twist of that barrel?

For factory ammo you might try hornady vmax. My 204 loves that stuff. Shoots .75" at 300, less than 2" at 500, and 100 groups are under .2. For MOA the 204 is under .25MOA easily with factory ammo under 300.

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9:1

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Originally Posted by Westcliffe01

My Savage 10PC with its 20" 1:9.25 barrel shoots the 75gr match bullets to 1/2MOA. The only time I have fired 55gr bullets is as fouling shots on a clean bore at the range. PMC bronze is usually what I have for that purpose. I started with a box of Hornady Superformance match ammo (it is loaded a bit hotter than their regular match loads) but now I would not recomend it since Hornady went to crimping the primers on their superformance ammo which makes it a pain to deprime and reload. Now I load my own.

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Good to know, thanks for the info!

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Originally Posted by Hotolds442

I've had really good luck in the accuracy department with the 69SMK over 25.5grains of Varget in more than 1 rifle.
As always, drop that by 10% and work up to a safe load in YOUR rifle.

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I'm putting a reloading setup together now, haven't started that aspect of the hobby yet. Looking forward to it though!

If you wish to experiment with another type of ammo, I've had outstanding results in a few rifles with Black Hills 69gr MatchKing loads in 223, both in their new production (red box) and even in their remanufactured (blue box) lines.

For reloading...
69gr SMK
Lapua brass if you have the extra money, but Winchester brass is just fine if you need something cheaper.
CCI BR-4 primer
Varget powder
Work up slowly but usually somewhere between 25.0gr and 26.0gr of Varget will get you there.

If you get a chance, try 75 grain Hornady BTHP bullets over 24.5 grains of either Varget, RE-15, or N140. That's a really great all-purpose load that seems to work well in 9-twist barrels. I use it when shooting Service Rifle and found that it does great in my bolt guns too.

Good luck.

Nice Rifle!

I had one of those in .223 also.

It really loved shooting "Dirty" and preferred the American Eagle Tipped 50 Grain Ammo... was cheap to shoot and laser accuracy!

Yankee, good shooting, what twist barrel do you have?

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Originally Posted by SlimySquirrel

Nice Rifle!

I had one of those in .223 also.

It really loved shooting "Dirty" and preferred the American Eagle Tipped 50 Grain Ammo... was cheap to shoot and laser accuracy!

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Thanks for the tip!

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Originally Posted by Stockrex

Yankee, good shooting, what twist barrel do you have?

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Thanks, 1:9