My first Savage! Kind of...

UCChris · 03-22-2015, 03:39 PM

They are certainly wily creatures...

I've been doing some reading and, apparently, a barrel over twenty inches is not really needed for medium range varmint shooting. But, is a twenty inch barrel with a 1:8 twist enough to stabilize the heavier, and thus longer, bullets more suitable for light deer hunting?

**tammons** · 03-22-2015, 04:14 PM

IMO a bull barrel is too heavy and unbalanced for Pdogs and the like especially with that stock.
Okay for full on FTR target etc though with a heavy stock.

I would buy a Varmint profile barrel myself to keep the weight down and actually I am about to sell my new bull barrel just for that reason..
For just me I dont care for thumbhole stocks either but to each their own.

Also I would buy a 7 twist barrel just in case you ever want to shoot 90 gr bergers. 7 twist is fine unless you are shooting
something like 35-40 gr bullets then you might overspin. That said I loaded mine with 52 gr amaxes and it was the most accurate bullet I loaded at 1/4" groups and I never had a bullet blow up.

If you want to do a very nice matt finish stock then get it unfinished and do a Permalyn Sealer wet sand finish on it.
It takes about 20+ coats but creates a very nice matt finish.

Start off with a normal sand like with a sanding sponge then a couple of coats of Permalyn Sealer with a brush then start wet sanding with 180 and ending up with 320 or 400. Also you wipe it down after each wet sand and hang and let dry.

**tammons** · 03-22-2015, 04:27 PM

Originally Posted by UCChris

They are certainly wily creatures...

I've been doing some reading and, apparently, a barrel over twenty inches is not really needed for medium range varmint shooting. But, is a twenty inch barrel with a 1:8 twist enough to stabilize the heavier, and thus longer, bullets more suitable for light deer hunting?

For me barrel length is more of a function of how I will use a gun and 20-22" is a nice place to be for all around mobility.
A 20" bbl will work fine.

1:8 will stabilize a 80 gr match bullet. You need a 7 twist really for 90 gr bergers, and I will also add for the heavy 70 grain barnes bullets I think they need to be spun very fast and pushed hard to get them to group. The box says 8 twist but my gues sit will take a 7 twist to get them to shoot tight in 223.

Barnes says 9 twist on the box for the 62 gr TTSX but I never could get the 62 gr TTSX to group with our 9 twist sporter but they did shoot well in my 7 twist..

UCChris · 03-23-2015, 10:22 AM

Got an email back regarding my price inquiry. $190 for a twenty inch chromemoly barrel with a 1:8" twist. My plan is to use the 64 grain Winchester Super-X Power Point for deer under 200 yards and varmints out as far as I am accurate. There is a cool gel test on YouTube regarding these loads. Quite a nice cavity is shown.

I need to purchase a rangefinder, then the stock and barrel, in that order.

**tammons** · 03-23-2015, 01:34 PM

Personally I would either load a 62 gr TTSX for deer for a complete pass thru, unless you are going to shoot them in the neck then it doesnt matter.

They have good shock value but a cutting edge 60 gr copper raptor would do even better for dropping them.

Everything we have shot with the raptor bullets in 6.8 SPC has never made it more than 10 yards.

UCChris · 03-23-2015, 03:25 PM

Originally Posted by tammons

Personally I would either load a 62 gr TTSX for deer for a complete pass thru, unless you are going to shoot them in the neck then it doesnt matter.

They have good shock value but a cutting edge 60 gr copper raptor would do even better for dropping them.

Everything we have shot with the raptor bullets in 6.8 SPC has never made it more than 10 yards.

Thanks for the advice, it's much appreciated. Unfortunately, I don't reload. So do any of these bullets you are talking about come in (semi)cheap factory loadings?

Also, I wouldn't mind shooting them in the neck. I'm only going to hunt deer for food, so neck shots are preferred to save as much meat as possible.

**tammons** · 03-23-2015, 03:50 PM

Remington Hog Hammer Ammunition 223 Remington 62 Grain Barnes Triple-Shock X Bullet Hollow Point Lead-Free Box of 20
About $30 a box. Although sounds like a lot, the actual 62 gr TTSX projectile cost about .60 cents each without shipping.

Use the cheap stuff for varmints and the Hog hammers for Hogs and deer.

Cutting edge bullets no on loaded ammo that I know of. The cutting edge projectiles alone cost about $1.40 each after shipping.