Savage 110 Scout, one year later

[Coxswain]

If you insert the magazine with the action open(bolt rearward) does it over insert and block the bolt from closing the action?

Doesn't seem to for me, but I've heard of other people who have had feeding issues when there's upwards pressure on the magazine. Here's a video where I do my best to get the bolt to jam on a loaded magazine (with unprimed dummy rounds) by pressing up on the back to tilt it into the bolt face. I push up on the bolt to tilt it down and give it the best chance of jamming, but while there's a noticeable sticking point it goes into battery just fine. It also feeds when I put pressure on the front on the magazine to tilt it in the other direction, and while it increases friction there is no sticking point.

When my MDT magazines come in I'll see if it's any different with those. The 5 and 10 round magazines I currently have in my possession are all Magpul so I'm eager to see how those ones fare.

Nice bike you have

Thanks! I made the rifle holder when I saw some ATV clamps on the discount/returns rack at Canadian Tire and decided to see if I could kludge something together for my fatbike. It's heavy and ugly, but it gets the job done. Since it goes around the magazine well this would be a good use case for a flush magazine, but I'm pretty sure a bicycle counts as a vehicle for the purposes of transporting a loaded firearm, hahah.

 

[lone-wolf]

Thanks for the answers!
Might grab one down the road sometime

 

[alpining]

Thanks! I made the rifle holder when I saw some ATV clamps on the discount/returns rack at Canadian Tire and decided to see if I could kludge something together for my fatbike. It's heavy and ugly, but it gets the job done. Since it goes around the magazine well this would be a good use case for a flush magazine, but I'm pretty sure a bicycle counts as a vehicle for the purposes of transporting a loaded firearm, hahah.

Do you just tape the muzzle to keep snow and debris out?

 

[Coxswain]

Do you just tape the muzzle to keep snow and debris out?

Yeah, I started with a barrel sock for a paintball gun that goes over the scope and muzzle but it was letting dirt and water pool in it when riding over muddy terrain. Tape is simpler and works better I've found, and I'm going to try finding some finger cots to see how those work.

A little plastic thing that screws onto the thread protector would be fancy but it really wouldn't have much benefit other than being reusable (until you fire) and looking nice.

 

[owlowl]

I would look into getting a regular scabbard and cutting it in half to make bottom enclosure to protect both muzzle and scope.

But I have to say, for the looks alone - it looks awesome all together like that.

 

[Coxswain]

Doesn't seem to for me, but I've heard of other people who have had feeding issues when there's upwards pressure on the magazine.

Following up on this, my order of MDT AICS magazines arrived and they do block the bolt from closing when there's upwards pressure on the magazine. The feed lips are noticeably longer than the Magpul ones which would explain it. If it actually becomes a problem I can try sanding the back of the feed lips to be a bit more round so the bolt forces the magazine down if it's being pushed up for whatever reason, but for now I'll just make sure to not put upwards pressure on the magazine. I picked these magazines up for competition and shooting drills so for the Black Friday sale price I'm fine with some slight compatibility hiccups. Since Magpul was the pack-in magazine it certainly seems like this rifle was designed primarily for those ones.

I already have enough Magpul ones for field use since I'm very unlikely to need an extra hundred rounds of .308 in the bush. The flush fit MDT magazine probably doesn't have this issue since it's very unlikely to have any pressure on the magazine, and now I kind of wish I picked one up to test that assumption.

 

[surfclod]

Thats great to read. I'm looking at getting a magazine feed 308 compact bolt gun as my next purchase and I'm swayed to the Savage now.

 

[-Doug-]

Awesome review.
I am considering buying a scout but flip flopping with the following:
-is the savage scout with a scope too heavy
-will I like the scout scope position
-is the Ruger American ranch better (not a scout)

I’d be looking to buy the scout in 450 bushmaster to have a little thumper

 

[Coxswain]

Awesome review.
I am considering buying a scout but flip flopping with the following:
-is the savage scout with a scope too heavy
-will I like the scout scope position
-is the Ruger American ranch better (not a scout)

I’d be looking to buy the scout in 450 bushmaster to have a little thumper

It's certainly heavier than it's short overall length would have you believe, mainly because of the aluminum bedding block and the thick barrel, especially if you keep the brake on. The weight distribution is different if you're used to traditional rifles, but I grew to like it for the way I run my rifle, such as how effortless it is for me to make snap-shots from various ready positions.

The optic is a place where you can shave off some weight to improve handling. I went with the big 2-7x32 Burris because I still want to use it as a longish range rifle to keep up with my friends, but if I had even one other rifle I could dedicate to distance shooting I most likely would have gone with the 1.5-4x28 Leupold for my scout instead. If you want the lightest weight possible and you don't expect to be shooting for more than a couple hundred meters, people seem to love Burris and especially Leupold 2.5x fixed magnification IER scopes and snatch them up whenever possible since right now they're discontinued.

I had the same concerns about whether or not I'd like an IER optic, which is why I went with something that can take a rail for normal scope mounting, although on the Savage you lose the rear aperture sight if you go that route. It's definitely a niche product and honestly I don't know if I'd recommend it sight unseen unless you want to give it a try, know what you're getting into, and understand it may not be your thing. I ended up loving it for a bunch of reasons, but I'd still like to compare it to a quality LPVO to see how the differences stack up.

My friend picked up a Ruger American Ranch in .308 immediately after I got my scout and it's also a good choice for a lighter, compact rifle. The plain synthetic stock isn't bedded and the barrel profile is lighter, but that means that even after mounting an overkill 6-24x50 Diamondback Tactical it's a third of a pound lighter than my rifle at 3.8kg. With handloads it's capable of shooting just as well as mine, with the obvious caveat that it warms up much more quickly due to the barrel profile. With a more reasonable LPVO you could probably set one up to be a very handy, lightweight working gun. I still prefer my Savage 110 Scout over it due to the reasons I've discussed elsewhere in the thread, but it's very much an option worth considering.

​

 

[-Doug-]

I like the look of the scout more and have other savages which I’m impressed with.
My Savage 116 Weather Warrior is great but it’s long and heavy to carry around in the bush.

I was thinking of the scout as something that I could throw on a 1.75-5x32 Dimondback and have a quick pointy gun to walk around with.

Out of all the scouts though from just an visual perspective I prefer the Ruger with the laminate stock and stainless barrel, but that’s almost another $1000 more than a savage or ruger ranch.

 

[sharpsway]

This looks exactly what I want to do, and it beats lugging my Remington 700 26" Heavy Barrel around the woods come hunting season.

Also, hello from just down the road in Shilo.

 

[Coxswain]

Howdy! If you're ever in town and want to test it at the range before buying something feel free to hit me up. The IER scope is definitely something that you either love or hate and the only way to know for sure is to try one.

I just found out that Magpul is coming out with their Hunter stock for the 110 which is mighty tempting for the ability to have a sling mounted on the side. At 3.3lbs it's 0.75lbs heavier than the Savage stock and it's probably going to be $400CAD when it comes out here, so I'm not sure if I want side mounts that badly. Still, I'd love to compare how sling-supported shooting stacks up with a quick-adjust sling like a VCAS vs. the biceps loop I've got on there now.

Savage will also be releasing a complete rifle, and the 18" barrel should be able to hit 2700fps easily. No weight numbers in the specs yet but I'm guessing it's going to be even heavier than the 110 Scout if it's the same barrel profile.

https://magpul.com/hunter-110-stock-savage-short-action.html
https://www.savagearms.com/content?p=firearms&a=product_summary&s=57734

 

[hunterhenderson]

Just ordered a savage scout in 450 bushmaster, should me in the mail today!!!

 

[200250126]

My MDT 5 round mags also block the bolt in my Scout with upwards pressure.

 

[350tracker]

Excellent job on this report. Makes for an informative read. Keep up the good work...

 

[TinZ]

Thanks for the great write up, very informative. I've also seen the talk about the front post being too short and irons not very useable. Did you ever get around to testing that further?

 

[Coxswain]

Thanks for the great write up, very informative. I've also seen the talk about the front post being too short and irons not very useable. Did you ever get around to testing that further?

Not yet with my handloads, but I might give it a try once the weather gets better. All the people I saw who were having issues were zeroed at ~100 yards, while I opted for a 200m set-and-forget zero which might be why I didn't have any issues when I did my initial setup before my scope arrived. With a 200m zero I'm 7.4cm/2.91" high at 100m, however I'm not bottomed out like I'm seeing in some people's pictures. The irons don't lend themselves to being quickly adjusted in the field, which is why I locked it in at 200m; if I'm shooting anything closer without a scope I'm fine with using a 6-o'clock hold.

 

[jjohnwm]

Great review, thanks for posting; I don't know how I missed it first time around. Welcome to the wonderful world of scouts. I'm a fan as well, have been since before the intro of the Steyr Scout. My first commercially-produced scout was the original Savage Scout, the ancestor of your rifle. It was not perfect, but it represented the absolute best-value-for-dollar of any scout on the market...and the newest Savage looks like it continues that tradition. I fell in love with the Steyr Scout early on and eventually let my Savages go, but they are absolutely the guns that I would recommend to anyone who wants to experiment with the concept.

As I'm sure you have discovered, there's a big difference between the various scouts scopes on the market, in terms of eye relief especially, so trying a bunch of them is the best way to find the perfect match for you and your rifle. I like the original fixed-power Leupold and also the fixed Burris, and the variable Burris you have is a terrific scope, but my favourite is the variable Leupold. An Aimpoint red dot is a fantastic back-up optic for a scout, either replacing the primary scope or mounted on a 45-degree offset mount in front of the main scope.

My favourite bolt-action scout at the moment is my Steyr in .308, and it has four optics sighted-in and ready to go in QD mounts: a fixed 2.5x Leupold, a variable Leupold, an Aimpoint red dot and a 3-9x Zeiss traditionally-mounted scope. One of the handiest, most comfortable, easiest-shooting rifles I have ever owned. I love the ease with which I can switch between scopes in both locations...but I must admit that I cannot believe that Steyr still has not seen fit to ditch the Weaver rib on top, with its oddly-positioned "dead spots", and replace it with a proper Picatinny.

Now that you are hooked on your bolt scout...maybe you should try a lever. A Marlin SBL with a scout optic is, out to at least 250 yards, without equal.

 

[Coxswain]

Savage recently released a scout version of that 110 Magpul Hunter. They stuck with the heavy barrel + brake, added a full length rail and changed the front sight to be a lot taller for some reason. The additional mounting points for a side-mounted sling and accessories is nice, but at almost a pound heavier I'm not sure if there's a point to it over the original 110 Scout. I think the only thing I really like is how the magazine latch is tucked in the trigger guard.

 

[jjohnwm]

I think they had to raise the front sight to align with the rear sight, which is pretty tall by itself and is made moreso by being mounted on top of the rail instead of directly to the receiver.

Totally agree regarding the mag release; they may be cheapie plastic but the releases on Magpul AICS-pattern magwells are by far my favourites, much nicer and less obtrusive than the ugly levers sticking down on most other brands.

In fact, the whole rifle is much more eye-appealing than the older Savage Scout; that was one of the most butt-ugly stocks I've ever seen. Too bad about the weight, though; Scouts need to be lighter, not heavier.