Needed something to bust up groundhogs at distance and double as a 200+yd deer gun. I am not a great shot and obviously need more practice. It's a little different from just chucking the 30-30 over the shoulder and busting deer inside 100 w/ peep sights:)
So - here's the range report from an average dude and average/sub-average shooter not interested in 1000yds.
  • Savage 10 fcp-sr 20" in 6.5 creedmoor (dicks/field & stream exclusive)
  • quasi-heavy barrel that's tapered, threaded & fluted
  • Accutrigger
  • Accustock in Kryptek
  • Vortex 6-18 AO
  • Original mount (blue loctite)
  • Leupold PRW Med 1" rings (blue loctite)


I should note - I was going to get an Axis II HB in 6.5 creedmoor to see if I liked the caliber before sinking more money into it. Then I saw this on the shelf and said "aw-crap".





Images marked but tried:
  • Hornady Superformance 120gr GMX
  • Hornady Match 120gr A-Max
  • Hornady Superformance 129gr SST
  • Nosler BT 140gr BT
  • Hornady Precision Hunter 143gr ELD-X


The recoil on this thing is amazingly like nothing. Could have zero problems shooting it all day and was frankly, a dream. I don't have a torque wrench to put them back on or check so I left the trigger as-is but from the factory it was pretty dang crisp. I'd say subtract at least 1/4" for shooting technique. Two shots touching but apart from the 120gr A-Max. 140gr BT best out of me. So took the 143 & 140 again and set it to 1-1/4" high at 100. Got me a fun little gun.
I took the 50cal muzzy & 30-30 just to re-verify before the season and shot them in between groupings to allow it to cool a bit. I took a bore-snake and ran it through a couple times after each. Not ideal barrel break-in, but again, average dude not looking for 1000yds.
From my stand-point, the recoil was almost identical to the 30-30.
All rounds ejected properly. Bolt has a little bit of a hang-up on the last 1/2" but found it was because I was gripping the bolt handle from the end, when shifting my grip lower on the bolt handle - all is well. The magazine is a bit tricky but after some use - I found if you put it in back to front, it's pretty smooth.
I'm in love. Time for more practice.




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