bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
I suppose it could make a good hunting tool; pry bar, shooting stick, peg for tent vestibule, jack handle.......the list is endless.
savage Alaskan Brush Hunter 338wm 18" barrel !
- Thread starter SimilkameenSlayer
- Start date
I suppose it could make a good hunting tool; pry bar, shooting stick, peg for tent vestibule, jack handle.......the list is endless.
I suppose it could make a good hunting tool; pry bar, shooting stick, peg for tent vestibule, jack handle.......the list is endless.
I'd pay good money to watch you hunt with a "peg for a tent vestibule" in one hand and a "jack handle" in the other.
BTW, there is a great thread over on 24Hr Campfire about reloading for long range. The fellow who wrote the thread (4 parts) is getting .25 MOA at 400 yards with his Savage.
Different strokes for different folks. I don't hate on any maker. Except Norinco.
frontier arms .... maybe.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
Primer pocket uniforming,annealing,sorting....oh my. I've been reloading for nearly 30 years and still don't own a tumbler.
I prefer hunting to shooting, so I'll have to stick to my mediocre MOA rifles I suppose.
Now back to the Salvage Alaskan Brush Hunter.....
I also think the Ruger Alaskans are pretty well established in this market-niche.
yes, but not in 338 win mag.
I just realized Ruger doesn't chamber their Alaskan in .338RCM, which is a shame as the round compares very favourably to the .338WM using a short action {and shorter barrel length}. IIRC the cartridge was designed specifically for this purpose.
I went a different route and bought a model seven CDL chambered in .350RM. Lots of horsepower in a svelte little package with a 20" barrel and open sights. An honest 2900FPS with a 200gr TSX and TAC. With a 4X scope just hold on fur out to 300 yards.
If stainless is the deal-breaker then I suppose the savage is the winner, I just can't warm up to a rifle chambered in a magnum-length action {over 3.25" } with a barrel bobbed to 18 inches...the concept totally eludes me. Huge sacrifice in efficiency. I can admit to wanting to see the massive fireball from the muzzle of that Savage, but, cool as it would look, we all know exactly what it is.
If I was the OP I would hold out for a stainless Ruger M77 MKII in 350RM, you've got a robust,CRF short rifle with a cartridge made to play the part.. They pop-up on the EE every couple of months.
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Primer pocket uniforming,annealing,sorting....oh my. I've been reloading for nearly 30 years and still don't own a tumbler.
I prefer hunting to shooting, so I'll have to stick to my mediocre MOA rifles I suppose.
Now back to the Salvage Alaskan Brush Hunter.....
You forgot proper adjustment of dies for headspace, ladder loads ...oh whatever, I don't own a tumbler either. Although it's only been 26 years for me, so I can get one in the next 4 years and still be ahead!
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
If! If I had to choose between them, I would probably choose a .375 over a .338. If I were to compare the Savage ABH to the Ruger Alaskan, by the time I had the Savage where I wanted it, it would cost the same or more than the Alaskan. If I want another project gun, I'm unlikely to start with a new rifle.
Was at the range last week and held a SS Savage Brush Hunter in .375 Ruger in my hands and watched the owner and a couple of his friends fire it. I'm 118 pounds soaking wet and I wasn't about to fire that shoulder cannon
but it felt light compared to other big bore magnum rifles that I hefted. The guys had a Bushnell XTR 1.5-6x44mm 4A scope (30 mm tube) mounted on it (really nice 3 post reticle) and were getting really tight groups with Hornady factory 270 grain SP ammo. Ear muffs are not an option when bench firing the .375 Ruger version of this gun.
I have a SS Savage Model 116 in .30-06 that has been shortened and modified for my LOP and the excellent performance of the Savage Brush Hunter in .375 Ruger once again confirmed my high opinion of the Savage brand as perhaps the most accurate and dependable out of the box rifles money can buy bar none. My little Savage can cut sub MOA groups all day long with several brands of factory ammo.
Savage - absolutely the most bang for the buck on the gun market today.Addendum:
One thing I immediately noticed about the Savage Brush Hunter rifle in .375 Ruger is that it does NOT have a opening or latched gate at the bottom of the receiver to remove rounds and unloading of unfired ammo has to be done through the top.
This is no doubt a cost cutting measure with the added advantage of making for more strength and stiffness in the receiver area and thus better accuracy.
It only holds 3 rounds but what critter in North America is going to be left standing after 3 well placed shots from a .375 Ruger?
One of the guys criticized the facts that the rifle had a "push feed" rather than "controlled feed claw extraction" which apparently is preferred in "dangerous game" rifles and the stock wasn't an "Accustock".
Whatever the purported shortcomings of the rifle it sure shot well and I didn't notice any jams or malfunctions in feeding during the range session I witnessed.
The guys had to tighten the bedding screws after a couple of boxes of ammo were fired and I don't know if they came loose under recoil or just weren't checked before the range session began.
It apparently required 2 different sizes of Allen (hex) wrenches to tighten the bedding screws.
One thing I immediately noticed about the Savage Brush Hunter rifle in .375 Ruger is that it does NOT have a opening or latched gate at the bottom of the receiver to remove rounds and unloading of unfired ammo has to be done through the top.
This is no doubt a cost cutting measure with the added advantage of making for more strength and stiffness in the receiver area and thus better accuracy.
It only holds 3 rounds but what critter in North America is going to be left standing after 3 well placed shots from a .375 Ruger?
One of the guys criticized the facts that the rifle had a "push feed" rather than "controlled feed claw extraction" which apparently is preferred in "dangerous game" rifles and the stock wasn't an "Accustock".
Whatever the purported shortcomings of the rifle it sure shot well and I didn't notice any jams or malfunctions in feeding during the range session I witnessed.
The guys had to tighten the bedding screws after a couple of boxes of ammo were fired and I don't know if they came loose under recoil or just weren't checked before the range session began.
It apparently required 2 different sizes of Allen (hex) wrenches to tighten the bedding screws.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
A blind magazine adds nothing to the accuracy of a rifle, and a hinged foorplate takes nothing away from it. But having the ability to dump the rounds into the palm of your hand is preferable to running the rounds through the chamber to unload. The issue with push feed reliability comes not after a day at the range or even after a single day in the field. But these rifles might be called on as protection guns for some cash strapped folks who will use them in really harsh conditions. After being exposed to difficult field conditions for weeks on end, they will be more prone to problems than a similarly cared for controlled round feed bolt gun. Dirt and debris can collect in the spring recess of the extractor, and the plunger can be frozen in place by rust, unless checked , cleaned and oiled daily, which is not the same as saying that push feeds are always unreliable, but that one must be aware of their characteristics.
Savage would have had a better product had they paid as much attention to reliability which can be realized as to accuracy that cannot. Rather than making a powerful rifle to the lowest common denominator, they should have made one that was rock solid reliable and sold it for a fair price. I would have chosen a barrel band front sight, a plain trigger that broke clean break at 3 pounds and a fiberglass stock to add a bit more recoil dampening weight and placed the front swivel on the radius to prevent recoil induced cut hands. A finger deflector behind the trigger guard might prove beneficial. Had they done those things, they would have answered the question of a powerful defensive firearm correctly.
Savage would have had a better product had they paid as much attention to reliability which can be realized as to accuracy that cannot. Rather than making a powerful rifle to the lowest common denominator, they should have made one that was rock solid reliable and sold it for a fair price. I would have chosen a barrel band front sight, a plain trigger that broke clean break at 3 pounds and a fiberglass stock to add a bit more recoil dampening weight and placed the front swivel on the radius to prevent recoil induced cut hands. A finger deflector behind the trigger guard might prove beneficial. Had they done those things, they would have answered the question of a powerful defensive firearm correctly.
They call them SAKOs and they retail for a wee bit (2 or 3X) more than the $600 or so for the Savage.
I own a couple of Savage rifles myself and judging from my own positive experience and from what I saw at the range last week the 18" bbl Savage Brush Hunter is a lot of gun for the money. The owner was indeed pleased at the end of the day.
You don't buy a budget rifle and expect H+H or Westley Richards quality. What you'll get is a functional tool that will get the job done for you. And those guns are dead on accurate for bargain basement guns.
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
The Savage Alaskan Brush Hunter would be a good gun for me if
it came with a Boyd's laminate stock ,blued metal and was chambered
in .450 Marlin.
I'm not a fan of plastic & stainless.
it came with a Boyd's laminate stock ,blued metal and was chambered
in .450 Marlin.
I'm not a fan of plastic & stainless.
.450 Marlin is on life support and failing fast
If you'd like the gun in .450 Marlin why not go for big brother .458 Win?
Gun wouldn't weigh any more and anything in .450 Marlin like cases and loaded ammo are getting real hard to get.
I find more .458 Win ammo around on store shelves and web-stores than .450 Marlin.
The .450 Marlin will be obsolete in a couple of years at it's present rate of popularity decline.
I like the synthetic look and if you're going to work the gun hard in adverse climates you can't beat stainless.
The Savage Alaskan Brush Hunter would be a good gun for me if
it came with a Boyd's laminate stock ,blued metal and was chambered
in .450 Marlin.
I'm not a fan of plastic & stainless.
If you'd like the gun in .450 Marlin why not go for big brother .458 Win?
Gun wouldn't weigh any more and anything in .450 Marlin like cases and loaded ammo are getting real hard to get.
I find more .458 Win ammo around on store shelves and web-stores than .450 Marlin.
The .450 Marlin will be obsolete in a couple of years at it's present rate of popularity decline.
I like the synthetic look and if you're going to work the gun hard in adverse climates you can't beat stainless.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
How so? What is preferrable about dumpung them into your hand instead of cycling them through the action? I don't understand this paranoia about running the ammo through the action to unload. You don't have to run it into the chamber, just push it far enough that it pops out of the magazine.
Blind magazines never, ever, come unlatched inadvertantly. The same cannot be said about floorplates or DBMs.
