I bought an Edge package in .223 from Epps on the weekend. It's no kimber, but it seems like a decent little gun. It will suit my needs, and student budget, and thats fine by me. I haven't got it sighted in, just put a few shots through it tonight, and it is a hell of a lot more accurate than the Mini-14 I just traded it for. ( got extra cash for the mini, no worries)
After shooting Nolan's I went out and bought one in .308, and you know what it'll put meat in the freezer just as well as my dad's 7600.
The action feels basically the same as the Model 10 I fondled a few weeks back, which is Savage through and through. Very smooth on the push and pull, solid on the upstroke from a fired (uncocked) chamber. The lift on a cocked chamber feels funny because it's light then all of the sudden stiff at the top, but this isn't really a big deal whilst shooting.
The trigger is fairly heavy, but quite do-able. According to a post I read on another forum it's 5lb, 7 oz, and can be tuned down to ~4lbs. Despite the heavy pull it breaks clean and isn't mushy or wavering.
The scope, is surprisingly pretty great for the price (~$50 from what I've seen advertised). Very clear sight picture on low to medium power, but at 9x I found the eye relief to be a bit tedious, but it's probably just me. Out of the box I was putting rounds on paper at 100 yds, albeit they were low and left, after bore sighting it was slightly left, and I tuned it to center after 2-3 shots.
The stock surprisingly isn't too bad. It's no McMillan, but it is very light and makes the rifle extremely manageable as a hunting rifle. Very light to carry and bring up. Cheek weld, again not too bad. I shoot south-paw, the weld is ambi, a huge plus for me. My eye goes right to the scope level upon shouldering no problem.
One of the only issues I have about the stock is that the magazine locks into the stock, rather than the action. Also, as advertised the barrel is free-floating.
The shooting
As mentioned earlier it was on paper out of the box, and took about 10 minutes to tune.
Here is my first 8-shot group with 150gr Federal "white box." The three shots grouped closest together were my first three cold bore shots. What I noticed was that after about 3-4 shots the barrel heated quickly and your accuracy went down (as you can see by the flier, upper left).
Again, 8 shots with 150gr Federal, as well as some 150gr Winchester "white box." Once again first three cold bore are spot on, and as it heated there were some fliers. These are all in the box though—or very close to it
Last group: 168gr Remington match-grade that a very generous fellow gave to me at the range. Now, by this point my shoulder hurt like #### and I was feeling a bit flinchy. I fired these in two, two-shot groups. First two cold shots in the orange, second two slightly above.
As mentioned above the stock isn't really suitable for prolonged shooting. My shoulder will tell you this first hand
Summary: From the little bit of shooting I've done thus far (I purchased the rifle on the 30th of June) I am extremely impressed. If you're looking for a cheap, quality rifle for hunting or plinking: this is it.
Hopefully this week I'll be able to pick up some reloading components for it and try various different loads in it and get back to you guys.
