Machaira concept rifle... build on your old 110... cheap. :)

I think Savage could put a package together that would fit this bill for a good price, and I do think it would sell... anyway... here's the idea:

My old Savage 30-06 has come a long way from its tupperware stock and 4 power scope days... a great deer rifle, but I have had the idea for some time for an all purpose, shorter barreled rifle that can do just about anything you ask of it, from larger game to coyotes to groundhogs at long range... and even hit MOA at 1000 yards, just by dialing the correct elevation level on the scope.

The Greek word Machaira (makh'-ahee-rah) http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/3162.htm describes a short sword. Short swords (or long knives, as it were :) )... were extremely effective in the hands of Roman soldiers. These knives were not unwieldy, and very fast into action. That's what I'm going for with this rifle idea--something that can do a lot of different things such as hunting medium and large game, varminting when necessary... something that won't embarrass you at the shooting range, and something that can hit MOA out to 800 yards, or even 1000 perhaps--all this, and yet it can be carried about easily and is fast into action. Tall order, I know--but it can be done! ;)

I glass bedded this rifle into a Stocky's laminate stock, put a Weaver Grand Slam 3.5 to 10x scope on it, then I lightened the trigger to a crisp 2 pounds... I have the Burris Signature off-sets giving the scope more than enough elevation to get it to close to 1200 yards, but 1000 yards was the goal. And the scope won't dial down one rev too low--the turret bottoms out before I go one rev below 100 yards so this keeps me from getting lost on the elevation dial.

A short list of ideas for the Machaira concept follows:

(for example, open to discussion)... all input welcome. :)


Absolutes:

1. 18 to 20 inch barrel
2. 9 pound weight limit with bi-pod
3. MOA capable
4. variable scope of 40mm max objective having a low power of not more than 4 and a high power of not less than 9 with low profile turrets
5. magazine capacity of at least 3 cartridges

then, say... 3 or more from this list of 5:

1. 30-06, .308, or .270 win (tentative)
2. mil-dot scope reticle
3. continuously mounted bi-pod
4. anti-reflective finish overall
5. scope leveling device

...all that's just off the cuff, this list should (and certainly will) be amended and shifted around... added to and taken from, but with a fair amount of thought on several of our parts I think we could get a "machaira" (even the name is subject to change) concept pretty well defined.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...8/DSCN0437.jpg

I did finally settle on 56.6 grains of H4350 behind the 178 amax bullets, with WLR primers (because I've got a lot of those) :) ... in Winchester brass.

I did a depth tune test and came up with 3.280" as the optimal OAL.

Here is a 3 shot group I shot at 330 yards. The 3 shot group went onto half of a 5x7 index card. With only 10x as maximum magnification, it's not so easy to shoot tight groups at longer ranges, but with the right background, it's doable. Should be about 1/2 MOA or a bit better here...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...8/DSCN0439.jpg

I was pretty pleased with this performance, as this is a factory Savage barrel and not such a smooth one at that (some visible light pitting looking into the bore from the muzzle... previous owner must never have heard of cleaning and oiling his rifle... but I got it cheap)... this one coppers up pretty heavily after 20 or so shots, but accuracy does not fall off. I've not cleaned it in about 40 or 45 shots, and she's still holding sub MOA.

I then tested the rifle at 565 yards, in some light wind. I didn't dial any windage, though... just waited for the lulls. My final shot fell a bit low and to the right, certainly a victim of a bit of wind that took it in that direction...

Nonetheless, the group isn't bad--especially the first 3 shots (which is where I should have stopped!) :oops: ...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...8/DSCN0438.jpg

I then dialed 40 MOA to take the shot to 1040 yards, and had my buddy spot the impact, and it hit pretty much right on a bushel basket sized stone, elevation was true, windage a bit right of center. I'll try to get this thing on paper at 1000 yards in the near future.

These brass cases were fired different numbers of times, some 3, some 4. None were trimmed, and some primer pockets were looser than others. But the resilience of the OCW load overcame the subtle differences in the brass cases, and the load performed... :)

And here's a shot of "Hardee Burger Hill," a black angus farm where I'm blessed to have permission to shoot pretty much anytime I want to. We can actually get out to around 1500 yards here...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...8/DSCN0436.jpg

And one more of the rifle... I'm thinking of getting in touch with Savage and seeing if I could convince them of the wisdom of putting together a package such as this, with the Weaver GS scope and Burris off-set rings, capable of dialing up 1000 yards from a 100 yard zero and of course going anywhere in between. :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...8/DSCN0433.jpg

There is still some more work to do, to get my trajectory table settled completely, and I might fire lap this barrel, but not sure about that. I know it would shoot tighter with a custom barrel, and it might get one somewhere down the road, when money may permit. I'm just happy for now that the factory barrel is doing what I had hoped it would. With match prepped ammo, on a good day... about 1/2 MOA out to hopefully 600 yards, then no worse than 1.5 MOA at 1000...

Dan

Nice concept for that open country out there. I doubt Savage would be interested unless they saw a large enough sales to make it worth it to them. In the meantime, anyone who sees this post would have the incentive to make it a do-it yourself project. Not much good for us northeast woodland hunters. Even my favorite 7x57 110 is a little overkill. But I do have a .35 Whelen in case I get a moose permit. I guarantee your concept works, I would definately go for a better barrel as cash flow permits were I you.

El Lobo

Count yourself blessed to have such a great shooting venue. It's hard to find anywhere past 880 in Oklahoma as it is mostly quartered off and places much larger have a lot of livestock roaming around.