Savage BA 110 owners, Give me the Real scoop!!

[diego-ted]

I have been lusting after one of these rifles for a while now. I have searched out all the Internet information I could and decided to pull the trigger and buy one. Most of the info I found was from 2010. Now that they have been out for a while I was wondering what the people that actually own the gun REALLY think about them. Below is what I think I know about the rifle. Please debunk or confirm my understanding and add your own thoughts.

1.The rifle needs a going over to insure all screws and fasteners are secure prior to shooting.
2.A majority of the rifles respond better to the 300gr bullets.
3.There is a wide consensus on which powder works best.
4.The rifle takes a couple of hundred rounds to bring the accuracy into order and is not a sub-moa shooter out of the box.
5.Owners are stating true MOA is not evident under 300 yards.
6.Reloading is the only way to go. Once brass is purchased reloads can cost about $1.50 per round.
7.You get about 8 reloads per case.
8.You MUST clean after every outing or it will affect accuracy and barrel life.
9.Best Bang for the Buck 338.
10.Most owners are happy and satisfied with the rifle.

Owners please be willing to share pet loads, best load development methods for this rifle. Cleaning and maintenance tips. Tips on reloading ect.

All in All I am happy I bought this gun, it is the most expensive rifle I have ever purchased and I am a little gitty and apprehensive at the same time.

I want to thank everyone for their input into helping a new member of the BA 110 club.

Diego

 

[cdnshot]

Re: Savage BA 110 owners, Give me the Real scoop!!

1.) Yes. Go over all screws but be ware of the action screws. They aparantly need to be torqued a certian sequence to a specific value to maintain factory acuracy.
2.) The twis rate is better suited to longer (read heavier) bullets so yes, they do shoot better with the 300's.
3.) I've had success with Retumbo and H1000. Although I have not finished testing with retumbo, it seems promising. H1000 will give me about a .5 MOA group at 200yd.
4.) True. It took about 250 rounds for my barrel to settle in.
5.) False, Read #3
6.) Ture. To get the best accuracy out of the rifle and lower cost, it's best to reload. I am working my way to 1.38/rnd.
7.) Using Lapua brass i'm on reload #10. Neck size only and bump the shoulder back when required, and aneal after 3 firings, take care of your brass and it will take care of you.
8.) False. I dont clean until acuracy falls off or until I get bored and decide to clean anyway.
9.) Definatly! Well I haven't seen the new offering from savage yet, the .338 Hunter
10.) Yes, happy and satisfied.

My pet load is with:
H1000 @ 91.0gn
300gn Sierra Match Kings
CCI 250LR Mag
Lapua Brass Trimed to 2.716
COAL 3.706 .030 off the lands.

Most people who use H1000 seem to be around the 89-91gn range for acuracy. It seems the rifle like about the 2800fps mark with the 300's.

have fun shooting and post results.

 

[diego-ted]

Re: Savage BA 110 owners, Give me the Real scoop!!

Thanks for sharing, there has got to be way more owners out there, heck the gun has been sold out of most retailers for months!!

Diego

 

[navy1942]

Re: Savage BA 110 owners, Give me the Real scoop!!

By the way, this is my first post:
1.The rifle needs a going over to insure all screws and fasteners are secure prior to shooting. Yes, and they will loosen after 20 rounds, so I added a dab of loc-tite and the problem stoped.
2.A majority of the rifles respond better to the 300gr bullets.Yes again. I tried the 250's, but they were all over the place. 300gr scenar's are working great for me.
3.There is a wide consensus on which powder works best. Both Retumbo and H1000 are good as far as velocity. I'm still playing with loads, but I have gotten exactly 1 MOA from 20 rounds of COR-BON 300gr rounds at exactly 417 yards.
4.The rifle takes a couple of hundred rounds to bring the accuracy into order and is not a sub-moa shooter out of the box. I'm not sure about this. I scoped the bbl after I got it home and didn't like the tool marks, so I fire lapped. It smoothed out the marks and rough spots, but it is still dirty after shooting, especially with the Retumbo.
5.Owners are stating true MOA is not evident under 300 yards. Not correct - at 50, 100, 150 and 200 yards, same hole hits are standard with factory COR-BON ammo. But I didn't buy it to shoot across my yard.
6.Reloading is the only way to go. Once brass is purchased reloads can cost about $1.50 per round. Maybe. I haven't done the math.
7.You get about 8 reloads per case. I don't know. I spent a boat load on brass from E.A. Brown and a bunch on COR-BON from Midway so, I've not even been through it all the first time.
8.You MUST clean after every outing or it will affect accuracy and barrel life. I can't speak to this either. I do clean it after every outing, my daddy taught me to do that, and I don't see a reason to change - wipe out - patch out left over night and it cleans right up the next morning.
9.Best Bang for the Buck 338. Absolutely!
10.Most owners are happy and satisfied with the rifle. Very, Very satisfied.... though I would trade it for an AI in a heartbeat

 

[diego-ted]

Re: Savage BA 110 owners, Give me the Real scoop!!

Navy, thanks for the info, I thought for sure there would be more bA owners giving up some info? I can't figure out why so few have responded???

Diego

 

[diego-ted]

Re: Savage BA 110 owners, Give me the Real scoop!!

There has got to be more BA owners out there!!

Diego

 

[PSYOPS]

Re: Savage BA 110 owners, Give me the Real scoop!!

Had one and sold it.

The BA 110 is a kick-butt gun! It was accurate and fun to shoot, but a ton of gun. With optics my stick weighed in at 18 pounds or so.

I use my other 338lm for hunting. Much lighter and more portable. For under 2K the Savage BA 110 gun is AWESOME!

If you wanna play some long range ball-this is a great gun.