Savage Model 116 stainless in .30-06

[pricedo]

I just bought a Savage model 116 bolt action stainless rifle in .30-06 Sprng. and topped it with a Bushnell Elite 4200 2.5-10x40.

It has a synthetic stock & a free floating barrel AND an ACCUTRIGGER.

I've checked the trigger & it is nice & crisp though I haven't had the chance to put the #-gauge on it yet.

From what I've read in the literature that came with the gun the stock must be removed to adjust the trigger pull.......that's a bummer!!!!

Does anyone have any experience with the Savage model 116 ?

I hear they are accurate.

Comments & evaluations from GUNNUTZ who have actually owned & fired a Savage model 116 (particularly in .30-06 Sprng.) would be appreciated.

 

[Lefty Dick]

Accu-Trigger or not?


Shoot and report your findings.
Good luck

 

[Yeti]

I have one in .300WSM and love it! The most accurate gun I own and doesn't kick like a mule, very similar to my Rem 700 30-06 in recoil. The only thing I don't like is that the mag only holds two rounds, other than that I can't fault it.

 

[pricedo]

I've been experimenting with factory ammunition.

The best factory ammo so far in my Savage Model 116 in .30-06 Sprng. is the Remington 150 grain PSP Core-Lokt.

The little rifle gives me 5 shot 1/2 " group keyholes all day long with the cheap ($18.95 per box) Remington fodder from the bench (Caldwell Lead Sled).

The worst factory ammo I've tried so far was the Winchester Supreme Elite 180 grain XP3 supposedly "Cadillac" ammo retailing for $47+ per box. The little Savage hates the XP3 stuff and barfs the bullets all over the paper barely within a 6" circle...........pathetic is the word.

The Savage 116 is apparently another of my guns that loves "grits" & hates "caviar" ammo........go figure.

I have a Browning BLR in .308 Win. that loves the "Big Green" PSP Core-Lokt 150 grain ammo too.

I'm going to bribe a Remington employee one of these days into getting me a few pounds of those proprietary "non-canister" powders they put in their Core-Lokt .30 caliber ammo.

 

[crazydave]

I use the federal premiums in my 114 savage, it shoots as well with the cheap federal stuff but i like the way the gamekings work on deer. I should also add that my rifle will also get .5 inch groups consistently as long as i do my part.

 

[pricedo]

I use the federal premiums in my 114 savage, it shoots as well with the cheap federal stuff but i like the way the gamekings work on deer. I should also add that my rifle will also get .5 inch groups consistently as long as i do my part.

Killed a few deer & moose with Core-Lokt bullets in my day & I'm thinking more & more as the years pass that the "bullseye" target of the premium ammo manufacturers is my wallet & credit card more than it is big game..........almost $50 CDN per 20 round box for those Winchester XP3s.........that's fraken insane!

My quarry these days is deer and the Remington Core-Lokt ammo ($18.95 per box) has the nod so far as the ammo that will be mated to the .30-06 Savage Model 116.

With my 60 year old eyes and co-ordination I can't see hand loads tightening
the groups much under the 1/2" I'm getting with the factory Remington fodder in the green & yellow boxes.

 

[crazydave]

Killed a few deer & moose with Core-Lokt bullets in my day & I'm thinking more & more as the years pass that the "bullseye" target of the premium ammo manufacturers is my wallet & credit card more than it is big game..........almost $50 CDN per 20 round box for those Winchester XP3s.........that's fraken insane!

My quarry these days is deer and the Remington Core-Lokt ammo ($18.95 per box) has the nod so far as the ammo that will be mated to the .30-06 Savage Model 116.

With my 60 year old eyes and co-ordination I can't see hand loads tightening
the groups much under the 1/2" I'm getting with the factory Remington fodder in the green & yellow boxes.

Don't get me wrong for targets i still use the cheap federals but i shot one deer with the cheap stuff and i could stick my arm through the hole the gamekings don't make quite the mess

 

[pricedo]

Super Duper Pooper..................BS

Don't get me wrong for targets i still use the cheap federals but i shot one deer with the cheap stuff and i could stick my arm through the hole the gamekings don't make quite the mess

The Sierra "GameKings" are accurate bullets and their "MatchKing" bullets are almost a "industry standard" in the bench rest domain and they are very reasonably priced.

I owned a vintage Remington 40-XBBR rifle that would put 20 of those things into the same hole @ 200 yards & you'd think the target was only hit by a single round.

On the other hand......hype & advertising aside there has not been a single "X" bullet made since Barnes made the original back a few years ago to the composite "X-style" bullets made today that cost a kings ransom when loaded into factory "Ultra" & "Elite" ammo that can match the cheap Remington "Green & Yellow" box cartridges right off the shelf in Crappy Tire in accuracy.

Another fact is that I can cover a shelf with "Green & Yellow" box ammo in my ammo locker for the same price as one box of the "Super Duper" stuff.

These "Super Duper" space age bullets are advertised to be able to do everything short of dressing out & butchering & wrapping the meat but the first thing a bullet has to do is get to where it is aimed & from what I'm seeing on target paper....not magazine paper the lowly < $20 per box "Core-Lokt" bullets have them all beat.

You can play the "premium", "ultra", "super duper" game but I'll settle for 1/2" groups, a dead animal & enough money left in my wallet to buy my family some groceries & pay the mortgage after my ammo purchasing foray each fall.