my local shooting club had a Savage /nikon/ hornady day where those manufacturer's brought in some things for us to play with.
i got to handle and shoot the 110 BA. they had both the .338 lapua and .300 win mag versions, unfortunately the .338 ammo did not come, so they put out a .300 win mag.
the "wow" factor was there:
as we had to rotate shooters, my trigger time was sporatic, and the bipod they had on it sucked, i later removed it and shot off a box of ammo
also i don't know who they had sighting in the rifles (stevie wonder?), but it took a few relays to get it in. for some reason, it just didn't shoot to my expectation. they were feeding it hornady 180 gr sst, perhaps the load didn't agree with it, or perhaps it was the less than perfect rests we had to use. it just (in my opinion) didn't shoot like a $2,000 + gun should. we have the oppurtunity to sign out the rifles over the next month and use them, so i'll have to revisit the accuraccy thing, as it bothers me as a huge savage fan not to be able to touch 'em at 100 yards. hopefully the .338 ammo will be in for that. i thought it was me having an off day, however i was managing to get the other rifles available - mdl 12 palma, mdl 11 long range hunter, mdl 12 varminter, to around 2" or less at at 200 yards, and the mkii tr .22 to touch at 50 yards - that well it wasn't me having an off day.
felt recoil was really low, felt considerably less than the .308's i shot just minutes before and after, thanks to the 15.75 lb. empty weight and the very well designed brake. the whole rifle was a solid as you can get - no rattles, flexes, noises, squeeks, etc. note that the brake is recessed and point upward, with a "shelf" halfway down. muzzle blast has no where else to go but where designed to go.
the scope was a nikon monarch 6-24x 50mm obj. had a target dot reticle (mildot would be better, but this was a freebie shooter, so why complain?). it had burris medium rings and still had some clearance.
the side rails IMHO are useless, but the top pic rail had enough length for any NV add ons and was done well.
the mid section was all business...
bolt handle was just the right length and width, the magazine release was large and easy to manipulate (push forward for release). the "panther" style pistol grip was always a favorite of mine, and the whole mid section had a good AR-15 feel to it, but on the other hand, felt a little strange on this type of platform.
the 3 position safety is where it should be - on the tang. i do prefer the old "lump" button savage safety compared to the new one, as the old one seemed easier to find by feel.
the bolt and magazine. the 6 round (.300 win mag, .338 is 5 round) magazine seemed a little "chimsey" to me, seemed it would be easy to damage or get out of shape. the bolt finish was nice, however the bolt face and lugs didn't hint to me that it was from anything else than an average savage .300 win mag. - not that being an average savage .300 win mag is a bad thing, just doesn' seem to be "upgraded" for a $2,000+ rifle.
the rear stock: nice on an AR, felt a little retarded on this. i appreciated the adjustable LOP and cheekpiece, however it was thin and seemed out of place. i would opt for a beefier rear stock or at least a beefier cheekpiece at least to trick myself to feel like i have a more comfortable stock under me. i don't know, it just seemed weird to have a stock used on CQB rifles on this. rode a rear bag horribly. just my opinion, will have to play with it more.
all in all i felt priviledge to fire this rifle, but at the same time a little let down with the performance and feel of it. i think i'd rather put $2,200 on a national match M-14 or a SOCOM.
again, i'm going to sign her out again sometime over the next month to see of some of the bad vibes i was getting subside. coming from a huge savage fan and shooter, this just seemed not to equal the hype, expense, and performance that is talked about. was it just me? i don't know. it has it's good points, and a few odd ones, in the end after experimenting more i may be dead wrong.
however, i would prefer a mcmillian, hs precision, or choate feel and comfort to it rather than the AR style setup. i left with the overall view that $2,000+ could be spent better on a rifle that fits the individual tastes better. once again perhaps it's just me.
as for today, it was like going to see your favorite band perform live in concert, then realize they stink abit when out of the studio. just feeling a little mixed, but as i said before, i believe i have to do some more shooting with it. but i do applaud savage for taking the jump with this and the other new models they have out there, and for listening to their customers.
i got to handle and shoot the 110 BA. they had both the .338 lapua and .300 win mag versions, unfortunately the .338 ammo did not come, so they put out a .300 win mag.
the "wow" factor was there:
as we had to rotate shooters, my trigger time was sporatic, and the bipod they had on it sucked, i later removed it and shot off a box of ammo
also i don't know who they had sighting in the rifles (stevie wonder?), but it took a few relays to get it in. for some reason, it just didn't shoot to my expectation. they were feeding it hornady 180 gr sst, perhaps the load didn't agree with it, or perhaps it was the less than perfect rests we had to use. it just (in my opinion) didn't shoot like a $2,000 + gun should. we have the oppurtunity to sign out the rifles over the next month and use them, so i'll have to revisit the accuraccy thing, as it bothers me as a huge savage fan not to be able to touch 'em at 100 yards. hopefully the .338 ammo will be in for that. i thought it was me having an off day, however i was managing to get the other rifles available - mdl 12 palma, mdl 11 long range hunter, mdl 12 varminter, to around 2" or less at at 200 yards, and the mkii tr .22 to touch at 50 yards - that well it wasn't me having an off day.
felt recoil was really low, felt considerably less than the .308's i shot just minutes before and after, thanks to the 15.75 lb. empty weight and the very well designed brake. the whole rifle was a solid as you can get - no rattles, flexes, noises, squeeks, etc. note that the brake is recessed and point upward, with a "shelf" halfway down. muzzle blast has no where else to go but where designed to go.
the scope was a nikon monarch 6-24x 50mm obj. had a target dot reticle (mildot would be better, but this was a freebie shooter, so why complain?). it had burris medium rings and still had some clearance.
the side rails IMHO are useless, but the top pic rail had enough length for any NV add ons and was done well.
the mid section was all business...
bolt handle was just the right length and width, the magazine release was large and easy to manipulate (push forward for release). the "panther" style pistol grip was always a favorite of mine, and the whole mid section had a good AR-15 feel to it, but on the other hand, felt a little strange on this type of platform.
the 3 position safety is where it should be - on the tang. i do prefer the old "lump" button savage safety compared to the new one, as the old one seemed easier to find by feel.
the bolt and magazine. the 6 round (.300 win mag, .338 is 5 round) magazine seemed a little "chimsey" to me, seemed it would be easy to damage or get out of shape. the bolt finish was nice, however the bolt face and lugs didn't hint to me that it was from anything else than an average savage .300 win mag. - not that being an average savage .300 win mag is a bad thing, just doesn' seem to be "upgraded" for a $2,000+ rifle.
the rear stock: nice on an AR, felt a little retarded on this. i appreciated the adjustable LOP and cheekpiece, however it was thin and seemed out of place. i would opt for a beefier rear stock or at least a beefier cheekpiece at least to trick myself to feel like i have a more comfortable stock under me. i don't know, it just seemed weird to have a stock used on CQB rifles on this. rode a rear bag horribly. just my opinion, will have to play with it more.
all in all i felt priviledge to fire this rifle, but at the same time a little let down with the performance and feel of it. i think i'd rather put $2,200 on a national match M-14 or a SOCOM.
again, i'm going to sign her out again sometime over the next month to see of some of the bad vibes i was getting subside. coming from a huge savage fan and shooter, this just seemed not to equal the hype, expense, and performance that is talked about. was it just me? i don't know. it has it's good points, and a few odd ones, in the end after experimenting more i may be dead wrong.
however, i would prefer a mcmillian, hs precision, or choate feel and comfort to it rather than the AR style setup. i left with the overall view that $2,000+ could be spent better on a rifle that fits the individual tastes better. once again perhaps it's just me.
as for today, it was like going to see your favorite band perform live in concert, then realize they stink abit when out of the studio. just feeling a little mixed, but as i said before, i believe i have to do some more shooting with it. but i do applaud savage for taking the jump with this and the other new models they have out there, and for listening to their customers.
