savage muzzel loader
- Thread starter AlderTK
- Start date
Alder TK,
I've got one on order, a stainless laminate. In the meantime a I found a pile of reading here.
http://dougva.proboards34.com/index.cgi?board=Savage
I've got one on order, a stainless laminate. In the meantime a I found a pile of reading here.
http://dougva.proboards34.com/index.cgi?board=Savage
I have had one since they first came out. They are great. I use L'IL GUN powder in mine behind a 300 gr hornady bullet, 200 yard shots are no problem. There are a few tricks if you are giong to go above recommended loads.
Well Im no expert but do enjoy muzzleloading and my favorite muzzleloader has been the Savage. I own the ML II stainless w/ accu-trigger and find it so easy to keep clean, it shoots easy under 1 inch and have shot a deer well over 200 yards. Ive owned a Knight Wolverine and found it hard to keep clean, a TC Omega which would'nt group under 3" and have finally settled on the Savage series.
That link that you got for Dougs boards is excellent, I found a perfect load/ bullet combo for my style of prairie hunting and many knowledgable guys who are alot of fun to talk to.
I have heard the new T/C Pro Hunter is really nice, I picked one up, shouldered it and it was a fine piece of iron but why mess w/ a good thing and decided on keeping the Savage.
Whatever you decide its not the rifle that makes the hunt its the animal and the chase
Cheers!!
That link that you got for Dougs boards is excellent, I found a perfect load/ bullet combo for my style of prairie hunting and many knowledgable guys who are alot of fun to talk to.
I have heard the new T/C Pro Hunter is really nice, I picked one up, shouldered it and it was a fine piece of iron but why mess w/ a good thing and decided on keeping the Savage.
Whatever you decide its not the rifle that makes the hunt its the animal and the chase
Cheers!!
Last edited:
Just used my new savage at the range on monday. I bought it on this board and it is the older model without the accutrigger. Stainless with black synthetic stock
1) Easy to load
2) no need for all that cleaning. fired 20 rounds without worries
3) Once it was dialed it it shot 1.8" 5 shot group at 100M haven't tried it at 200 m
4) load was IMR 4227 42 gr behind a 300 gr hornady XTP in an MMP sabot
It has about the same accuracy as my Knight but because of the convenience of smokeless it will be my go to rifle this season.
Note: it seems to be fussy as to which type of primer it uses. I found federal to be the easiest to load. Some friends have had a glich with the rifle bolt not closing with the primer in but savage sent new breech plugs and no worries after that. I know of three seperate rifle with this glich.
Fit and finish the Knights are better but the smokless option is hard to resist. If you were limited to black powder get a Knight or similar type.
1) Easy to load
2) no need for all that cleaning. fired 20 rounds without worries
3) Once it was dialed it it shot 1.8" 5 shot group at 100M haven't tried it at 200 m
4) load was IMR 4227 42 gr behind a 300 gr hornady XTP in an MMP sabot
It has about the same accuracy as my Knight but because of the convenience of smokeless it will be my go to rifle this season.
Note: it seems to be fussy as to which type of primer it uses. I found federal to be the easiest to load. Some friends have had a glich with the rifle bolt not closing with the primer in but savage sent new breech plugs and no worries after that. I know of three seperate rifle with this glich.
Fit and finish the Knights are better but the smokless option is hard to resist. If you were limited to black powder get a Knight or similar type.
I also have a new Savage in stainless/synthetic with the accutrigger. After shooting a Traditions using Triple 7 for a few years, I really appreciate using smokeless. No cloud after shooting, no spit patch between shots, and a wealth of info availabe at the above mentioned website.
I have been playing with the savage 10 prior to the addition of the accutrigger, finally had to have my own. Mine is a SS/synth./accutrigger, scoped with a zeiss conquest and warne maxima rings. I have found several 1" area loads with smokeless powder and love shooting it. Last fall my load of 43.5gr IMR4759 under 250gr SST/MMP HPH24 sabot and W209 primer shoots MOA @ 23K MV. Thus far 6 deer have fallen to this load, 4 were bang flops, other 2 were a few staggered steps and longest shot LRF'd at 235yards. I have found in the Savage 10II's that IMR 4759 42-45gr under 250-300gr bullets is a good choice. It is reliable, accurate and light on recoil. I switched my load to a 300gr SST/MMP HPH24 under 68gr of H4198. This load also shoots MOA and 23K MV. Recoil compared to the same combo under 43gr of 4759 is a good step up.
Quirks include:
maintaining and replacing the ventliner. Life expectancy of the ventliner IME has to due with type of ventliner and powder/charge. I have found slower burning (non book loads) provide longer vent life, though they come with a price of more powder(cost per shot) and recoil.
Breech plug removal. To remove the breech plug on the savage without mods or aftermarket tools requires one to loosen the action screws to remove the bolt and use the supplied savage breech plug wrench. Failure to return the action to the same torque specs can result in POI shifts. Not a big deal if you plan to do a final site in and leave it till after the hunt to attend to the breech. Solutions to this problem are adding a 3rd pillar/bedding to keep the action mated for servicing the breech. Aftermarket tool called the EZ Tool RV, that allows you to remove/service the breech plug without removing the action screws or bolt (40 USD). "/lb torque driver to set the action screws to the same spec each and everytime.
Cooling between shots. I weight 5-10 min between shots before reloading. If really hot and or humid I wait even longer. This only applies to shooting for groups, in hunting applications the effect would not result in a missed animal in a quick follow up situation.
Primer and sabot preference have always been an issue with any ML I have owned and I personally don't see the savage to be more difficult in this regard. I use 209w's only on the premise of a supply on hand for my other ML's.
I love shooting my savage 10II, it is a hoot on the range, benefits of smokeless in the field are unmatched and far out weighs the quirks. It has been the easiest inline I have owned to get top level accuracy, right out of the box.
Quirks include:
maintaining and replacing the ventliner. Life expectancy of the ventliner IME has to due with type of ventliner and powder/charge. I have found slower burning (non book loads) provide longer vent life, though they come with a price of more powder(cost per shot) and recoil.
Breech plug removal. To remove the breech plug on the savage without mods or aftermarket tools requires one to loosen the action screws to remove the bolt and use the supplied savage breech plug wrench. Failure to return the action to the same torque specs can result in POI shifts. Not a big deal if you plan to do a final site in and leave it till after the hunt to attend to the breech. Solutions to this problem are adding a 3rd pillar/bedding to keep the action mated for servicing the breech. Aftermarket tool called the EZ Tool RV, that allows you to remove/service the breech plug without removing the action screws or bolt (40 USD). "/lb torque driver to set the action screws to the same spec each and everytime.
Cooling between shots. I weight 5-10 min between shots before reloading. If really hot and or humid I wait even longer. This only applies to shooting for groups, in hunting applications the effect would not result in a missed animal in a quick follow up situation.
Primer and sabot preference have always been an issue with any ML I have owned and I personally don't see the savage to be more difficult in this regard. I use 209w's only on the premise of a supply on hand for my other ML's.
I love shooting my savage 10II, it is a hoot on the range, benefits of smokeless in the field are unmatched and far out weighs the quirks. It has been the easiest inline I have owned to get top level accuracy, right out of the box.
