| Definition: A dog with aggressive or unpredictable behavior. (Based on the rabid dog from Stephen King's novel) |
| WARNING! |
New Precision .308 Bolt Action Sniper Rifles from Savage Arms
by Jeff Quinn
For many years now, Savage has been working on a well-earned reputation for building accurate rifles. Their basic Model 110 action design has been
around for decades, but Savage continues to improve upon and refine that reliable action into rifles that are ever better than the generation before, by
applying innovative and practical ideas to that basic platform. The folks at Savage Arms have been leaders in the industry with innovations such as their
wonderful AccuTrigger, and more recently, their AccuStock. The AccuTrigger has led the rest of the industry into introducing better triggers of their own.
They had to. With the AccuTrigger, Savage made their already-accurate rifles much easier to shoot well. This latest concept shown here, the Model 10
BA LE, is Savage’s effort to make their bolt action Law Enforcement Model 10 series the best off-the-shelf bolt action sniper rifle available. It is hard to
quantify the term “best”, but in building a dedicated bolt gun for intermediate to long range shooting from a stationary position, Savage has certainly
succeeded. Weighing in at around fifteen pounds with a good scope in place, the BA rifle is not something that one would want to run uphill with in
pursuit of a mobile target, but for setting up and firing from a fixed position, as is usually the case with military and police snipers, I can think of no other
bolt gun that is as easy to fire accurately as this new Savage.
by Jeff Quinn
For many years now, Savage has been working on a well-earned reputation for building accurate rifles. Their basic Model 110 action design has been
around for decades, but Savage continues to improve upon and refine that reliable action into rifles that are ever better than the generation before, by
applying innovative and practical ideas to that basic platform. The folks at Savage Arms have been leaders in the industry with innovations such as their
wonderful AccuTrigger, and more recently, their AccuStock. The AccuTrigger has led the rest of the industry into introducing better triggers of their own.
They had to. With the AccuTrigger, Savage made their already-accurate rifles much easier to shoot well. This latest concept shown here, the Model 10
BA LE, is Savage’s effort to make their bolt action Law Enforcement Model 10 series the best off-the-shelf bolt action sniper rifle available. It is hard to
quantify the term “best”, but in building a dedicated bolt gun for intermediate to long range shooting from a stationary position, Savage has certainly
succeeded. Weighing in at around fifteen pounds with a good scope in place, the BA rifle is not something that one would want to run uphill with in
pursuit of a mobile target, but for setting up and firing from a fixed position, as is usually the case with military and police snipers, I can think of no other
bolt gun that is as easy to fire accurately as this new Savage.
| First Shots - 090911 Decent 3-shot groups as I tested various ammo (I should improve a great deal over time!) |
| 'SBK' Gun Case - customized "by the owner" for the Savage 10-BA |
| Cujo Gets a scope upgrade - Carl Zeiss, Inc (Conquest) 4.5-14x50 SF MC TT w/Rapid-Z 1000 Reticle |
| 'Zeiss' Rapid-Z 1000 Reticle |
| 'Zeiss' (Conquest) 4.5-14x50 SF MC TT |
Long-Range Performance (my personal results)
by David Matney
With my 'Carl Zeiss' Scope w/Rapid-Z 1000 Reticle calibrated I headed-out to the "Best of the West" range on the afternoon of 11.11.11 (with winds
constantly shifting from SXSW at 12-24MPH!) Naturally assuming I was getting ready to "waste" several boxes of ammo due to the conditions, I
"begrudgingly" loaded my first ten round mag of .308 Federal (American Eagle) Match 168GR, chambered my first round and with a sigh, I centered my
elevation on a 250yd target and compensated for my estimated windage. I remember saying out loud to myself; "Here goes nothing!"
I squeezed-off my first shot from my AccuTrigger and heard an odd "plank" as the steel plate fell over? I repeated the process with the same results.
"Huh" was the only word that seemed appropriate at the moment. I then shifted to a 500yd target, made my adjustments, squeezed-off one round -
"plank". In absolute amazement I skipped the 750 targets and shifted directly to 1000yds (knowing it was complete madness!) I again swiftly made my
adjustments, squeezed-off a round and approximately 1.7 seconds later - "plank" (though I could not actually hear the sound due to the wind gusts &
distance). But I could clearly see the round hit about 5" from center @ 2-o'clock, along with the resulting swing of the plate.
I ended-up shooting 6-1/2 boxes that day, moving up and down the range at all distances from 250yds to 1000yds (like it was a shooting gallery) and in
my humble opinion; "The combination of the Savage 10 BA LE & Zeiss 'Conquest' Scope with Rapid-Z 1000 BDC Reticle is an amazing long-range
weapon platform, even in the hands of an average shooter!"
by David Matney
With my 'Carl Zeiss' Scope w/Rapid-Z 1000 Reticle calibrated I headed-out to the "Best of the West" range on the afternoon of 11.11.11 (with winds
constantly shifting from SXSW at 12-24MPH!) Naturally assuming I was getting ready to "waste" several boxes of ammo due to the conditions, I
"begrudgingly" loaded my first ten round mag of .308 Federal (American Eagle) Match 168GR, chambered my first round and with a sigh, I centered my
elevation on a 250yd target and compensated for my estimated windage. I remember saying out loud to myself; "Here goes nothing!"
I squeezed-off my first shot from my AccuTrigger and heard an odd "plank" as the steel plate fell over? I repeated the process with the same results.
"Huh" was the only word that seemed appropriate at the moment. I then shifted to a 500yd target, made my adjustments, squeezed-off one round -
"plank". In absolute amazement I skipped the 750 targets and shifted directly to 1000yds (knowing it was complete madness!) I again swiftly made my
adjustments, squeezed-off a round and approximately 1.7 seconds later - "plank" (though I could not actually hear the sound due to the wind gusts &
distance). But I could clearly see the round hit about 5" from center @ 2-o'clock, along with the resulting swing of the plate.
I ended-up shooting 6-1/2 boxes that day, moving up and down the range at all distances from 250yds to 1000yds (like it was a shooting gallery) and in
my humble opinion; "The combination of the Savage 10 BA LE & Zeiss 'Conquest' Scope with Rapid-Z 1000 BDC Reticle is an amazing long-range
weapon platform, even in the hands of an average shooter!"