If it ain't broke?

[splean]

So about a year ago I bought a used Savage model 110 in 300WM. I figured it would be a cheap way to start a bolt gun. I gathered components that I traded or bought from time to time. The rifle came with a cheap tupper-ware type stock so I set it aside until I got one I liked. I landed a good gig a while back and bought a McMillen A-5. Work related travel kept me from finishing the rifle. Unfortunately the good gig is no more and the I was left with a bunch of parts. On a whim my brother and I put the barrled action into the stock and torqued it to 60lbs. We topped it with a 20x Super Sniper in Leupold rings on a 20MOA base. We didn't install the trigger I bought as neither one of us is a smith. We gave it a good cleaning and defouled the barrel. I took it out to the range and wasn't too impressed. I forgot what rounds I used.

Recently after developing some loads for another rifle I gained renewed interest in the Savage. I loaded 20 rounds of four different weight bullets and went out to the range. I started with the 208 AMAX, then 190SMK, followed by 175SMK and then 168SMK moly. I fired four five-round groups of each. The 208 shot about 1.5MOA. The 175 shot about 1MOA. The real shockers were the 190SMK and the 168SMK. They both shot under 1MOA.

Before this I was planning on having the trigger installed and the rifle bedded and trued. I've heard a few stories of "rifles that never shot the same again" after having some work done. This is my first bolt gun so I'm not too sure. I figured I would at least have the trigger installed since the factory trigger is a lot of work. But the rest....?

PS - Yes I know I should have just bought a PSS in .308 and a Super Sniper in 10x

190smk1 190smk2 168smk mly1 168smkmly2

 

[OFIS]

Re: If it ain't broke?

bedding is pretty necessary...

getting a PSS isnt for everyone and savages have some advantages of their own. for instance, if you get to feeling more confident you could theoretically have a barrel in just abut any caliber due to having the long action, you just pop the barrel off and get a prefit barrel and screw it on.

as long as you dont become as picky as i did about the remington action being smoother and sticking with one caliber/one main rifle theres no harm in a savage, they will shoot.

i would always give this a look every time i doubted what people said.
http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek036.html

 

[splean]

Re: If it ain't broke?

Thanks 051F, that was a very interesting article and very helpful. I hadn't considered changing the barrel but it might be an option a little later on. The section about the trigger was especially interesting as I bought the same trigger group from the same supplier. I was also considering the same accuracy service. Thanks again.