Thoughts on Savage build

[Danco411]

I have been an autoloader guy for awhile but really want to learn to shoot a bolt gun. I am beginning a Savage build and have some questions for the experienced bolt guys.

My goals are shooting steel targets from 200-1K. I purchased a Model 11 Hog Hunter as my donor rifle. My plans are a good stock with aluminum base which I will custom bed the action. I really like the accutrigger so that will stay for now. I really want this to be a short handy rifle. The Hog Hunter comes with a 20" 1:10 twist pre-threaded barrel. I have not shot it yet but I understand Savages are pretty accurate out of the box. I load my own ammo and will work up several loads for it. So will this 20" barrel be enough for 1K with hand loads and a good bullet or should I buy a longer barrel? If so what options do I have without spending a ton. I've read the Criterions are decent? How about the Savage drop in barrels from Northland Shooters? If I replace the barrel should I get a new barrel nut and lug? Is it necessary and worth it to true up the action? I'm not looking to benchrest small groups. All steel from prone position. Finally how about the bolt? Will the stock 11 model bolt be good enough or should I look at an after market bolt?

I'm looking to keep the rifle under 1K (no optics). I bought it new for under $500. The stock is a throw away. I have bipod, optics and mount sorted already. Looking seriously at the $250 B&C Medalist Tactical Stock from Stocky's. That leaves me $250 to play around with for accurizing. I'll spend more if I have to.

Thoughts, opinions and options? I plan on only shooting this rifle this summer and getting good with it. No falling back on the bughole auto.

Thanks.

 

[MarinePMI]

If you swap out the barrel (may not be needed) remember that you are now open to going to a 6.5mm or 6mm cartridge... (The world is your oyster now... ).

And no, you don't need to replace the barrel nut (unless its a smooth one that gets buggered taking it off). I think the replacement bolt is just for feel and aesthetics..

 

[Joop]

The 20" barrel will get you to 1K with the right load, no problem. Personally, if I were new to the bolt gun/long range game, I would shoot that barrel out while learning the ropes before I spent money on a new one. From my experiences with Savage rifles it will do just fine. I think many people advise getting a new nut and lug when changing out the barrel, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary, especially if you can be careful in getting the nut off (not damaging it). You shouldn't have to true the action on a Savage and the bolt, itself will be fine, as well. If you prefer a different bolt handle, that's a matter of preference and there are several aftermarket replacements out there (I'm running the one from tactical works on my 10FP and I really like it. I think they're out of stock right now, but you should be able to find the same/similar handle if you look around). The B&C stocks seem to get pretty good reviews for the price. Any money you save by not "accurizing", I would put towards the best optic you can afford. You already have a capable rifle, so don't let it down with a cheap scope!

My .02

John

 

[bodywerks]

You'll learn to hate the accutrigger, especially if you like a light trigger (under 1.5lb). It's the first thing to go on my savages. I favor the sss comp trigger. I have it set to break like glass at about 20oz.
Your 20"barrel will get you to 1k no problem with the right bullet. My savages like the 155 scenar and 175 SMK. Many have had great success with 178 amax and 185 Bergers. Bottom line, leave the barrel for now and give it a chance. You should have no problem getting over 2700 on the 155's and 2600 on the 175-185 bullets.
Get yourself a good, steel, one piece 20 MOA base. I recommend egw or warne. Mate them up to a set of your favorite, quality LOW rings (the lowest rings you can find will still have plenty of barrel clearance).
If you're ok with a little extra weight, the best bang for your buck stock is the choate tactical. It's the only one that will be guaranteed to shoot and keep you under budget.
Look into an after market bolt handle or getting a Smith to install a tactical knob on your existing one. It looks cooler, of course, but the extra leverage will really smooth out the cycling effort.
Speaking of bolt cycling, do some research on bolt lift kits for savage. When combined with polishing the cocking cam and cocking piece pin you'll have a smooth cycling savage.

 

[BoilerUP]

Hog Hunter has a smooth nut, so plan on replacing it when you do your barrel swap. If you get an aftermarket barrel, you might as well spend the $50 to add a ground lug and a trued barrel nut.

In the meantime, replace the stock and go shoot - you might be pleasantly surprised how the factory barrel shoots. The first hundred rounds or so will tell you if a trigger replacement would be helpful. I do greatly prefer my Rifle Basix SAV-1 to my Accutrigger. Be aware, if you get the Bell & Carlson A2 Medalist (good stock option, I used to have two, consider buying from Red Hawk Rifles instead of Stockys) you might need to do some very minor Dremel inletting behind the trigger inlet in order for the Accutrigger to work properly.

I do wish Savage would have used a smaller diameter thread protector on the Hog Hunter though...the factory protector looks goofy IMO.

 

[Danco411]

Thanks for the info guys. Just what I was thinking. The Hog Hunter comes with a big honking tactical bolt handle. Nothing like the skinny stock remington ones. Maybe they figure shootin hogs you need to be fast. I like the idea of shooting out the barrel. My 20" Mega did fine at long distance. My standard loading is 175 SMK or 178 A-max over Varget in Lapua brass and that's where i'm going to start. I'm not comfortable with a 20 oz trigger let alone a 1.5! LOL I'm used to the Geisselle SSA-E's in my auto's at 3.5 which to me is great. The Accutrigger seems very close but maybe I'll evolve on that with practice. Interesting on the bolt lift kit. I'll check it out.

 

[tomcatfan]

One question though, if your looking to bed your stock anyway, why do you have to have an aluminum bedding block? If your ok with wood, stockeys has some pretty cheap wood laminates that will save you $$ for your barrel and trigger. If your looking for something tacticool, then the B&C should do just fine. HS is a little more expensive but they have thier issues. Jim at NSS will square you away with what your looking for. He is a good to go guy who knows a thing or two about savages.

 

[Danco411]

I was going to bed it completely not because I really need to with aluminum but because I want to learn how to do it and this is as good a time as any. I'll practice on the crappo plastic stock it came with first. I really don't want wood. The BC has the look I'm looking for.

 

[DGD6MM]

Look for a good used B&C Medalist in the screw spacing you need, save some $.

 

[TRTAC]

20" barrel will get you to a grand. I shoot berger bullets in my rigs and their performance delivers excellent results. Stick with your factory barrel for now. It might shoot exceptionally well for you. Not sure what you are running for a scope, but that might be a place to put some money before a barrel. Food for thought.

 

[RobertB]

All but 1 of my 308's are 20" and they all have bee shot to 1K with great results. Is the hog hunter a thicker contour bbl?

 

[Danco411]

Thanks for all the info! Robert the HH has the Target barrel. Not sure if it's a full fledge bull barrel but it's .750 at the muzzle. I put a JP Enterprise Benny Coolie Comp on it and the contour was a perfect match. So far I have taken off the rifle sights and filled the holes. The action, barrel and comp are blasted and waiting to be Cerakoted. I ordered my B&C Medalist Tactical stock from Stocky's which should be here tomorrow. It's the black with gray fleck pattern. I have a Harris swivel bipod to mount as well as an accu-shot monopod. The barre/action will be done in my custom color of black titanium which is 75% titanium and 25% graphite black. It's a wicked cool gray metalflake color which will look good with the B&C. I sold my Vortex 6-24 PST with my Mega so I am ruminating on new glass. I have one of the Primary Arms 4-14 FFP's that I bought on a whim when they came out. Pretty darn good for the money. It will sit on it until I decide what to get as a permanent solution. I decided to go with the DNZ Reaper one piece 30mm mount for now. I'm a huge one piece mount guy as I love the American Defense mounts on my AR's. The DNZ is a nicely engineered and machined piece and solid. We'll see how that goes. For glass I am debating between another Vortex PST, the Weaver 5-15 FFP or a Bushnell Elite Tactical with the G2 reticle. I hope to have the rifle complete (minus final optic) and shooting next week.

Again thanks for the 411!

 

[KerDog77]

I recently build a gun similar to what you are doing. I bought a model eleven and kept the action and trigger. Then, I stuck a bartlein barrel on it used the factory recoil lug, cdi bottom metal, retained the barrel nut, and i worked the accutriger to 1.75lbs. I mounted all this on a m millan a3 sporter stock and recently purchased steiner military 4-16. My goal is getting good at 600 and then stretch it out. I love how the gun ended up. It is a 243win.

 

[JWV]

You should have no trouble keeping it under 1k. I have a citerion in 260AI and it is nice. I used it to shoot a 591-25x at a match recently. Definitely a great way to get going on the cheap side.