Finally got it: Savage 110 BA 338 Lapua Magnum

[ROGER4314]

That's a great rifle! Savage gets a thumbs up from this shooter!

In matches, we shoot 56-60 rounds depending on the match. I can do it with 30-06 but the .338 Lapua is in a whole different class. That's a lot of rifle!

Rolling of the bipod legs is gonna happen on a hard kicking rifle and using the bipod on a hard, flat surface. That problem will go away if you shoot prone from grass. You might try using a piece of artificial turf on the shooting bench if the prone shooting doesn't float your boat.

NICE rifle!

Flash

 

[Dawico]

That's a great rifle! Savage gets a thumbs up from this shooter!

In matches, we shoot 56-60 rounds depending on the match. I can do it with 30-06 but the .338 Lapua is in a whole different class. That's a lot of rifle!

Rolling of the bipod legs is gonna happen on a hard kicking rifle and using the bipod on a hard, flat surface. That problem will go away if you shoot prone from grass. You might try using a piece of artificial turf on the shooting bench if the prone shooting doesn't float your boat.

NICE rifle!

Flash

The legs rolling makes it hard to load the bipod on the bench. I am going to try prone next time. I am also going to give the spiked feet a try. I will report back.

 

[orbitup]

All of that working out of town is seriously hampering your trigger time in this.

 

[Dawico]

All of that working out of town is seriously hampering your trigger time in this.

It really is. Plus I need to get more serious about getting out to shoot when I am home.

 

[kg-tpwd]

nice, I'm looking at getting the savage 10T .308

 

[Shoalwater]

Dawico, have you had a chance to get out to Austin Gun Club? I have a buddy that is a member and you can stretch it out to a mile on steel. It's a really cool place to shoot if you are or someone you know is a member. There's nothing quite like shooting a 1 MOA plate at a mile, it makes you more addicted and ends up costing you more money though.

 

[Andy]

nice, I'm looking at getting the savage 10T .308

Same here, but Cabelas have the exclusive on that and I've been waiting 5 months for one.

 

[Shoalwater]

@Andy I could have sworn I saw a couple at the Cabelas in Buda last week.

 

[Andy]

Interesting, thanks - a lil far from my local Ft Worth store to get to myself, but perhaps I can give the orders dude a call.

 

[Dawico]

Dawico, have you had a chance to get out to Austin Gun Club? I have a buddy that is a member and you can stretch it out to a mile on steel. It's a really cool place to shoot if you are or someone you know is a member. There's nothing quite like shooting a 1 MOA plate at a mile, it makes you more addicted and ends up costing you more money though.

No, sure haven't. I think BOTW is my best bet for long range shooting with Hicksville closing their long range down. Until I get more trigger time and start loading for it it isn't an issue anyways honestly. Time hasn't been good to me lately.

 

[Dawico]

Well time for an update.

I did some load developement with 250gr SMKs and they perform superbly. I got a good deal on them but really want to shoot heavier bullets. I can't complain about 5 shot groups at about a half inch using H1000. I usually don't shoot that well.

 

[Dawico]

When I shot up all of my 250gr SMKs I picked up some 300gr SMKs and 285gr Amaxes hoping they would shoot as well as the 250s.

The 300gr loads were hot. I fired the first group and they grouped like buckshot and had severely flattened primers and a sticky bolt. I need to take the rest apart and start over.

The first group of 285gr Amaxes seemed to group pretty well but I didn't get a pic or a good measurement. The second group opened up noticeably and felt a little hot. I am going to take the rest of those apart and concentrate on that first load.

I shot these at BOTW today and the prone shooting there is somewhat lacking. It can be done but the range is geared toward shooting from a bench.

I am going to work up new loads for these bullets but am not sure where I am going to shoot them. I like Hicksville for prone shooting but they have no long range there. The distance and price is about the same.

The spiked feet for the Atlas work very well in the dirt. Loading the bipod is easy to accomplish and the rifle stays very stable during firing.

I have also added a monopod to the stock and a stable shooting platform is very easy to obtain.

 

[Savage20]

Nice shooting! Did you have this at the spring Hicksville? I shot YG's .50 but not sure I saw a .338LM other than JD's. I'd be keen to put a round through it if you bring it to the fall Hicksville. I never though about loading a bipod but it might be useful on my .300WM. I shot it Tuesday and it kicks harder than I remember (I initially said it kicked like an AR15, but it's probably closer to an AR10), and though the recoil ain't anything bad, it does move you around quite a bit. I wonder if a different bipod would help keep it on target (or close to it) after every shot.

 

[Dawico]

Nice shooting! Did you have this at the spring Hicksville? I shot YG's .50 but not sure I saw a .338LM other than JD's. I'd be keen to put a round through it if you bring it to the fall Hicksville. I never though about loading a bipod but it might be useful on my .300WM. I shot it Tuesday and it kicks harder than I remember (I initially said it kicked like an AR15, but it's probably closer to an AR10), and though the recoil ain't anything bad, it does move you around quite a bit. I wonder if a different bipod would help keep it on target (or close to it) after every shot.

I did have it at the spring meet. It was set up pretty close to YG's 50 and was there pretty much all day. If I make this next meet I will have it with again for anyone to try.

Loading the bipod helps with recoil and controlling the gun. I never did well with a Harris bipod as they always slid no matter what the surface was.

 

[orbitup]

Very nice!

 

[Dawico]

After the issues with my load development I shot a group with some factory Herter's ammo that I had along. It shot about a 2" group but was consistent so I figured I may as well try long range since I was there.

The ammo and gun did their jobs very well. First up was 250 yards. I made my four clicks for elevation and held to the right edge of the target to account for wind and my scope being off a touch to the left. Bang, dead center. Three more times in a row and I knew I had it.

Next up was 500 yards and also the qualification to go longer. I backed the scope to my 100 yard zero and made my 17 clicks for elevation. With the RO watching (and my heart pounding from the pressure) I held to the right edge of the steel again. Bang, dead center again. Two more in the middle proved everything was well and cleared me to shoot further. This is a 18" x 24" target for the qualification.

Now to the 750 yard targets. First shot was high but I knew I held well. I adjusted my clicks from 33 to 31 (resting the rifle and looking through the scope to move the reticle where I hit). Just a hair more to the right and I drilled it. Three more shots showed the scope adjustment and Kentucky windage were correct. I couldn't tell where the bullets actually hit but the splash was very close to the center.

Now back to my Strelok app on my phone. This app tells me how many clicks to make for each distance after I apply all of my variables. I played with bullet velocity to make the 31 clicks match the real world hits. This way my 1000 yard elevation was going to be right, or close at least.

So back to zero and up the 50 clicks that Strelok told me for 1000 yards. Holding off two bars to the right (4 MOA I believe) I missed just a hair to the left. The wind plays more of a factor the further out you go. Holding off two and a half bars got me a hit. Two more in a row, one miss, and four more hits rounded out my shooting. Again, no idea where they actually hit but the splash and swing were there. The three second flight time seems to take forever.

Now don't get me wrong, the targets are big. I thought I read their size somewhere but can't recall exactly.

Reliable hits at those distances make for a good shooting session. I will definitely return to BOTW to give the steel another workout. I am hooked.

It is always nice when the guy before you fails the qualification and you drill it three times in a row. It is also nice when a different shooter (with a .308 and factory junk ammo) is surrounding the 1000 yard target and you drill it repeatedly.

These are all phone camera shots but you get the idea.

This is the long range from the bench. The 500 yard qualification targets are the black berm area and the 1000 yard targets are way up at the top.

This is the 1000 yard targets with my scope at 6x.

And this is the 1000 yard targets with my scope at 24x.

 

[Major Kong]

Nice shooting!

Sent from a B-52 flying over Russia.

 

[Se7en62]

Excellent shooting and writeup, D! Those are some great pictures too. Mind sharing one of the whole rifle and scope setup?

 

[orbitup]

Yep, great write up!

 

[Dawico]

Excellent shooting and writeup, D! Those are some great pictures too. Mind sharing one of the whole rifle and scope setup?

No problem. I should probably wipe it all down and invite Bob over to get some amazing pics but here is what I have.