Picking up a new rifle tomorrow

Just got the go-ahead from the wife to pick up a rifle so I can go out hunting this season. Finally decided on a Savage 111 in .270. It's on sale at Dick's for $350 including a scope (pretty basic). Heading to the range with a friend right after to get the Burris Full Field II I currently have on my Savage .22 put on the .270 and zeroed in. The new cheaper scope is going on the .22. Getting some pistol practice in as well.

Anyone have any experience with the 111? Other reviews I've read say it's a great gun for the money.

Thanks
James

 

I don't have a 111 but I own a 10 fp in .308. IMO, Savage make the best rifles for the money. My 10fp came with a crappy stock which I replaced with a Choate Ultimate Varmint stock. Savage puts all the money into the action, receiver and barrel. I also put a 10X42mm SWFA mildot scope on it. With my hand loads, it shoots sub MOA out to 600 yds. I've been nothing but impressed with this rifle and I out shoot guys with custom Remingtons routinely.

The Burris full field II is a great scope, I have one on my Remington 700. Great choice for a hunting set up. Throw some pics up when you get it.

 

I personally think Weatherby makes the best "cheap" rifle but Savage would be a close second in my book. Congrats and post some pix when you can.

 

You might look at a Tikka T3.The Savage is great for paper , maybe even varmint.Something to consider though is if its a hunting rifle and the "one shot" maybe crucial the bolt design and part quality is NOT up to snuff.It has a solid action ,well made barrels...but like I said bolt construction.

If you go to www.e-gunparts.com you can purchase a schematic for .99 cents( or find it somewhere else for free.)

Part #26
baffle assembly, rear
Part #28
cocking piece
Part #31
Bolt head retaining pin
These numbers pertain to this schmematic.

I have seen all of these break , not more than a few times either.I know 2 people that lost their kill due to this.

 

Doh! I guess at least I'll know what potential causes are. Picked up the Savage today after about 2 hours at Dick's (slow service and state police were very slow with the background check). Got to the range and put 32 rounds though it myself (friends shot 8 rounds). I was not prepared for the amount of kick It's been years since I shout a rifle bigger than my .22 and my shoulder is pretty sore right now. Shooting my friend's shotgun with 3" steel shot loads at the end of the day did NOT help. Almost took me over backward since I wasn't expecting it and my shoulder was already pretty done.

I'll get pics posted tomorrow when our friend's head back home but will say that the Savage 111 was almost getting 1" groups by the end of the day and probably would have if I was a better shot. The action needs some break-in but over all I am very happy with the first outing. Will be going out several times over the next few weeks to make sure she's dialed in and ready for some December mornings in the mountains.

 

look into "floating" the barrel. it will improve accuracy. Ive always done it to all my rifles

 

Free floating the barrel only improves accuracy if you're using a heavy weight barrel. Hunting rifles are not designed to be tac drivers and the thinner barrels are more prone to warping as they heat up. Free floating this type of barrel will give only marginal improvement.

The best way to improve accuracy in a hunting rifle is through proper ammo selection. Hand loads are best, but if you don't reload you want to look for high quality ammunition of the proper weight that utilizes bullets by Sierra, Berger, etc. These bullets incorporate boat tail designs and high ballistic coefficients that will improve accuracy tremendously over run of the mill hunting rounds.

My stock Remington 700 would not do better than 2 MOA with standard hunting ammo. I started handloading and cut my group sizes in half. It now shoots 1 MOA consistently with the factory form pressed stock and el cheapo Bushnell scope.

The other thing that really kills accuracy is copper fouling. Without a proper cleaning, you'll see your groups open up to the point of severe frustration. A good copper remover like Sweets 7.62 run through the barrel every few firings can work wonders.

 

Here she is...

 

She's a beaut. That jeweled bolt is mighty purdy, how smooth is the bolt throw on that? I'm glad to see you got a detachable magazine. There's been many occasion when I wished I had one on mine. I thought Savage was putting the accu-trigger on all their models now, no?

 

It's very smooth, just a touch tight at certain points (normal break-in). This is the least expensive version of the 111 and the only one without the accu-trigger. Kept the price down so I could get it by the wife. Will end up ordering an after-market at some point down the road possibly (probably) but it'll do for now.

 

Another good choice for a "cheap" hunting rifle is the Marlin XL-7. I have one in 30-06 and I love it. Keeps good groups at 100 yards with a variety of ammo. I picked it up for $290 bucks on www.budsgunshop.com and threw a BSA 8-32 X 50 scope on it. Cant go wrong for that price. Its almost a clone to the savage. Ill try to post a pic tonight.

Updated: 11/20/2009... Heres the pic.

 

That's a good looking rifle!

 

just picked up a marlin xl7 in .308 tuesday and throwing a bushnell target scope on it this weekend and then heading out to the my buddies ranch to put some rounds threw it its got a great trigger on it set around 2.5 to 3.5 pounds kinda like the accu trigger on a savage

 

I got the XL7 in .243 for my wife. I knew marlin made good rifles, but for the 3 bones i paid for it, I am very impressed.

 

Congrats. I actually picked up a .270 not too long ago. I had looked at the Savage and other mfg's and not a single one made the damned thing with iron-sights and a walnut stock. Not one. (I believe in learning the rifle with the iron-sights before the scope.)

The funny thing was that the only calibers that still instaling iron-sights with a walnut stock were enourmous calibers like a .45
How does that many any sense?

So I went to a store and was able to find what I wanted in a used gun. But what I found was a CHERRY remington 700 with walnut stock, iron sights and redfield x3-x9 scope for $600.

 

.270 can be a good shooter if you get the right ammo. Try out several brands, find one that works for the rifle, Mine likes the Remington 135 gr. Congratulations on the Rifle, Looks really nice and youll appreciate the synthetic stock, wears like iron, Is she parkerized?