It's been a month and the more I work on this platform the more I know I made the right decision going with a Savage.
My criteria was pretty simple I wanted a plastic stock, robust back up sights, heavy threaded barrel and under 600.00.
That took out Remington, Vanguard, Ruger, Tikka, and left Mossberg and Savage.
A side by side comparison pitched back and forth with me deciding on the Savage due to the fragile fiber optic sights and relatively new bolt design of the Mossberg Patrol rifle. The bolt slop and strange bolt design made me decide on the Savage due to the Savage reputation and that the action and accuracy are field proven. Biggest regret is I wish the Savage had the AR mag option but I decided a time proven design was a better choice.
Timing was great the Hog Hunter was 479.00 CDN it is now over a 100.00 more!!!!!
The 1 in 9 twist is new to me for a .223, I went back and forth between the .223 and .308 but after really asking myself what am I going to be shooting with it I decided on a .223 to share ammo with my AR.
I have experience with the .308 cartidge after having 2 rifles in that caliber and as I don't hunt only varmint shoot and that I only shoot out to 500 yards it wasobvious. With the cost of .308 ammo, the recoil, it just did not make any sense as being able to buy .223 cheaper this equates to more trigger time. And if I bust a sporting clay at 500 yards, or get a cloverleaf on paper the bigger .308 makes no difference to me and my son.
I am waiting for new glass a 4.5-14x50 MilDot scope, once I get that I will get out to the outdoor range. Now I only had 50m to test but found the 75 grain Hornadys to be the best with the 1 in 9 twist and the Norinco 55 grains close behind with the MFCs being the worst. Unfortunately I forgot my gun rest and just had the bipod so I know my groups could have been much better.
But after looking at the crappy groups the other higher end guns were getting I know the Savage is a great shooter. Love the see thru rings as I can use the irons below 50 yards easily as I will be doing a 200 yard zero.
Now I am confident the Hog Hunter shoots I decided to epoxy a metal rod into the front part of the stock and also removed the loose packed styrofoam from the butt stock and sprayed expanding foam and added .5 lbs of lead this really balanced out the gunand makes it more rigid and solid feeling. I was surprised to see the pillars from the action to the stock are metal this really helps with accuracy. I also scored a new replacement stock for 20.00 in case I want to go back to the factory setup.
So here are some pics once I get the glass I will push her to 100, 200, and 300 yards max range we have. I decided to move the bipod rearward under the more supported area of the stock as opposed to way forward like it had it originally. The overall heft, muzzle brake, and .223 lackof recoil makes keeping the target in the scope picture so very easy as opposed to my old .308.
Thanks
Randy
My criteria was pretty simple I wanted a plastic stock, robust back up sights, heavy threaded barrel and under 600.00.
That took out Remington, Vanguard, Ruger, Tikka, and left Mossberg and Savage.
A side by side comparison pitched back and forth with me deciding on the Savage due to the fragile fiber optic sights and relatively new bolt design of the Mossberg Patrol rifle. The bolt slop and strange bolt design made me decide on the Savage due to the Savage reputation and that the action and accuracy are field proven. Biggest regret is I wish the Savage had the AR mag option but I decided a time proven design was a better choice.
Timing was great the Hog Hunter was 479.00 CDN it is now over a 100.00 more!!!!!
The 1 in 9 twist is new to me for a .223, I went back and forth between the .223 and .308 but after really asking myself what am I going to be shooting with it I decided on a .223 to share ammo with my AR.
I have experience with the .308 cartidge after having 2 rifles in that caliber and as I don't hunt only varmint shoot and that I only shoot out to 500 yards it wasobvious. With the cost of .308 ammo, the recoil, it just did not make any sense as being able to buy .223 cheaper this equates to more trigger time. And if I bust a sporting clay at 500 yards, or get a cloverleaf on paper the bigger .308 makes no difference to me and my son.
I am waiting for new glass a 4.5-14x50 MilDot scope, once I get that I will get out to the outdoor range. Now I only had 50m to test but found the 75 grain Hornadys to be the best with the 1 in 9 twist and the Norinco 55 grains close behind with the MFCs being the worst. Unfortunately I forgot my gun rest and just had the bipod so I know my groups could have been much better.
But after looking at the crappy groups the other higher end guns were getting I know the Savage is a great shooter. Love the see thru rings as I can use the irons below 50 yards easily as I will be doing a 200 yard zero.Now I am confident the Hog Hunter shoots I decided to epoxy a metal rod into the front part of the stock and also removed the loose packed styrofoam from the butt stock and sprayed expanding foam and added .5 lbs of lead this really balanced out the gunand makes it more rigid and solid feeling. I was surprised to see the pillars from the action to the stock are metal this really helps with accuracy. I also scored a new replacement stock for 20.00 in case I want to go back to the factory setup.
So here are some pics once I get the glass I will push her to 100, 200, and 300 yards max range we have. I decided to move the bipod rearward under the more supported area of the stock as opposed to way forward like it had it originally. The overall heft, muzzle brake, and .223 lackof recoil makes keeping the target in the scope picture so very easy as opposed to my old .308.
Thanks
Randy
Last edited:
