I've always been a 30-06 fan, but am always ready to try something new to me.
The rifle arrived today. I took a lot of pictures, including borescope images of the inside of the receiver, chamber, throat and barrel. I mounted a Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 BDC scope with Millet rings, used Renaissance Wax on all external surfaces, and took it to the range to sight it in at 50 yards - and develop some first impressions:
* The stippling never looked good to me in the photos and YouTube videos, but in real life it looked pretty good. I like the laminated stock.
* As I hoped, the main difference between the Savage Axis, the Ruger American, and the Mossberg Patriot is that the Patriot looks a heck of a lot more like a regular sporting rifle. Nothing really looks outstandingly cheap or hokey about it, but no-one will mistake it for a Winchester model 70, or a Remington either. There is still a difference, but it is not as stark a difference as exists with its competition, the Axis and the American.
* On the strength of fifteen rounds of Remington core-loct 150 grain rounds fired, it appears to have accuracy potential. The first five-shot group was roughly 2" at 50 yards, the second 1.75", the third 1.5" with three rounds in the same hole, and two flyers. I cleaned the rifle prior to taking it to the range. It was dirty from test-firing at the Eagle Pass, Texas factory, I assume. Pictures of the groups will be in the review.
* Avoid the marinecoat finish. In the review there will be an image showing where a small chunk of it chipped or peeled off of the face of the muzzle, from the muzzle blast I would guess. This verifies my opinion of "coatings', but it does not significantly affect the appearance of the gun. As I expected, there is coating inside the action and I can see where the bolt head has scored some of it off of the metal in the raceways. Later on I will remove the coating from the raceways with Scotchbrite, as owners of the Mossberg lever rifle have had to do for that gun.
* The rifle handles well, and feels good. Note that for a year or so, all I have shot have been ten-pound .223 varmint/target rifles. The Patriot in 30-06 seemed to kick a lot, but that is only to be expected from a lighter gun than I am used to, firing a much more energetic cartridge. There was no actual discomfort to my old man bony shoulders. The recoil pad is a good one. The stippling gives a more positive grip than checkering does.
* The magazine works well, and holds an honest five rounds. When the fluted bolt rides over the empty magazine's follower, there is a bit of a plasticky "cheap feeling" that goes away if there is ammo in the magazine. Feeding and extraction were flawless - until I ran across a bad round that had the neck messed up on one side. (Picture in review) that would not chamber and had to be discarded. Poor QC at Remington I guess. I have had the box of ammo for at least four years and never noticed the bad round.
* The action is reasonably smooth, especially for a skinny bolt gun - but nobody is going to mistake it for a Tikka. I did not notice a lot of slop in the bolt, but I am sure that some is there. The bolt handle and knob are very good, the gun cycles well, even from the bench where I was shooting it.
It will take me a day or two, maybe more to get the review put together. I'll be out at the range tomorrow morning when the air is still and cool. This afternoon it was windy, and around 100 degrees of dry desert heat. Tomorrow: The 180 grain loads, and I'll move the targets out to 100 yards.
Overall, I am much more impressed with the Patriot than I am with either the Axis or the American. Next time, I will get either the walnut/blue version or the synthetic/blue version, I've learned my lesson about marinecoat.
Coatings... Eeeuw!
