The Prologue: Something Wicked this Way Comes (Think along the lines of the Bradbury novel, not he line from Macbeth.)
I�ve never bought a Savage rifle. I know friends who have them, and I know they are accurate, I just didn�t like some of their features. When the Tikkas started to get more popular, I felt the same way. Besides the features I don�t like, they seem, I don�t know, inexpensive. I like CRF all stainless rifles. (Rugers and Winchesters.) But I have a couple friends who like their Tikkas a lot. Then I had a friend last December who bought one at S.W. when I was with him. We stopped at my house and I mounted his Leupold 3.5-10 he just bought with a Sinclair lapping rod. I put it in some Warnes he bought and put the Limbsaver on. Then we drove out to the range. To summarize, it was incredibly accurate. This is with no break-in and two brands of factory ammo. (Rifle was a left hand 30-06 stainless T-3 Lite.) I started to get the itch for one
I started playing with a few more T-3 lites. I really liked the way they felt. I started a thread asking about their durability. https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...&topic=0&Search=true#Post2051850
Most people said they really liked theirs. Then one guy said the plastic bolt shroud broke on his and I thought, �Yep, cheap junk.� Then another guy, a guy who backpack hunts in central Alaska (something I�ve done several times and something I see as a great proving ground for rifles and gear) said that he had two of the stainless t-3s rust on trips. And again I thought the rifles must be cheap. The thread then went on to say how durable Rugers are, and since I like Rugers I thought I�d just stay with what I have.
But I still had the itch to try one. So I did.
Part 1: The Agony
I bought a stainless T-3 in .270 in Win. I went home and put a proven Leupold 2.5-8 on it in the factory rings and screwed on the Limbsaver. I headed out to the range with handloads of three different 150 grain bullets and lots of different charges of H4831, H4350, and R22. I shot one and cleaned, shot two and cleaned and followed that pattern till I�d slowly burned up a box and had the gun dialed in.
I settled down for groups. Of all the groups I shot (three shot strings, letting the barrel cool), the best was 1.7 inches, the worst was 2.9, the average was 2.3, Ouch. All the screws were tight. I looked at the gun and noticed that my floated barrel wasn�t floated. It was for about the first four inches back, but there was contact under the front sling stud, then there was contact at a cross support a few inches behind that, then the stock was contacting the barrel all the way back to the receiver after that. So I went home and got the Dremel out. I floated it, but now the stock feels a little flimsy. Grrrr.Back to the range.
My groups dropped to an average of 1.9. (I didn�t shot as many, something was still not right.) I had also loaded up some Horn. 140 BTSP with the H4831 this time. I looked at the gun. My scope rings were slipping forward. A lot. I couldn�t believe I hadn�t noticed it before. Everything felt tight, but I remounted the scope again. (Yes, the front ring was pushed forward.) I put some masking tape on the scope and rings and drew witness marks on them. I fired again, and yep, the rings were slipping, and the scope was slipping in the rings. So I ordered a pair of Talley�s from the shop here.
Part 2: The Ecstasy
I headed back to the range. The last time the gun seemed to like the 140s best, so I had loaded more of them up. My first three (three shot ) 100 yard groups went under .6 My three at 200 averaged 1.1 and at 300 my three groups averaged 2.6. I am still smiling just thinking about it. (And it has been awhile. I�ve had a heavy BDL with a 6-24 Elite on it (Timney, bedded, et cetera) and three worked over target Ar-15 that shot well. This Tikka shots just as well or better for about a third the cost. I am happy.
The Epilogue: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
I love the way this gun feels. The rifle with scope and rings weighs less than seven punds four ounces. It balances well. If it holds up, this will be my new favorite gun. (I now live in south-east Idaho instead of Alaska, so the rust won�t be nearly as much a concern.) While I�m not ready to switch my analog watch in for a digital, the gun is less inelegant to me now I�ve been shooting it. I feel like I have a laser. Ballons, milk jugs, and distant rocks all feel like a sure thing at the ranges our club has. (300 yards, from prone over my daypack.) I need to head out to the sage to give this a better workout. While the rifle can�t be top loaded, has a lot of plastic and blue parts in a stainless rifle, a little extractor and a plunger ejector, and a clip that might get lost, it has a good soul and it will get to play this fall.
I�ve never bought a Savage rifle. I know friends who have them, and I know they are accurate, I just didn�t like some of their features. When the Tikkas started to get more popular, I felt the same way. Besides the features I don�t like, they seem, I don�t know, inexpensive. I like CRF all stainless rifles. (Rugers and Winchesters.) But I have a couple friends who like their Tikkas a lot. Then I had a friend last December who bought one at S.W. when I was with him. We stopped at my house and I mounted his Leupold 3.5-10 he just bought with a Sinclair lapping rod. I put it in some Warnes he bought and put the Limbsaver on. Then we drove out to the range. To summarize, it was incredibly accurate. This is with no break-in and two brands of factory ammo. (Rifle was a left hand 30-06 stainless T-3 Lite.) I started to get the itch for one
I started playing with a few more T-3 lites. I really liked the way they felt. I started a thread asking about their durability. https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...
Most people said they really liked theirs. Then one guy said the plastic bolt shroud broke on his and I thought, �Yep, cheap junk.� Then another guy, a guy who backpack hunts in central Alaska (something I�ve done several times and something I see as a great proving ground for rifles and gear) said that he had two of the stainless t-3s rust on trips. And again I thought the rifles must be cheap. The thread then went on to say how durable Rugers are, and since I like Rugers I thought I�d just stay with what I have.
But I still had the itch to try one. So I did.
Part 1: The Agony
I bought a stainless T-3 in .270 in Win. I went home and put a proven Leupold 2.5-8 on it in the factory rings and screwed on the Limbsaver. I headed out to the range with handloads of three different 150 grain bullets and lots of different charges of H4831, H4350, and R22. I shot one and cleaned, shot two and cleaned and followed that pattern till I�d slowly burned up a box and had the gun dialed in.
I settled down for groups. Of all the groups I shot (three shot strings, letting the barrel cool), the best was 1.7 inches, the worst was 2.9, the average was 2.3, Ouch. All the screws were tight. I looked at the gun and noticed that my floated barrel wasn�t floated. It was for about the first four inches back, but there was contact under the front sling stud, then there was contact at a cross support a few inches behind that, then the stock was contacting the barrel all the way back to the receiver after that. So I went home and got the Dremel out. I floated it, but now the stock feels a little flimsy. Grrrr.Back to the range.
My groups dropped to an average of 1.9. (I didn�t shot as many, something was still not right.) I had also loaded up some Horn. 140 BTSP with the H4831 this time. I looked at the gun. My scope rings were slipping forward. A lot. I couldn�t believe I hadn�t noticed it before. Everything felt tight, but I remounted the scope again. (Yes, the front ring was pushed forward.) I put some masking tape on the scope and rings and drew witness marks on them. I fired again, and yep, the rings were slipping, and the scope was slipping in the rings. So I ordered a pair of Talley�s from the shop here.
Part 2: The Ecstasy
I headed back to the range. The last time the gun seemed to like the 140s best, so I had loaded more of them up. My first three (three shot ) 100 yard groups went under .6 My three at 200 averaged 1.1 and at 300 my three groups averaged 2.6. I am still smiling just thinking about it. (And it has been awhile. I�ve had a heavy BDL with a 6-24 Elite on it (Timney, bedded, et cetera) and three worked over target Ar-15 that shot well. This Tikka shots just as well or better for about a third the cost. I am happy.
The Epilogue: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
I love the way this gun feels. The rifle with scope and rings weighs less than seven punds four ounces. It balances well. If it holds up, this will be my new favorite gun. (I now live in south-east Idaho instead of Alaska, so the rust won�t be nearly as much a concern.) While I�m not ready to switch my analog watch in for a digital, the gun is less inelegant to me now I�ve been shooting it. I feel like I have a laser. Ballons, milk jugs, and distant rocks all feel like a sure thing at the ranges our club has. (300 yards, from prone over my daypack.) I need to head out to the sage to give this a better workout. While the rifle can�t be top loaded, has a lot of plastic and blue parts in a stainless rifle, a little extractor and a plunger ejector, and a clip that might get lost, it has a good soul and it will get to play this fall.