First hunting rifle advice-3 choices
- Thread starter Halkon
- Start date
Good pick, I'd still recommend popping the scope off, making sure the base screws are tight, throw the scope and rings back on making sure they are snug (don't I over tighten), before you go shoot. You are not going to mess up any bore sighting that was done, it's still going to require some dialing in at the range, no such thing out there new that is going to be zeroed first time out.
Also pop it out of the stock, clean and oil everything lightly including the bolt and bore, dry patch the bore before going shooting, make sure the action screws are tight.
It's not like buying a new car you drive off the lot and everything is cherry until the next service, you have to learn how to maintain this.thing.
The bolt lift is a bit heavy on these because of the design, firing pin spring is very short on a Savage but stiff, it's a good thing though, lock time if very fast on these.
Also pop it out of the stock, clean and oil everything lightly including the bolt and bore, dry patch the bore before going shooting, make sure the action screws are tight.
It's not like buying a new car you drive off the lot and everything is cherry until the next service, you have to learn how to maintain this.thing.
The bolt lift is a bit heavy on these because of the design, firing pin spring is very short on a Savage but stiff, it's a good thing though, lock time if very fast on these.
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Yeah it was a deal breaker, I can deal with the flimsy stock in the short term and the trigger isn’t too bad overall. The 110 was tempting, I’ll have to give it a second look for aftermarket parts, though I really just want a Rem 700 or Ruger M77 to have a trainer of either of my LH .308’s
It’s too bad the Ruger American isn’t offered in a LH .223, I still haven’t totally found what I’m looking for. Even upping my price range hasn’t really helped, have two that would do it but one is at the max price range and leaves me with no optic budget and the other has a slower barrel twist than I’d like.
Thanks a lot for the advice, this was one of the things that tipped it over in favor of the 110 Hunter, I went to my local Canadian Tire to see what they had in stock and turned out they had the Hunter 110 Engage in .308 ready for me to take home for the same $699 price that was online, so I did
Yeah that's how it felt, also I think the stock was a bit longer and felt awkward I'm glad went to check it out in person and compared it to other ones. I can also see how the value for the Axis is no longer there as I finally understood there are significantly better options for just $100-$200 more that are well worth it.
I was already in the process of paying for my rifle when I read your comment, but I did ask the guy to stop for a second and asked him about it, unfortunately my store didn't have a discount in that model, I think the ABolt was around $950.
Yes, this was exactly my train of thought, its my first bolt action and I really wanted something that had everything I needed just to go to the range and have fun without going through the learning curve of installing optics just yet. I'm sure more rifles will come eventually and I will know a bit more of this hobby to better learn that process. Plus I REALLY liked the Bushnell Engage scope, honestly was the one I liked the most from the options I had, I liked it over the Vortex Crossfire II.
I followed your advice and I did, went in to the store and asked to see them all, well actually not the axis again as I already knew I didn't like the wobbly action too much, but did worked the actions on the 110 and the Ruger quite a bit, and honestly I liked the Ruger action better. It felt a bit smoother and tighter, but 2 things made me go for the Savage, one is that they didn't actually had in stock the Ruger in .308 and the guy wasn't entirely sure he could get it as he had to check with his warehouse the next day, it was Easter Sunday; and second is that I really liked the feel of the 110 and the scope while shouldering it, and thanks to this thread I already know the 110 was worth it with the accutrigger and accustock, and of course not having to spend in optics finally made me cave.
Yeah, you definitely can feel the difference over the Axis, more than worth the extra $160.
I tried scoring one during the Calgary Easter gun show last Saturday as they were there but I was too slow and wanted to check out all the tables first, big mistake, an hour later none of the rifles I liked were there, but I feel is for the best because for some reason I really wanted a new rifle and also the ones from Interplus were 30-06 which was my second choice but I wanted a .308.
Once again thanks to everyone that gave me advice, if I didn't reply directly its just that I didn't want to make the post too long, but I considered all the replies when I made the decision to buy my rifle. Like I mentioned before at the end I bought the Savage 110 Engage Hunter in .308, with what it looks like weaver bases and rings and a supposedly boresighted Bushnell Engage 3-9x40mm scope with drop-compensating reticle for $699. According to the Canadian Tire guy this was on sale at their distributor as this version is being discontinued in favor of the one with the Vortex Crossfire II scope that goes for $850.
All in all I feel good with the buy but I guess I won't know for sure until I hit the range. At the same time I'm a bit relieved that I got it locally because if any warranty issues arise I just have to take to the store and they will take care of the shipping to the manufacturer for a whole year, another bonus point compared to a used one.
The scope might not be the best but I'm sure it will be more than enough for a newbie like me, that alone is sold at Canadian Tire for $220, plus lets say $50 of the rings, puts the rifle at $429 which is a killer deal, the Stevens 334 with no optics was going on sale for a bit more than that last week.
My only gripe is that I'm not too fond of the cocking mechanism, it feels a but harder to work the action when you have to #### the firing pin when lifting the bolt handle, but you cant have it all, specially when buying cheap lol.
Besides I wont be needing to work that bolt as fast as if I was fighting in WWI, I mostly will be shooting at the range and maybe trying to get my first deer this fall, hopefully with just one well placed shot.
Happy I planted the seed in your mind
I got the 110 from Tenda in 243, and it came with the Vortex Crossfire scope with the ballistic reticle, despite being listed as the Bushnell package. For $599, I didn't complain too loudly
It doesn't matter between those choices, seriously.
Savage 110 rifles are fine, I haven't owned many Savages but my sole 110 is a fun little rifle (Lightweight Storm) that is freakishly accurate despite a pencil-thin barrel. The step up in quality and handling over the Axis is significant.
