BW, that was a fun read. I'm an "old levergun nut" too (owned my Win. 30-30 for 30 years this Christmas, in fact) so that is my standard in quick pointing, easy carrying deer rifles. After reconfiguring my Savage Scout, it feels, in the hand, much like my Win 94, and I love that. It also comes to my shoulder and points just as quickly, and I love that too.
So, it's a little early to say since I've only owned this gun a few days, but I think the answer to my first question is this is a gun I'm going to love owning.
I'll also add that I have already seen the logic in, and have been rewarded by being the owner of two Savage "10/110" rifles. I love the modular, interchangeable nature of these guns. I never could have made the transformation I just completed with any other bolt gun I know of.
Yep you should be able to use Paco's line of thinking in the Savage. I believe the 7.62x39 is the ultimate cartridge for a light handy bolt action.
The Savage 10/110 platform is by far the most versatile platform available. People want to talk about AR's being modular and versatile and I guess that is correct when talking about tactical crap, but you can't change to any cartridge like a Savage can.
Savage is like the V-8 Chevy small block of the gun world!
BW
I'm starting to believe this is true. If the 30-30 came in a bolt action, I'd own one of those, but short of that, this Savage scout is pretty fantastic. A buddy of mine who has a Savage stainless in 6.5CM came to the range with me this evening, and as soon as he was done verifying his scope settings at 200 and 300 yards, he couldn't wait to shoot that 7.62x39 scout. He blew through a whole box of the Monarch (russian) ammo in short order, and then declared that he "must have one of those rifles." LOL.I believe the 7.62x39 is the ultimate cartridge for a light handy bolt action.
I wished him luck, since even if he finds one, he won't have all the parts to drop the weight of it down below 7 lbs. scoped like I did. But he seems undeterred. I think I am going to steer him toward the CZ 527 since he says he may want a conventional scope vs. the scout, but he did enjoy shooting the scout scope a lot too.
The way I have it set up, this thing handles like a dream. I thought I'd gotten on top of the extractor issue, but was having trouble with the steel cased ammo again today at the range, so as soon as the hunting season is over, I'm going to call Savage up and see if they can help me on this. The feeding/ejection issue is the only thing keeping this rifle from being possibly the most fun gun I've had to shoot since getting my 30-30 in 1985. And that's saying quite a bit considering how long I've kept that gun and how many rounds I've run through it.
As for the .308, well I think I may have screwed up a good thing. LOL. Apparently that barrel and action actually liked that cheap plastic stock better than it does the Accustock. Go figure. So it's back to the drawing board for that gun. Not sure what happened or why, but I'll figure it out eventually.
Well there are always people selling their stocks on the classifieds pretty cheap. You could buy another for the 7.82x39 and put this one back on your original rifle.
I have a CZ 527 and they are great guns! The 94 is truly in a class all by itself.
BW
Thinking about it. I didn't really like the flex on that XP stock on the .308, but for the 7.62 scout, it works perfectly. I have my eye on a couple other stock options, so there may be an Accustock with all the bottom metal available soon. LOL. First I need to figure out what kind of gun my .308 model 11 is going to be. A range gun, or my "heavy" hunting gun. I have plenty of time to decide however, as the new-to-me "russian scout" will be by my side for the rest of my deer season.
For photos, you can get a free account with Imgur, and post direct links to the photos. Same with Flickr, though Flickr requires a Yahoo email.
Anyway, sounds like a great buy, man, and the accuracy you're getting is stellar. To be honest, this thread got me excited about finishing up two of my Savages. I was scrambling to get them ready for deer season, and got them workable just in time. Now I have some stuff left to do, and I'm feeling pretty motivated about it.
When I get time, I'll look into the photo-hosting site.
Spent the weekend in the deer woods with the scout rifle and it's exactly what I was looking for in a walking woods rifle. Not only is it a full pound lighter than my .308 (after stealing the lightweight parts from my model 11), being able to carry it around the action reminds me of my Win94 and is super handy. Haven't shot a deer with it yet, but when I'm hunting places where the shots will be inside 150 yards, I will be reaching for the scout for sure.
Last edited by Newtosavage; 01-04-2016 at 12:20 AM.
Had a chance to shoot some feral pigs with the gun yesterday. Easy stalk into the wind and prone 80-yard broadside shot for the first sow. I intentionally waited until she turned broadside and shot her behind the shoulder just to see how the mid-priced Hornady SST's would perform. Blew through her like butter, and she wasn't a small sow (estimate 150-175#). She ran in a 30-yard circle then died within about 10 yards of where she was hit. I'm sure a shoulder shot would have anchored her right there on the spot, but I wanted to see what kind of expansion I'd get with that 123-grain SST, since this particular rifle just loves that round. I'm getting consistent MOA groups out to 200 yards with it.
The next hog - an even bigger sow - offered me a quartering-to shot, so I aimed for the base of the neck and dropped her right where she stood. She was about 200 lbs. and definitely pregnant, so I likely killed 8 or 10 pigs with that one shot. She never got up. Perfect performance, albeit from a 50-yard shot.
Third pig was smaller and running away, but the round still caught it and dropped it at about 100 yards.
After surveying the damage, I decided to drop my zero from 175 to exactly 150 yards since the first shot was a little high. That should put me about 1.5" high at 100, which I can live with. I can't say enough about how well that Hornady steel-case SST ammo is performing. Very accurate for a factory load, and it appears that SST 123-grain bullet is going to make a good hunting round. I also like the fact that I can order 50-round boxes online for just $34 shipped.
And despite being the largest diameter bullet I've tried so far (.310 by my measurement) it really shoots well out of what's said to be a .308" bore on that Savage. It's working, so I'm not going to try and fix it anymore.
One thought I had getting this rifle was that I wanted something I could shoot lower priced factory ammo through, with decent accuracy. I'm already loading for my .308 and didn't really want a 2nd caliber to load for. It appears I got what I was hoping for, with this Savage scout consistently shooting a very well-priced, good quality factory hunting load, into 1.5" groups at 150 yards.
All this in a very light and compact 6 3/4 lb. hunting rifle with a 4x scope. What's not to like about that?
I was afraid I would regret choosing this gun over the CZ 527, but I have no regrets. After carrying this gun all weekend in the woods, and now cleanly taking three good-sized pigs with it, I am not missing that CZ at all. In fact, I am not sure I would have been as thrilled to take that pretty walnut stocked gun into some of the places I took this rifle over the past few days. But with a cheap and light plastic stock, my Savage scout is ideal for taking lots of abuse in the field.
Incidentally, this must be one obscure Savage rifle, since when I type in the serial # on the parts finder, half the diagram is incorrect. Wrong barrel, wrong recoil lug, wrong magazine, wrong sight. LOL. <sigh>
Gotta love that small-shop feel that Savage gives you though.
Sometimes you gotta click on the accessories tab in order to see the specialized goodies that were added to the generic schematic diagram.Originally Posted by Newtosavage
Originally Posted by keeki
Guess it doesn't really matter. If ya cant afford $15, you won't be buying much anyways
I did. All it really came up with was the scout rail, which was $107! Yikes!
Now that I have a lightweight hunting rifle in this configuration, I want another in .308 for the times when I need more than 200 yard range, or the critters are larger than the little russian can handle.
Thinking my model 11 is about to get cut down to a 20" barrel and be tapped for a scout base.
Made another trip to the range yesterday and brought along the scout for some final ammo and sighting evaluations before this weekend's deer hunt.
From sandbags, with just the 4x Weaver scout scope, I was able to achieve a .67" 3-shot group with the Winchester Hog Special 123-grain soft point ammo. That's as good as I've shot with any rifle using factory ammo, ever. With the Hornady steel case SST's, I still shot under an inch (.85") at 100 yards.
Sighted in at 2" high at 100 yards, I shot a 3-shot 1.5" group 2.5" low at 200 yards with a combination of the Winchester and Hornady ammo. They shoot to almost exactly the same point of impact. The Winchester may be a touch hotter, but not by much.
Sub-MOA groups at 200 yards from a 6 lb. rifle with a "cheap" plastic stock, 4x scope and factory ammo is something I wouldn't think possible. But this rifle is doing it.
Not sure if anyone is still paying attention to this thread, but I have been able to test this round on a number of feral hogs and one whitetail now. Terminal performance is very good. If I shoot the hogs in the head/neck, they are DRT. If I shoot them through the chest, I get complete penetration and decent expansion (from what I can tell on the exit hole) and they run about 30 yards and go down. About what I'd get from a well placed arrow when I'm archery hunting. I'm sure if I shot them in the shoulder they wouldn't go nearly as far, but I'm trying to save as much meat as possible, so I purposely aim behind the shoulder to avoid destroying any meat.
The buck I shot Saturday was slightly quartering away at 100 yards. The bullet hit exactly where I was aiming and exited at the elbow on the far shoulder, clipping that elbow a little bit. Exit hole was about 3x the size of the entrance hole and the blood trail (30-40 yards) was extraordinary.
With a 4x scout scope mounted, this is a 200 yard gun max. A perfect combination for that round on hogs and deer, and a pleasure to carry and shoot. To me, this round has the ideal amount of recoil for a deer rifle and I wouldn't be afraid to hand it to a new shooter to teach them to shoot. With $5-6/box ammo available in a lot of places and with no concerns about "scope eye" this may be the ideal training rifle for new deer hunters.
I'm still following this and there is a lot of good information here. In the next month or two I'm getting ready to build my 7.62x39 with a medium contoured barrel
Those are just a few of the good things I like about the little 7.62x39 cartridge. Many people want to deride it as not powerful enough, or as a "30-30 wannabe". Still others turn their nose up because it is a "Russian design" or "assault rifle" round. I believe it is a perfect cartridge for a countryside that is becoming ever more populated. It is also a great cartridge with more modern attributes than the 30-30. Face it, what better cartridge to emulate than the 30-30? It has been at the top of the heap for many years.
It is much more than a 30-30 pretender when you handload for it. It is a very efficient cartridge.
Who needs a Super Duper Magnum that scorches your eyebrows and tosses your hunting buddy out of his stand 100yds to your right from the concussion when you set it off?
BW
I went your route years ago and really enjoyed the round/rifle. However, earlier this year I built a 300 BO on an AR platform and prefer that to the 7.62x39 bolt gun for deer and hogs. Using 125gr. bullets I am able to get about 2300 FPS out of a 16" AR. I took several big hogs this year and two whitetail (one at 125 and one at 190. Both DRT.) I really like the ability to have fast follow up shots with the AR on hogs, although it hasn't been necessary. I also like that I can swap out the upper and have a 5.56 on the same rifle. I also like that the AR's are bullet proof and I don't mind putting it in the dirt if I need to. I have also used it for hogs at night with subsonic 208 AMAX, a suppressor and night vision. It doesn't even spook the pigs. They just watch their buddies drop next to them - must be food poisoning ;-). Literally like fish in a barrel. I wont sell my SKS or 7.62x39 bolt gun, but find myself reaching for the 300 BO more and more. Now if you don't hand load, forget everything I said. :-)
I deliberated for quite a while over whether I wanted the .300 BO or the 7.62x39. The LGS had a Ruger American Ranch in .300 BO for just $450 - a fair bit less than I paid for the Savage scout. But I am already hand loading for .308 with a Lee Loader, and would have had to buy a press and dies, etc. for the little russian round - something I really didn't want to do. I also thought I'd take advantage of the inexpensive russian-made ammo with this caliber, which I have.
The final decision was made when I considered the effective range for this caliber (or the .300 BO) on deer and hogs, and just how much accuracy and energy I needed at that range. I figure if I'm not going to shoot beyond 200 yards, then even 1.5" groups at 100 and 3" groups at 200 are perfectly acceptable. I was happy to find that basically everything I shoot out of the Savage scout is giving me that or more, so when I can buy 100 rounds of good soft point or SST-tipped hunting ammo for as little as $0.35/round, there really isn't much point in handloading for this gun. I also liked the fact that the factory loads for the 7.62 carried a little more energy at 200 yards (I consider 900 ft. lbs. to be the minimum I'll use for deer at 200) than the .300 BO.
The sub-sonic feature isn't something I really needed, otherwise that may have tipped the scales in favor of the .300 BO.
I have a buddy who has two uppers for his AR (.300 BO and .223) and enjoys that versatility. I have essentially zero reason to shoot a .223, so I didn't really care about that feature, but I can see how it would appeal to those who want to shoot .223 at times.
I still enjoy loading for my .308, and punching holes at 300 yards and I'll continue to do that. If I don't have much walking to do and the shots could be longer, I'll take that gun with me. Otherwise, this 7.62x39 scout, at just 6 3/4 lbs scoped, has become my go-to gun. A fellow develops a lot of confidence in a rifle after a series of one-shot clean kills on hogs and deer. :D
It sounds like you did your research and got what was best for your needs. Congrats. And like I said, I will never sell my SKS or 7.62x39 bolt gun. :-)
Just got in from a trip to the range, and I can't deny that this 7.62x39 scout - even with the Accustock removed and replaced by a light (and flexible) "tupperware" stock, and just a 4X fixed Weaver scout scope - is my most accurate gun.
I'm shooting groups with this at 100, 200 and yes, 300 yards with factory ammo that I could only achieve with careful handloads in my .308 - even after that rifle was fitted with the Accustock!
sub-1" groups at 100, sub-2" groups at 200, and finally, using a 20" holdover, I achieved a 2.5" 5-shot group at 300 yards with the Hornady 50-round box of steel case 123-grain SST's. Unbelievable. There is no way I can aim better than that with a 4x scope at 300 yards.
Best thing about it is that it has shot just about everything I've fed it to basically the same point of aim. Cheap FMJ, expensive Winchester "Hog Special" ammo, mid-priced Hornady SST's, and arguably the best "budget" hunting ammo I've ever seen - the TulAmmo 154-grain soft points that I paid $12 for a 40 round box! It all goes in the middle. Just unreal.
Even after all the care I took to handload 50 rounds of different combinations for my .308, I have to admit I lost interest in shooting that gun after seeing what the "little russian Savage" can do.
Short bolt throw, super lightweight, excellent pointing characteristics with the forward scope and 20" barrel, the ability to carry it by the action, and accuracy many $1000 guns strive for with ammo that costs 1/3 as much. What else could a guy want?
BW
My dad and I picked up one of these a while back. Overall, it is a great rifle, but it does have a few quirks that came out in use:
1. There is no way to increase the magazine capacity to more than 3 rounds. I called Savage, and they have no other magazines for it. The one it comes with looks like it is just a .308 magazine with a block in the back of it. Maybe Dark Eagle (?) or Sharpshooters' Supply might have a modified magazine or conversion for it... We haven't looked into it any further.
2. There are no graduation lines on the rear sight and it has no "ears" or other protection to prevent it from getting moved during accidental rough handling (which a scout rifle should be prepared for, in my opinion...)
Otherwise, it has been a great rifle! With open sights, using Tula steel-cased ammo, it has printed 4" groups at 200 yards, so nothing to sneeze at!
Best of luck with yours!
Acdieter
You are correct. The rifle does have quirks. I agree that the ability to throw in a larger cap. magazine would be awesome. I'd love to shove 10 rounds of russian ammo in there and shoot to my heart's content.
I bet you anything you could get some of the 10-round magazines to work though. Might take a little tweaking, but I'm sure it's possible. Maybe someday I'll do it.
I also wish the factory extractor worked better.
My rear sight (Williams) did have graduation lines on it. Agreed they could have done better on the rear sight. Unfortunately, my front sight was leaning from what looked like an over-rotated barrel. However the drilled and tapped hole for the scout mount was dead center. As I intended to use the 4x Weaver scout scope anyway - and wanted to make the rifle as light as possible - I just removed the iron sights so it wasn't an issue to me. If I go back with iron sights someday, I'll revisit the Williams rear sight and probably put a banded aftermarket sight on the barrel so I can be sure it's not leaning.
What really tickles me about this gun - aside from how it handles - is how well it shoots every type of ammo I've put through it. Not something I would have expected from a rifle that might be fed .308/.309/.310 and .311 bullets. But it doesn't seem to care what the bullet diameter is. Everything shoots to basically the same point of impact out to even 200 yards. I can barely tell the difference between my 123-grain rounds and the 154-grain soft point TulAmmo at 200. At 300, there is about a 6" difference between them, but this isn't a 300-yard hunting gun, so in the field that won't really matter much.
I'll post back when I get the SSS extractor installed and let everyone know how it's feeding and pulling ammo then. Right now, the Win. brass cases and the TulAmmo 154-grain steel cases are the only rounds that are reliably extracting (about 90% of the time). Once I get that cleared up, this will be my "go to" gun to shoot and hunt with.
Regarding the larger cap. magazine, I think there is a company who makes 10-round "Axis" style mags for the 243/308 that would probably work if I can just trim the follower and install a plastic block at the back of the magazine. I'll have to work on that. Would sure come in handy when the piggies are scrambling around me.
Yesterday at the range, I took the scout along just to shoot in-between some test handloads for my .308. I figured I'd kill time with the scout while the barrel on my .308 was cooling.
So I started by shooting a 3-shot group at 100 yards with the Hornady ammo, then after a group with the .308, I shot a 4-shot group at the same target with the TulAmmo 154-grain soft points. Then after another group with the .308, I finished the 10-shot group at 100 with 3 rounds of the Winchester Hog Specials. What happened just amazed me. All three types of ammo shot into a single 1.29" group at 100 yards! I don't think the last two bullets touched paper in fact. 1.29" 10-round group at 100 yards, with a 4x scout scope, with THREE completely different types of factory ammo, from $24/box to $6/box. Unreal. I gotta stop taking this scout to the range. It's making my more "appropriate" guns look bad. LOL.
Sounds like someone else has caught the "Russian" fever. I love the 7.62x39. Mine regularly has the same point of impact at 50 and 100 yards no matter what the ammo is. Then I peel off the scope and place 3 shots that are touching at 50 yards as well with open sights. To me its the perfect mid range brush hunter. Its so economical and easy shooting that you cant help but become an expert shooter with one. By the way it's a deer dropper as well!
If someone has a convenient way to post pictures, PM me and I'll text them a pic of that 10-shot group, and the rifle. I'm technologically challenged, and haven't set up a photo-sharing site yet.
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