looking for feedback on savage 10ba

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eddyelectron

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Looking for anyone has, or has shot one of these.Can get a good deal on one, and just wondering how the shoot, and if your happy youve got one.I am looking to get into some longer distance shooting, maybe 500 to a 1000 yards with the right glass on top.Any input would greratly appreciated.
 
eddyelectron said:
Looking for anyone has, or has shot one of these.Can get a good deal on one, and just wondering how the shoot, and if your happy youve got one.I am looking to get into some longer distance shooting, maybe 500 to a 1000 yards with the right glass on top.Any input would greratly appreciated.
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I have owned mine for a little under 2 months now.
I have put exactly 290 rounds through it.
My best 3 shot group to date has been 0.250" at 100 yds.
My best 5 shot group has been .378" at 100 yds.
This rifle easily shoots 0.5 MOA with my SMK/Varget handloads which keep improving.

There was another shooter using the exact same rifle/glass combination as me shooting regular Federal factory loads and he was grouping somewhere around 1.25" at 100 yds.
My 200 yd groups were still smaller than his 100 yd groupso I would suggest handloading for this rifle.

I have 2 complaints about this rifle.
The first being that the bolt handle isn't exactly very long. The solution to this problem is to order the one used on the 110 BA which sells for close to $100.00 here in Canada.
The second is that the scope base doesn't have any elevation built into it so if you are using a scope that has limited elevation you will need to replace the scope base with an aftermarket one. The 20MOA base used on the Savage 110 BA doesn't fit due to the longer action.
 
My best friend has the 10ba. Have only fired a few rounds through it but I did enjoy shooting it. Couple things about them:
1.Heavy - Can be a good thing for reduced recoil and extended range sessions. Can be not so nice if your doing a lot of walking with out a really good sling.
2. Optics rail - Nice that it is included but because of it's size, can be a pain in the rear for mounting glass.
3. Cheek piece - Nice that it is included but personally I found the cheek piece to be rather flimsy which to me is undesirable.

Overall I do really like it and I almost bought the 110ba in 338LM.
 
A co-worker/buddy of mine has one and gave it to me for a couple weeks to install a scope and work up a load for it. With factory ammo it was average. Once I started working up a load it shot with extremely well. It really liked the 168g Amax and Varget or W748. It was very comfortable to shoot as well.
I was really impressed with the engineering of the chassis as well.
 
I have owned my 10BA for over a year now.

As noted above, it is a heavy rifle. However, I don't hunt and do all of my shooting (rifle and pistol) at a gun range, so the weight is not really an issue as I only carry it from the truck to the shooting line and back.

Again as noted above the weight of the gun plus the compensator really reduces recoil.

As I intend to reload for this gun for next summer, I purchased some factory ammo to shoot through the gun to get used to it and to collect brass.

I was not impressed with the groups I got from the factory ammo, I was about the same as noted above, around 1.25" at 100 yards. I have not shot any high end factory match ammo out of it, but I am certain it would tighten the groupings.

From past experience with other accurate rifles I know a good re-load will provide much better results.

All in all, I really like the 10BA, IMO it is a bargain when compared to similar guns. However, I like the platform that much I am very tempted to sell my 10BA and get a 110BA in .338!! If I do make that move, I will be using re-loads from day one!
 
I am working on a range of Savage parts and hope to get the 'green' light on some stuff shortly.

The BA bolt handles will be one of them

The parts that go bang are good ole Savage and do work very nicely. The stock is excellent if you want a alloy chassis. If you like the looks, it is a nice rifle. I would suggest you have the stock properly bedded though.

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
I am working on a range of Savage parts and hope to get the 'green' light on some stuff shortly.

The BA bolt handles will be one of them

The parts that go bang are good ole Savage and do work very nicely. The stock is excellent if you want a alloy chassis. If you like the looks, it is a nice rifle. I would suggest you have the stock properly bedded though.

Jerry
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I haven't taken mine apart yet since I find it shoots better than I do.
Will bedding it make a noticeable difference even to a novice shooter?
Would you happen to know what the torque specification would be for the action screws?

Just to clarify what I said earlier about needing to replace the rail since it has no elevation built into it. My scope which has 50moa of elevation has enough elevation to reach 500yds but no more.
The longest range within 2 hours driving distance is 200m so it isn't really an issue for me right now
 
You can shim your scope with Burris Sig ZEE rings which is the easiest, cheapest and one of the best solutions.

Or you can replace the rail with an MOA base from Farrell or EGW.

Unfortunately, the accustock was a great idea that got dumbed down during production. If not now, eventually, the parts will be allowed to wiggle which will lead to flyers.

Worst, the mounting points under the action may have some serious space so there is nothing actually supporting the receiver. The receiver is being suspended between the two thin edges on the side and the force of the action bolt.

Action bolts are not stress members and also not made from the strongest of steels. They will stretch and they will bend.

When I hear someone ask about action torque, I cringe because I know their bedding is not working well.

A properly bedded and supported action/stock only needs the action bolts to be tight enough so it doesn't loosen during firing. THAT's IT

Just snug using hand pressure.

All the recoil loads should be through the recoil lug and into the stock/bedding. The action bolts are only there to keep the two parts from separating and thus very little force is needed.

Yes, bedding most any modern chassis can be beneficial.

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
...

Action bolts are not stress members and also not made from the strongest of steels. They will stretch and they will bend.

When I hear someone ask about action torque, I cringe because I know their bedding is not working well.

A properly bedded and supported action/stock only needs the action bolts to be tight enough so it doesn't loosen during firing. THAT's IT

Just snug using hand pressure.

...

Jerry
Click to expand...

Wether it's 5 inch pounds or 500 inch pounds there must be a proper torque specification out there for those bolts since snug hand pressure leaves itself wide open to interpretation.

A good example I like to use is that the torque specifications for Nightforce rings.
I can easily go well over 15 inch pounds and consider it snug which is why I use a torque limiting screwdriver for repeatability.

Top Ring Screws 15 inch pounds
Ring Crossbolt Nut 68 inch pounds

These are concrete numbers which can be measured.

Thanks once again for a very informative post.
 
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