Shooting with Jim Hammond Savage
10FP .308 Product Review
Not Your Grandfathers Savage
Savage 10 FP .308 Bolt Action with Brunton 6-24X50 Scope
A couple of years ago, I was looking for a 308 or
30-06 that I could hunt and target shoot. I searched different forums and
websites for months and wound up seeing a lot of positive information on the
Savage 10FP in .308. I was pretty sure I wanted a rifle that was heavy
enough to absorb the recoil from the heavy loads I was going to run through
it. When you sit behind a rifle and send 100 to 150 rounds down range in a
day, you want a gun that will absorb some of the recoil so your shoulder is
not mush the next day. I was also pretty sure I wanted a rifle with a bull
barrel. I was not really sure why I wanted the bull barrel other than they
just looked neat. I did not need any type of iron sights as I had no
intention of shooting this rifle at the 25 or 50 yard targets other than to
sight in the scope, I was going to mount to it. See, I wanted a gun that
would "DOT THE I" at 100 yards and at 200 and 300 yards have less than MOA
groups. For those that do not know what MOA is in relation to shooting. It
is placing the bullet inside of 1 inch group at 100 yards, 2 inches at 200
yards, 3 inches at 300 yards and so one.
Most descent rifles will do that but I wanted
better. I wanted less than 1/2 inch at 200 yards and from there I figured I
could work up loads for the 100 yard, 300 yard and farther shots.
So after some careful consideration and a little
research, I decided on the Savage 10 FP in .308. So now the search for great
price and after several more days looking for the best price, I had my new
Savage 10FP in .308.
Now I have my new rifle and need a scope. Scope
selection is sort of like the different colors of the rainbow. there are so
many different makes and models, it can be mind boggling as to the right one
for you. But, I had also had some experience with scoped rifles and was
pretty certain I want a scope with the Mil-Dot reticle. The reason for this
is I was not always going to be shooting at the exact same distance or
always in no wind calm conditions and with the Mil-Dot reticle you can make
adjustments to distance and wind using the dots as apposed to having to
guess or move the reticles each time you shoot a different distance
or wind condition. See with mil-dot scopes you have dots running vertically
and horizontally on the cross hairs that allow you to use these dots to
adjust for distance and wind. Say you had your rifle sighted in at 100 yards
in calm (no or light wind conditions) and you went shooting and your target
was 200 yards away and it was blowing 15 mph. If you had a scope that did
not have some sort of mil-dot reticle you would have to guess as to where to
put the cross hairs to hit the target. Now if you had a Mil-Dot scope and
you had put in the range time you would know what dot on the vertical line
and what dot on the horizontal line to put on your target. This is why I
like Mil-Dot scopes on rifles that will be shot at different ranges and in
different wind conditions.
Mil-Dot reticle (cross hairs)
Now when it comes to scopes I like to call myself
cheap or frugal or thrifty or what ever but I have a had time paying a lot
of money for a scope, when I can get a real good one for not a lot of money.
But the first thing I knew is that I wanted a Mil-Dot like this picture and
from there I would look at brands and price. After much research, I came up
with a Brunton 6-24X50. The numbers on this mean: (6-24) is the starting
(6) and maximum (24) power magnification. (50) denotes the objective size.
Objective size is important for two reasons, the bigger the lens (the
number), the stronger the magnification and a larger objective will allow
more light to enter the scope giving you a brighter, clearer picture. If you
plan on shooting in low light conditions be sure to get a scope with the
largest objective.
Well, my rifle, scope and mounts are here and I
am ready to mount the scope. With a few simple tools this is not to tough.
Once the scope is on, remove the bolt look through the barrel at a point on
the wall and then adjust the scope cross hairs to get real close to the spot
on the wall. Your rifle is now bore sighted and your scope should be close
to being on target. Some fine tuning will still be needed but you are close.
Okay, I am ready to shoot. I have my new gun,
have mounted my scope, swung by the local bullet place and picked up some
factory loads and most important for the past week had researched my
reloading manuals and I have several of them, for the best loads in this
rifle. The only problem with that is they do not give you the best loads in
this rifle. So, to the drawing board I went. I reloaded several loads using
several brands of bullets, cases and powder for my new toy so I would be
ready for the big day at the range. I started out with the least expensive
loads to get the scope and rifle working as one (sight in the scope). Now I
was ready for testing the different loads to find the perfect one at 200
yards. As this is the distance I wanted to start with this rifle and adjust
up or down from there.
After a day of shooting I found two loads that
were acceptable that would place the bullet under 1/2 inch at 200 yards with
a 10 to 12 mph cross wind. I also found several real good hunting and target
loads for this gun at 100 to 200 yards. I had picked the right rifle for
what I wanted to do.
To date, I have put about 400 rounds through this
rifle and I am extremely happy with the way it shoots and shoulders. I have
yet to hunt with this but will in the very near future. I did add one thing
to the rifle that made my shoulder feel better. I added a Limb Saver slip on
recoil pad over the hard rubber pad the rifle came with and what a
difference this has made to the felt recoil.
I really like the Savage AccuTrigger as it is
adjustable. This is a great feature and if you ever shoot with a rifle that
has this, you will want it on all of them. The stock is black
synthetic with positive
checkering and the barrel is a bull barrel with a matte finish. The rifle is
dual pillar bedded which
contributes to it's great accuracy. It also comes
with 4 round
internal box magazine, swivel stud for bipod and a very easy to
use oversized bolt handle. The bolt is solid and locks up tight when a new
round is chambered. Overall, I would have to rate this rifle as follows:
Accuracy: Very Good
Looks: Very Good
Dependability: Very Good
Easy to Clean: Very Good
Price: Very Good
The .308 cartridge is pretty much an all around
cartridge for North America and I think has the ability with the right round
to harvest deer like animals in Africa. The military makes accurate shots to
1200 yards with this cartridge so we should be able to take deer at 200 to
400 yards with no problem as long as you put in your range time to be sure
your bullet hits where the cross hairs are pointing.
|
Distance in Yards |
100 |
|
Powder Type |
Ramshot TAC |
|
Powder Weight |
44.0 grains |
|
Primer |
CCI Large Rifle |
|
Case |
Winchester |
|
Bullet |
Hornady Interlock 3031 150 Grain |
|
Temperature |
85 |
|
Wind |
Light |
|
Group Size Inches |
5/16 inch |
|
Distance in Yards |
100 |
|
Powder Type |
Ramshot TAC |
|
Powder Weight |
43.0 grains |
|
Primer |
CCI Large Rifle |
|
Case |
Winchester |
|
Bullet |
Sierra Game King 2125 150 grain |
|
Temperature |
88 |
|
Wind |
5-10 mph |
|
Group Size Inches |
3/8 inch |
Great 200 yard Target Load
|
Distance in Yards |
200 |
|
Powder Type |
Ramshot TAC |
|
Powder Weight |
41.0 grains |
|
Primer |
CCI Large Rifle |
|
Case |
Winchester |
|
Bullet |
SMK 175 grain HPBT |
|
Temperature |
65 |
|
Wind |
15 to 20 from right |
|
Group Size Inches |
0.41" |
Great 200 Yard Hunting Load
|
Distance in Yards |
200 |
|
Powder Type |
Ramshot TAC |
|
Powder Weight |
40.1 grains |
|
Primer |
CCI Large Rifle |
|
Case |
Winchester |
|
Bullet |
Horn 165 grain SST 30451 |
|
Temperature |
65 |
|
Wind |
15 to 20 from right |
|
Group Size Inches |
0.48" |
3 SHOTS 2 HOLES
Jim Hammond
Shooting with Jim
Shootingwithjim.com does not endorse anyone reloading ammo and if you do,
follow all safety instructions on the powder, bullets, equipment and reload
manuals. All loads shown on this site were prepared by someone with years of
experience reloading and follows all safety precautions to the letter. All
of the loads on this site were fired in modern guns that were safe to
shoot. Because
shootingwithjim.com and its affiliates have no control
over the individual loading
practices and/or components used, no responsibility is assumed by
shootingwithjim.com or its affiliates in the use of
this data. The information is to
be used at the sole discretion of the user and the user assumes all risk.
Savage 10 FP .308 Bolt Action with Brunton 6-24X50 Scope
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