Battle of the Savage 110s

Eventually you’ll save so much money hand loading, the rifle will pay YOU to shoot.
Yeah, that’s how it always starts…But never ends.

There’s 2 types of handloaders…

1.) The Fudd, who keeps using the same old same and never upgrading anything…But also never improves his reloading game, reloads, or precision. Still uses manual powder drops, beam scales, follows the reloading manuals as if they were the Bible, and measures base to tip (insert gratuitous Beavis & ButtHead laugh)…

2.) And then there’s 95% of us, who like to remain somewhat cutting-edge and love to push things to their limits “for science”, constantly buying better things, cool new things that come to market, specialty tools, precision tools, etc… for a better reloading experience, kindling more joy for the hobby, but also breaking our bank accounts. 😂
 
Moneywise, I sense that the OP is REALLY not going to like missing the target.

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As much as I hate to admit it, I bought a Savage over the weekend and I’m not the least bit disappointed with the thing thus far.

I haven’t given them the time of day for at least 10 years. I bought a have dozen 93’s at one point trying to find one that shot close to as good as people claimed, and I had a long range hunter that shot basketball sized groups and went back to savage and they said was fine. I had a 10FP about 20 years ago that was a 1/4moa gun but struggled to function. Early on in competitions before custom actions were prevalent and it was basically Remingtons and Savages I saw a lot of people with Savages struggling on stages trying to get them to work.

Anyway I was in a store for several hours killing time that just happened to be blowing out about 200 rifles and shotguns for about 50% off. I almost bought a Proof Elevation 308 for $1800 and may still go back and buy that rifle if they have it. I picked up a Savage Ultralight 308 off the rack that was marked down to a little over $800 and was pretty impressed with the thing and ended up buying it out of all the rifles there. I basically bought it for the price of the Proof barrel on it. I could have bought that Proof, I could have bought a CTR for about $200 less, I could have bought a 700 SPS threaded for $400 less, but I walked out with the trailer park proof research…

I cycled the action probably 500 times pulling the trigger probably half of them, and cycled it another 100 times with dummy rounds. It fed smooth and ejected every time. I wiped it down and lubed it up and the cocking effort got very smooth and the action got slick. There was still a little notchiness but it’s better and not bad. Surprisingly it’s less notchy and has a lighter lift that my Tikka and really no heavier than my 700’s. The stock and trigger guard assembly are head and shoulder above the POS on my Tikka too. The trigger is also better.

If all the new ones are like this then someone could do a lot worse than spending $600 on a tactical model if that’s all they can afford and want to go do some casual LR shooting. However buying one with the plans to change everything and sink a bunch of money into it would be incredibly stupid and a waste of $$. At that point you end up with almost as much $$ into a savage action as a custom action just spread out over time and you’d never get even half of your money back when you realize there’s better shit out there and it’s holding you back whereas the factory Savage rifle you can sell to some bubba on your local classifieds site for probably a $100 loss when it’s time to upgrade. So if your plan is to waste a bunch of money polishing a turd and you can’t afford it now then get a 0% interest CC and buy quality budget stuff and you’ve got 12 months to figure out how to afford it.
 
As much as I hate to admit it, I bought a Savage over the weekend and I’m not the least bit disappointed with the thing thus far.

I haven’t given them the time of day for at least 10 years. I bought a have dozen 93’s at one point trying to find one that shot close to as good as people claimed, and I had a long range hunter that shot basketball sized groups and went back to savage and they said was fine. I had a 10FP about 20 years ago that was a 1/4moa gun but struggled to function. Early on in competitions before custom actions were prevalent and it was basically Remingtons and Savages I saw a lot of people with Savages struggling on stages trying to get them to work.

Anyway I was in a store for several hours killing time that just happened to be blowing out about 200 rifles and shotguns for about 50% off. I almost bought a Proof Elevation 308 for $1800 and may still go back and buy that rifle if they have it. I picked up a Savage Ultralight 308 off the rack that was marked down to a little over $800 and was pretty impressed with the thing and ended up buying it out of all the rifles there. I basically bought it for the price of the Proof barrel on it. I could have bought that Proof, I could have bought a CTR for about $200 less, I could have bought a 700 SPS threaded for $400 less, but I walked out with the trailer park proof research…

I cycled the action probably 500 times pulling the trigger probably half of them, and cycled it another 100 times with dummy rounds. It fed smooth and ejected every time. I wiped it down and lubed it up and the cocking effort got very smooth and the action got slick. There was still a little notchiness but it’s better and not bad. Surprisingly it’s less notchy and has a lighter lift that my Tikka and really no heavier than my 700’s. The stock and trigger guard assembly are head and shoulder above the POS on my Tikka too. The trigger is also better.

If all the new ones are like this then someone could do a lot worse than spending $600 on a tactical model if that’s all they can afford and want to go do some casual LR shooting. However buying one with the plans to change everything and sink a bunch of money into it would be incredibly stupid and a waste of $$. At that point you end up with almost as much $$ into a savage action as a custom action just spread out over time and you’d never get even half of your money back when you realize there’s better shit out there and it’s holding you back whereas the factory Savage rifle you can sell to some bubba on your local classifieds site for probably a $100 loss when it’s time to upgrade. So if your plan is to waste a bunch of money polishing a turd and you can’t afford it now then get a 0% interest CC and buy quality budget stuff and you’ve got 12 months to figure out how to afford it.
But, how does it shoot?
 
Man, I bought a 110 Timberline a couple years ago to basically let the F-I-L use for hunting, and maybe my daughters when they get older since you can adjust the LOP down pretty well.

During the crunch of 2020 (when I got it) I had to use handloads to break it in, so I used some old IMR 4895 and 120gr Nolser Ballistic Tips that I was sitting on a bunch of from my 6.5 Grendel. Right off the bat, it shot freaking fantastic with zero load development...like the kind of fantastic that all of the Salvage fanboys always brag about when they are telling everyone about their awesome rifles. Of course, it feeds like a Savage so there's that. And I have a half-minute cold bore shift to the 2 O'clock. Still, it is stupid accurate with both loads that I've developed for it now.

I like to jokingly crap on 'Salvage', but I paid $750 for that rifle. I got everything that I paid for and then some.

My extraction is actually quite good.
 
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The cold bore shift is typical of their barrels and if the OP is going to use it for a casual target rifle it’s really a non issue even if it’s inconsistent about the shift.

I bought this one because it was an incredibly good deal and I actually kinda liked it and preferred the ergos on the stock over the proof rifle. The way I see it I bought a Proof barrel for a good price and it came with a free budget action and stock. I’d never pay the typical $1400-$1500 that they go for though. You’re basically paying $700 for a savage action and a Tupperware stock at that point.

The store had some tactical models that I didn’t pay much attention to but they worked out to be sub $400 OTD after all discounts. I might go back and see if they have a 6ARC.
 
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The cold bore shift is typical of their barrels and if the OP is going to use it for a casual target rifle it’s really a non issue even if it’s inconsistent about the shift.

I bought this one because it was an incredibly good deal and I actually kinda liked it and preferred the ergos on the stock over the proof rifle. The way I see it I bought a Proof barrel for a good price and it came with a free budget action and stock. I’d never pay the typical $1400-$1500 that they go for though. You’re basically paying $700 for a savage action and a Tupperware stock at that point.

The store had some tactical models that I didn’t pay much attention to but they worked out to be sub $400 OTD after all discounts. I might go back and see if they have a 6ARC.
I’ve given some thought to 6mm ARC since the ballistics are so close to 6.5 Creedmoor, at least out to like 700-800 yards or so, but I think I will save that for an AR-15 build, that’s really what it was made for and I think that’s where it would do best, sort of a light DMR thing, actually pretty cool like that, cheaper, lighter, and more compact than an AR-10 but with all the benefits. Honestly it was going to be that or this for this build, I just thought that a bolt gun with full 6.5 Creedmoor would give me better performance at 1,000 yards and beyond while 6mm ARC is more or a 1,000 yards and under thing.

I’m also still on the fence if I want to stick with 6.5 Creedmoor or step up to 6.5 PRC, still leaning Creedmoor though. If I could find a Chassis similar in price to the KRG Bravo (that was also compatible with a tooless LOP add on, like the Bravo, or already has one) that could hold a Howa 1500 long action though I might try 300 PRC.
 
Man, I bought a 110 Timberline a couple years ago to basically let the F-I-L use for hunting, and maybe my daughters when they get older since you can adjust the LOP down pretty well.

During the crunch of 2020 (when I got it) I had to use handloads to break it in, so I used some old IMR 4895 and 120gr Nolser Ballistic Tips that I was sitting on a bunch of from my 6.5 Grendel. Right off the bat, it shot freaking fantastic with zero load development...like the kind of fantastic that all of the Salvage fanboys always brag about when they are telling everyone about their awesome rifles. Of course, it feeds like a Savage so there's that. And I have a half-minute cold bore shift to the 2 O'clock. Still, it is stupid accurate with both loads that I've developed for it now.

I like to jokingly crap on 'Salvage', but I paid $750 for that rifle. I got everything that I paid for and then some.

My extraction is actually quite good.
I have no problems with feeding on any of my Savages but all of mine use AICS magazines and are shot either prone or from a bench.

As for weak ejection there are kits that can take care of that for around $20.00.
I also install the tactical bolt handles for $30 from Midway if they don’t come with them.
This was shot last month and the second target was shot 10 days ago.
Old Savage 10BA with a $300 used 6br barrel and Hornady 75gr V-Max.
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I’ve given some thought to 6mm ARC since the ballistics are so close to 6.5 Creedmoor, at least out to like 700-800 yards or so, but I think I will save that for an AR-15 build, that’s really what it was made for and I think that’s where it would do best, sort of a light DMR thing, actually pretty cool like that, cheaper, lighter, and more compact than an AR-10 but with all the benefits. Honestly it was going to be that or this for this build, I just thought that a bolt gun with full 6.5 Creedmoor would give me better performance at 1,000 yards and beyond while 6mm ARC is more or a 1,000 yards and under thing.

I’m also still on the fence if I want to stick with 6.5 Creedmoor or step up to 6.5 PRC, still leaning Creedmoor though. If I could find a Chassis similar in price to the KRG Bravo (that was also compatible with a tooless LOP add on, like the Bravo, or already has one) that could hold a Howa 1500 long action though I might try 300 PRC.


You’re wrong thinking about 6ARC as a gas gun only option. I had a Seekins DMR 18” 6ARC and it was an amazing rifle and dead nuts consistent to 1200 yards with factory ammo. As someone who has shot a lot of 6.5CM rounds at distance the ARC really doesn’t give up anything significant. It’s basically a 6BR or 6 Dasher with commercial support and those two rounds dominate in LR and BR competitions.

In a bolt gun you can push the round a bit harder if you load and with factory ammo you’ll still get a little more velocity.

I’ve been doing this LR thing a long damn time and a 6mm ARC bolt gun will be my next target rifle. IMO that round is the best thing going right now for anyone that doesn’t load and still a solid option even if you do.
 
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You’re wrong thinking about 6ARC as a gas gun only option. I had a Seekins DMR 18” 6ARC and it was an amazing rifle and dead nuts consistent to 1200 yards with factory ammo. As someone who has shot a lot of 6.5CM rounds at distance the ARC really doesn’t give up anything significant. It’s basically a 6BR or 6 Dasher with commercial support and those two rounds dominate in LR and BR competitions.

In a bolt gun you can push the round a bit harder if you load and with factory ammo you’ll still get a little more velocity.

I’ve been doing this LR thing a long damn time and a 6mm ARC bolt gun will be my next target rifle. IMO that round is the best thing going right now for anyone that doesn’t load and still a solid option even if you do.
I never said it couldn’t be used in a bolt action, I just don’t see the point, same thing for .223/5.56 lots of mini actions in those calibers but why? Maybe I’m missing something obvious, but what does a bolt gun do in those calibers that a gas gun doesn’t do just as well? Yes, a slight velocity difference from the gas system but does it matter that much? It just seems that a gas gun gives far more advantage than it is a disadvantage. But then I am new to bolt guns so maybe I am missing something painfully obvious.
 
I wonder why nobody runs gas guns in PRS competitions and when they do they finish poorly. Weird.

For someone who admittedly has little experience, you sure do seem to think you know WTF you’re talking about. LOL. Go buy whatever makes you happy since you’re not going to listen to anyone but yourself. Don’t forget the part where you come back and tell everyone how it’s just as good as customs too!
 
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I wonder why nobody runs gas guns in PRS competitions and when they do they finish poorly. Weird.

For someone who admittedly has little experience, you sure do seem to think you know WTF you’re talking about. LOL. Go buy whatever makes you happy since you’re not going to listen to anyone but yourself. Don’t forget the part where you come back and tell everyone how it’s just as good as customs too!
I literally said I didn’t know anything about it. Maybe try telling me why vs insulting me? I said I didn’t see the point of .223/5.56, 6mm ARC, 6.5 Grendel, etc. in bolt guns because the velocity gain couldn’t possibly (to my mind) make up for no longer having it be semi auto, and then said that maybe there was something obvious that I was not seeing. So, do you have something intelligent to add? To me I just see 6mm ARC being better suited to a DMR type role while 6.5 Creedmoor would be better suited to a long range bolt gun. That’s it, that’s all I said. If I am off base then I invite you to correct me and tell me why. I literally admitted that I was new to bolt guns. “New to” implies that I know very little on the subject, and hence would like to learn more.
 
I have no problems with feeding on any of my Savages but all of mine use AICS magazines and are shot either prone or from a bench.

As for weak ejection there are kits that can take care of that for around $20.00.
I also install the tactical bolt handles for $30 from Midway if they don’t come with them.
This was shot last month and the second target was shot 10 days ago.
Old Savage 10BA with a $300 used 6br barrel and Hornady 75gr V-Max.
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View attachment 8489532
What does the red circle indicate? My version of that same app doesn’t have that…using the free version.
 
I never said it couldn’t be used in a bolt action, I just don’t see the point, same thing for .223/5.56 lots of mini actions in those calibers but why? Maybe I’m missing something obvious, but what does a bolt gun do in those calibers that a gas gun doesn’t do just as well? Yes, a slight velocity difference from the gas system but does it matter that much? It just seems that a gas gun gives far more advantage than it is a disadvantage. But then I am new to bolt guns so maybe I am missing something painfully obvious.
Suppressed bolts are quieter with the same can and ammo than a semi.