I finished siting in my new 116 in 30-06 this morning. It has a 1.75-4.75X Bushnell in Warne medium rings mounted on a Warne 20moa rail. My best 3 round groups at 200 yds, shooting from prone in a gravel pit were 2", 2 3/8", 2 3/8". That was with Hornady Superperformance 165 grn GMX's. I find the accutrigger (with the center blade to pull first) easy to get used to. The Superperformance do recoil a bit more than other factory ammo, but not enough cause a flinch. The recoil pad on this rifle is nice and soft. The bolt release in front of the trigger guard works well too. I believe the cheap, low power scope and my poor (out of practice) body position while shooting bare equal blame for not shooting better. A Harris bipod and better optics are both on the "almost need" list, but a sling that will allow me better standing support is required right away. Considering that most hunting shots will be kneeling or standing, I will buy cheaper ammo to practice in my weakest area. I must not be a very good shot because I read about many 200+ yd offhand shots that would be irresponsible for me to take without a rest of some kind. More practice I guess.
Savage 116 30-06 Range Report ($749)
- Thread starter emerson
- Start date
Rocket Surgery
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I'm interested in getting a 16fcss .308, which is very similar to the 116. It's just a short action. My question to you, why'd you put such a pinner scope on a big bore 30-06 rifle capable of 500y shots? Theoretically that thing should do 3 inch groups at 300y, but you'd want at least 9x magnification.
Sorry I don't have experience actually shooting the rifle, but I'm equally curious as I plan on buying one.
Sorry I don't have experience actually shooting the rifle, but I'm equally curious as I plan on buying one.
I used that scope because I didn't have to get it past the budget manager.
I did get the rail planning for a better optic. I was actually thinking of a 1-4 Vortex PST, but with a bit of trigger time I realized I would need more magnification. I'm sure with bipod, quality optics, and handloads this could be a tack driver, but my offhand shooting is far worse than what the rifle is capable of right now. I think Cabelas was $699 and Reliable was $729, but I liked supporting someone closer and smaller (Corlanes) than Cabelas.
The rifle will shoot that accurately, however I am no where near that good while shooting offhand. The range work was done in the prone.
