Saltydog235
New member
I finally got a chance to shoot my new Savage 10 Precision Carbine .308 Win this past Saturday. Here's the setup: Savage 10 Precision Carbine with 20" heavy barrel, Burris Mounts, Weaver 6 Lug Tactical High Mounts and a Leupold VX-III 3.5X10X50mm with a #4 reticle.
The loads were:
Hornady Match 165grn Moly HPBT's factory that my neighbor gave me
Hornady 165 grn SPBT's that I had with 45grns Varget (all following loads the same powder charge)
Nosler Ballistic Tip 165grn
Sierra Gameking HPBT 165grn.
I boresighted the rifle and sent one of the factory round down range to 100yds and it was 16" low. Hmmm, adjust the scope for the 1/4 MOA by 48 clicks and I was 24" high. Tapped the erectors and sent another down range, 18" high. More head scratching. Decided to fire on that setting for a group to see what was going on and if that first shot was an anomoly. Next round(s) were 14" high, 12" high 6" left, 14" high 8" right. Holy schitt, I thought, something is way off, this is match ammo supposedly. The neighbor that was with me said his gun did a similar thing and he had 5 misfires out of another box within the same lot.
Switched rounds to the Hornady SPBT's and fired for effect, a 2" five shot group all 2" low or so. Now I'm worried that either the scope has gone bad or I just bought a lemon and need to send it back to Savage.
The third round was the Noslers and it was 2" low but the group shrank to 1" or maybe a little less. Now we're getting somewhere I thought. That was a 4shot group. I saved one for later.
The fourth and final set was the Sierra GK 165's. The group was 4 shots 2" low and you could have covered it 95% with a dime. Now that's what I was looking for out of this gun.
I adjested the elevation and 1 click of windage and put the 5th round from both the Sierra and Nosler dead nuts into the center ring.
I don't know what was going on with the Hornady bullets and factory rounds but I won't be putting any more of their product down this barrel. Like my Savage 10 Predator Brush in .243, I have two interchangable rounds with the same POI with the Sierra being the top of the heap.
I've always read that the .308Win with Sierra bullets and Varget were the unbeatable combination but this was proof for me and this little rifle. And what a pleasure to shoot in a compact package. I foresee a few deer and pigs suffering a quick but violent end to this combination. I loaded up the 95 remaining bullets from the box and am anxious to locate some more bullets to stuff over the Varget charge.
The loads were:
Hornady Match 165grn Moly HPBT's factory that my neighbor gave me
Hornady 165 grn SPBT's that I had with 45grns Varget (all following loads the same powder charge)
Nosler Ballistic Tip 165grn
Sierra Gameking HPBT 165grn.
I boresighted the rifle and sent one of the factory round down range to 100yds and it was 16" low. Hmmm, adjust the scope for the 1/4 MOA by 48 clicks and I was 24" high. Tapped the erectors and sent another down range, 18" high. More head scratching. Decided to fire on that setting for a group to see what was going on and if that first shot was an anomoly. Next round(s) were 14" high, 12" high 6" left, 14" high 8" right. Holy schitt, I thought, something is way off, this is match ammo supposedly. The neighbor that was with me said his gun did a similar thing and he had 5 misfires out of another box within the same lot.
Switched rounds to the Hornady SPBT's and fired for effect, a 2" five shot group all 2" low or so. Now I'm worried that either the scope has gone bad or I just bought a lemon and need to send it back to Savage.
The third round was the Noslers and it was 2" low but the group shrank to 1" or maybe a little less. Now we're getting somewhere I thought. That was a 4shot group. I saved one for later.
The fourth and final set was the Sierra GK 165's. The group was 4 shots 2" low and you could have covered it 95% with a dime. Now that's what I was looking for out of this gun.
I adjested the elevation and 1 click of windage and put the 5th round from both the Sierra and Nosler dead nuts into the center ring.
I don't know what was going on with the Hornady bullets and factory rounds but I won't be putting any more of their product down this barrel. Like my Savage 10 Predator Brush in .243, I have two interchangable rounds with the same POI with the Sierra being the top of the heap.
I've always read that the .308Win with Sierra bullets and Varget were the unbeatable combination but this was proof for me and this little rifle. And what a pleasure to shoot in a compact package. I foresee a few deer and pigs suffering a quick but violent end to this combination. I loaded up the 95 remaining bullets from the box and am anxious to locate some more bullets to stuff over the Varget charge.