A savage for high power?

[tacticalpanda]

Just starting to read about hi-power and getting interested. Always thought it was only service rifles but from what I understand there are other classes. In one of the FAQ's it mentioned Savage as a rifle to use for high power. I was curious what model you guy would recommend if I were going to start down this path? I just joined a group that shoots hi-power but haven't met with them yet as they shoot once a month.

[Dennis]

Always thought it was only service rifles but from what I understand there are other classes

Are you planning on shooting in competitive matches? If so, Savage has a few models to get you going.

Tell us more on what you are planning to do.

I started off with a Savage, and I still use one for match shooting and hunting.

Dennis

[tacticalpanda]

I think I am going to shoot matches. I need to work on my rifle shooting a lot though as I'm coming from mostly handguns but I love shooting rifle and trying to try different types of shooting and see what I like best. High power sounds fun.

[memilanuk]

There are different kinds of 'High Power Rifle' matches... there is Prone, which is all fired slow-fire, single-load, with 'iron sights', and then there is Across (or Over) the Course, sometimes referred to as 'conventional' High Power and often abbreviated as 'XTC', which involves standing slow-fire, sitting (or kneeling) rapid-fire, prone rapid-fire, and prone slow-fire at up to 3 different distances and with different target sizes for each distance. This is probably what you were envisioning as being typically shot with a 'Service Rifle'. While this is true, there is also a 'Match Rifle' category that is fairly free-form and may include 'space-guns' (highly modified AR-15 or AR-10 style semi-auto rifles) or bolt-guns can feed from a magazine and be easily reloaded.

In this latter format, conventional HP or XTC, the rapid fire stages typically require shooting 10 aimed shots from position in either 60 or 70 seconds depending on the stage. Given the time limit and a mandatory reload / mag change, a gas-gun has some advantages. A good bolt gun that feeds well from a magazine can usually shoot slightly better in terms of accuracy due to some technical issues, but a competent shooter behind a well-tuned gas-gun is tough to beat.

The catch here for using a Savage rifle for this kind of event is that they typically don't feed as smoothly from a magazine as compared to what I'm used to seeing/feeling from a well-tuned bolt-action match rifle. For a very long time, the Winchester pre-64 Model 70 was *the* action to use for a bolt-action XTC match rifle due to the extremely smooth controlled feed system. The magazine had to be re-charged via stripper clip, though. This system was still common as little as 5-8 years ago, though Remington actions had been making serious inroads for some time. Somewhere along the line, the ergonomics of the AR platform with the tubular handguards and butt-stocks combined with the ease of using detachable box magazines became favored and people started figuring out how to make stocks and chassis system that fit 'around' a tubular receiver such as a Rem700, giving us the term 'tube' gun.

Nowadays, there are many more chassis systems that do support the Savage platform, and most of them use the more-or-less standard AI box mags that are essentially bomb-proof and work/feed very reliably. The catch, as far as my experience has been thus far, is that I have yet to see/use a Savage w/ the 5 or 10 round mag system necessary for this kind of match... that feeds anywhere near smoothly enough to be really usable in XTC competition. Maybe there is one out there; I just haven't ran across it yet.

YMMV,

Monte

[tacticalpanda]

Thanks for the helpful post. I was thinking about going with an AR but the lack of ammo has turned me away. 308 is hard to find but I have at least been finding it at normal prices. .223 I rarely see and when I do it is usually a 1 or 2 box limit.

If you had to recommend a gun in .308 what would it be? For a newer high power shooter looking to get into it not looking to break the bank or win just get some experience to find out if it is for me.

(I know this is the savage section and would like it to be a savage if possible but if there are better options I'm all ears. Haven't seen any savage models with sights on it other than the Hog and the MKII's)

[masterblaster]

10 fp

[JCalhoun]

Panda,

Have you watched a few of their HP matches? Do they do 200/300/600 or a fixed distance like a 200y reduced course?

If the course is conventional HP then Savage does not have anything. You can build a Savage to shoot HP with a nice stock that has adjustable butt & cheek and accessory rail for sling, 3 or 4 detachable magazines, trigger, and 20 inch heavy barrel. If you want to shoot open sights then you'll need an adapter to put a rear sight on the receiver. SSS may can help with the stock and mags.

If you handload you can go with a .22-250, 6BR Norma, .243 Win, or .260 Rem to have a very competitive cartridge that doesn't beat you up after several hours of shooting.

You will also need a prone mat, shooting jacket, sling, spotting scope with stand, and range bag or cart.