Hello, from South Arkansas

[Ourdoor Dave]

Outdoor Dave, but you can call me Dave. Once a sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserve. Now days I sit at home and dream about shooting and reloading. Actually I do a little reloading from time to time. I've got a really bad back so there's not a whole lot that I can do. I started reloading back in the late '80's or early '90's.
I wanted to join here so I can keep up with the latest news in the shooting world, as well as pick up on any new reloading tips or tricks for long range shooting. I wouldn't mind learning some basic gunsmithing skills too.
While I'm at it, I'm thinking about purchasing a Savage 110 in .280 AI. Does anyone have any experience with this round? My Dad had an old Remington Woodmaster in .280 Rem. Is there much difference between the two? The rounds, not the rifles...Ha!
Anyway, thank you for letting me join. I enjoy reading everyone's posts on here.

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

Welcome, Dave.

For the 280, what’s your intended purpose?

The AI cartridges do see a bit of a performance increase over standard cartridges.

Are you dead set on the Savage?

I’d surf the PX here and find a Tikka for a little bit more than the Savage, which is going to be already steps ahead.

 

[DustBun]

Welcome from Ocala, FL

 

[acudaowner]

welcome from delaware

 

[FN15]

Welcome to SH!

 

[n2ishun]

Used to live in NW Arkansas.
Used to be a GySgt in the Marines.
Have stage 4 cancer that has metastasized into several of my vertebrae so my back is FUBAR more than most anyone can imagine.
Always have had a fondness for long actions.
Are you my brutha from another mutha ?

Like was said, a better starting platform than a Savage would be a good call.
Used to be a good gunsmith in Prairie Grove by the name of David Rose......give him a call and see if he has anything laying about.
Whoops, guess his shop is in Farmington (right next to PG)...it's on hwy62 anyway :/

 

[BLEE]

Hello, from Blanchard, Louisiana!

 

[poke_53]

Welcome from Central Arkansas.

 

[Liberator52]

Welcome ! From Eastern Washington State !

 

[Ourdoor Dave]

Minnesota, I am mainly going to use the .280AI to punch paper at 500 yard plus. On the Savage no, I'm not dead set. If it doesn't shoot then I thought I'd use it to practice re-barrelling.

Gunny, sorry to hear about your back. What do you do for your pain?

 

[n2ishun]

Minnesota, I am mainly going to use the .280AI to punch paper at 500 yard plus. On the Savage no, I'm not dead set. If it doesn't shoot then I thought I'd use it to practice barrelling.

Gunny, sorry to hear about your back. What do you do for your pain?

Morphine and oxycontin at the same time.....and a full custom backsupport made by some slick prosthetics shop.
Morphine is natural and oxycontin is synthetic, they act upon one another (in some fancy chemists way) so that it works for 12 hours.
Makes it hell to shoot, but you know an old stubborn bastage like me is gonna try every chance he can

 

[Ourdoor Dave]

Gunny, how did you do the quote thing? I wear a pain patch. It's got the synthetic morphine in it. I wear it for three days then put a new patch on. By the third day it feels like there's not much medicine left in the patch.

What would you all recommend over the Savage? Also, what's wrong with the Savage? Does anyone have any experience with the FN Patrol Rifle? A local shop has one in .308 Win. Is it a Remington 700 clone, or is it it's own design?

 

[Ourdoor Dave]

Hello, from Blanchard, Louisiana!

Hello, Where exactly is Blanchard, LA? Anywhere near Ruston or Monroe?

 

[Ourdoor Dave]

Morphine and oxycontin at the same time.....and a full custom backsupport made by some slick prosthetics shop.
Morphine is natural and oxycontin is synthetic, they act upon one another (in some fancy chemists way) so that it works for 12 hours.
Makes it hell to shoot, but you know an old stubborn bastage like me is gonna try every chance he can

Hey Gunny, I believe I figured out how to add the quote.

 

[n2ishun]

To quote use the [ ] and inside those type quote to start the quote then /quote to end the quote.
Of course you can cheat by using the <-reply button on the bottom right of each post

The Savage is just not built well, lotsa whimpy/weak parts and it's a basically a walmart grade rifle (too many things to list out that are bad).
The FN would be a helluva good starter and it's not a remmy clone. It uses the same stock as a winchester 70 and has other parts that are very similar to the win70....I don't think you could really call it a win clone but I guess it's close enough.
FN makes their own barrels and from my experience they are very good shooters, you wouldn't be disappointed.
But, being a 308 makes it a short action and the 280AI is a long action if you're still stuck on the 280AI it wouldn't be possible to convert it.
Like I said earlier, call David Rose there in Farmington and see if he has anything laying around in his shop for sale. He's always busy so you'd be talking to his wife but she's as sweet as they come. (479) 267-3965

Yea my doc is willing to give me fentanyl patches but I prefer the pills, gives me some control over it.
Funny how when you have severe cancer drugs are not an issue...cops could care less if I whip it out and take a whiz in the middle of the street...and even the local McDonalds kicks me free meals when I try to pay. I leave the cash on the counter anyway and some kid ends up running out and throwing it into my car window
So, what's up with your back ?

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

Gunny, how did you do the quote thing? I wear a pain patch. It's got the synthetic morphine in it. I wear it for three days then put a new patch on. By the third day it feels like there's not much medicine left in the patch.

What would you all recommend over the Savage? Also, what's wrong with the Savage? Does anyone have any experience with the FN Patrol Rifle? A local shop has one in .308 Win. Is it a Remington 700 clone, or is it it's own design?

The FN is a good rifle. I’ve got the Patrol Bolt Rifle and I love it.

It is NOT a Remington 700 clone.

The FN is pretty much a Winchester Model 70 which uses a big Mauser claw extractor

There is a thread where this rifle, and the SPR get a lot of love. I’ll find it and link it here.

Are the FN SPR enthusiasts extinct?

I have owned an FN SPR A1 for over a decade. It’s been the best rifle I have ever owned. It’s Topped with the older NF with the NPR2 reticle. I always enjoy getting behind it and cutting sub Half MOA groups or dropping deer in their tracks. After the first year I called FN to check the serial...

www.snipershide.com

 

[BLEE]

Hello, Where exactly is Blanchard, LA? Anywhere near Ruston or Monroe?

Blanchard's about 5 miles north of Shreveport, away from the riff-raff of town.

 

[Ourdoor Dave]

So, what's up with your back ?

I’ve got degenerative disc disease. A couple of vertebra are already bone on bone. Not much fun. Probably nothing compared to what you have though.

The shop that has the FN Patrol Bolt Rifle also has the Savage .280AI. Sorry for not explaining myself better. I have a 700 in .308, I also have a Model Seven in .260. I was thinking that the .280AI would be something different to play with. And I’ve never owned a Savage, only Remington’s and AR’s.

 

[n2ishun]

Well hell....that 700 is a great platform in it's self as is the 7.
Drop one of these in either one and you'll think someone gave you a miracle rifle

Remington 700/40x style with Top Safety and bolt release (HVRTSBR) – Jewell Triggers

jewelltriggers.com

I know most of the guys on this forum would say that the Jewell is outdated or whatever and suggest a trigger for double the price.
Tell ya what tho, it's a fantastic first step on shooting any Remington better and it's not too pricey, and you can actually buy one right now.
I'd still say get the FN if you can swing it. Killer platform that most would overlook.

I try not to think about my back so much...doc says crap like malignant neoplasm and gleason this, and psa that...
When one of the vertebra finally crumbles (when, not if) I'll be paralyzed from the waist down (already have enough column damage my left foot is numb and tingling on smaller 2 fingers of my trigger hand) so it's important for me to ignore it.
It's the head fuck wardens at Gbay dream about.

 

[Ourdoor Dave]

Hey Gunny, how are you doing? Sorry, I've been away from the computer for awhile.

I went by my local gun shop the other day and they still have the FN. They are asking $999. I think I'll have to pass on that. I have been looking into some Jewel triggers though. I missed out on one on ebay. I think it sold for about the same price as a new one too.

 

[Ourdoor Dave]

Blanchard's about 5 miles north of Shreveport, away from the riff-raff of town.

Hey Blee, I'm about two hours northeast of Shreveport. I live north of El Dorado, AR if you know where that is.

 

[Ourdoor Dave]

Well hell....that 700 is a great platform in it's self as is the 7.
Drop one of these in either one and you'll think someone gave you a miracle rifle

Remington 700/40x style with Top Safety and bolt release (HVRTSBR) – Jewell Triggers

jewelltriggers.com

I know most of the guys on this forum would say that the Jewell is outdated or whatever and suggest a trigger for double the price.
Tell ya what tho, it's a fantastic first step on shooting any Remington better and it's not too pricey, and you can actually buy one right now.
I'd still say get the FN if you can swing it. Killer platform that most would overlook.

I try not to think about my back so much...doc says crap like malignant neoplasm and gleason this, and psa that...
When one of the vertebra finally crumbles (when, not if) I'll be paralyzed from the waist down (already have enough column damage my left foot is numb and tingling on smaller 2 fingers of my trigger hand) so it's important for me to ignore it.
It's the head fuck wardens at Gbay dream about.

Gunny, what do you usually shoot, if you don't mind me asking? Caliber wise and rifle. Do you shoot competition? Benchrest or just varmints?

 

[n2ishun]

Well....
I've got a few
I usually shoot this rem 700 in 30-06 for bambis and elk. It's a 700 stainless, H&S stock, jewell trigger, leupold 3-9x40, squared and trued with a barrel turnback and rechamber.
This AR is a wildcat somewhere between a 223AI and a 224 Valkyrie, Lilja 24", Swarovski 6-18x56, lotsa other stuff and it's a good bench gun for shooting bugholes.
I keep a Heym 88B up at my place in Montana for the 4 legged tanks some people call grizz....it's a .470 Nitro Express and will kick the snot right out of you.
I have a couple AR308s, a few other bolt guns, a few other ARs, a buncha pistols....some random stuff I made....you know, the usual

Oh, as a general rule I don't shoot competition.....unless someone wants to bet me $50 or something that I can't hit that whatever way over there.
Since I've run a hunting camp back when I was healthy there was a whole lot more of that going on than you can imagine.
Quite often we'd send out a group of hunters to shoot quail and pheasant and I'd get up on a hill with that 06 or an AR308 and just wait for them to flush up the bambi's.
Out here in Kansas it can easily be a 600-800 yard shot on a buck....so that '06 does reach out a tad and has won me quite a bit of money over the years.
It looks pretty stock but can shoot under 1/2 MOA pretty much as far as I can see with these old eyes.

 

[nikonNUT]

Welcome from the Hot Springs AO!

 

[Ourdoor Dave]

Welcome from the Hot Springs AO!

Thank you!
What’s the Hot Springs AO?

 

[Ourdoor Dave]

Well....
I've got a few
I usually shoot this rem 700 in 30-06 for bambis and elk. It's a 700 stainless, H&S stock, jewell trigger, leupold 3-9x40, squared and trued with a barrel turnback and rechamber.
This AR is a wildcat somewhere between a 223AI and a 224 Valkyrie, Lilja 24", Swarovski 6-18x56, lotsa other stuff and it's a good bench gun for shooting bugholes.
I keep a Heym 88B up at my place in Montana for the 4 legged tanks some people call grizz....it's a .470 Nitro Express and will kick the snot right out of you.
I have a couple AR308s, a few other bolt guns, a few other ARs, a buncha pistols....some random stuff I made....you know, the usual
View attachment 7794132
View attachment 7794133


Oh, as a general rule I don't shoot competition.....unless someone wants to bet me $50 or something that I can't hit that whatever way over there.
Since I've run a hunting camp back when I was healthy there was a whole lot more of that going on than you can imagine.
Quite often we'd send out a group of hunters to shoot quail and pheasant and I'd get up on a hill with that 06 or an AR308 and just wait for them to flush up the bambi's.
Out here in Kansas it can easily be a 600-800 yard shot on a buck....so that '06 does reach out a tad and has won me quite a bit of money over the years.
It looks pretty stock but can shoot under 1/2 MOA pretty much as far as I can see with these old eyes.

Those are some nice looking rifles, Gunny.
I’ll try to get some pics of mine for you. I kind of have a thing about posting pics of my weapons online though.