Savage Model 110 Accuracy issue's... please help

[squirrelhunter4]

Hey guys, newbie here. I have a savage 110 in syn stock in .30-06. first let me say it's recoil hit's like a freight train. Its very light and NO pad at all. Everything functions perfect though. My problem is accuracy. @ 25 yards it's dead on, just about 1" high. @ 50 it's 2-3" to the left, at 100 yards it opens to 5" to the left! Its also 4" high @100 compared to 1" @25 yards. :banghead: Just to rule me out as the error, I had my Seasoned grandfather who has bagged more Deer then I've ever seen in my life give it a run. His Gun cabinet is bigger then my house, and he can shoot. His results were right on with mine. Then we tried his handloads, same resuts as the Winchester Factory ammo I have been shooting. It just does not make sense to me. I bought this rifle based on the rave reviews the the savage 110 has. I bought it used from the original owner who was an older guy who looked like he really took care of all his firearms, so I dont think it has been abused. I own 2 other Savage rifle's in .22LR and there decent. But this one is just plain inaccurate. The trigger is great, and set to approx 2lbs. I think it may be a scope issue, but if so, why is it dean on @25? the scope is a simmons 3x9x40 cheapo, it has a nice clear pic, but its not anything fancy.

 

[DIM]

check your scope and rings, make sure they are tight, try different scope, if that fails, check if the barrel free-floated at last contact Savage CS, try to reach Effie Sullivan and explain your situation, she will offer you free shipping via UPS to their factory, the other CS representative never offer free shipping. Basically if your rifle can't hold 1 1/2" at 100 yards they will replace it. Its more likely you got bad barrel, I had 3 bad barrels on my latest Savage rifles, all were defective and required replacement.

 

[highbrow]

Shooting at 25 yds is to get it on the paper. 1" high at 25 yds will be 4" high at 100yds. Make adjustments to your scope to get it about 2" high at 100 yds and life is good. Any windage at 50 yds will be double at 100 yds.

 

[DIM]

I think you got it wrong, if you say scope was zeroed at 25 yards then

yds ---- drop
25 ---- 0.0
50 ---- 1.1"
75 ---- 1.9"
100 ---- 2.3"

so 1" high at 25 should produce 1.3" low so you should compensate this drop by 1.2 minutes up

 

[LoonWulf]

I've always thought zeroing at 25 would get you close at 100 +/-2". I never call 25 my zero point tho I always zero from 100 on out.

Try zeroing at 100 and then work back. If point of impact changes then your scope is probably seriously out of alignment. Also out of curiosity what kind of groups are you posting with it.

 

[redneck2]

the scope is a simmons 3x9x40 cheapo, it has a nice clear pic, but its not anything fancy.

I had one of those on my muzzle loader. Cost me a 14 point, 28" spread deer that I'd been after for four years. Kept changing point of impact (just like yours) and fogged up. Spend the money, get a good scope, and get over it. Somehow guys think that once they buy a scope and mount it, it's become part of the gun forever. I swap scopes fairly frequently. If you use Burris Zee rings with the inserts, they leave zero ring marks. Scope pretty much always looks brand new.

I always zero at 25 yards to get on paper, then move out to 100. Easy thing to do is to remove the bolt. Mount the gun on something solid, pointing at an object off in the distance. Look thru the bore, then the scope. Move the cross hairs until they both line up. You'll be amazed at how close you can get the scope to dead on. Typically maybe 1-2" at 100.

My problem is accuracy. @ 25 yards it's dead on, just about 1" high. @ 50 it's 2-3" to the left, at 100 yards it opens to 5" to the left!Maybe I'm missing something,

Uhhhh....yeah. If it's 1" high at 25, it's gonna be 4-5" high at 100. You're shooting "uphill". Every inch off at 25 is multiplied 4x at 100.

I suspect accuracy will be less than stellar if it kicks that bad. I put a Decelerator pad on my .45-70. Recoil was almost non-existant, even with heavy loads.

 

[DIM]

I recalculate your drop and with 1" high at 25, you should have 2.1" high at 50 and 100 yards you should be 5" high, then you should be right on the mark @ 300 yards, so there is nothing wrong with the scope as far as I can tell. Now what groups do you get?

 

[DoubleMag]

did you shoot from a mechanical rest or bipod? Right off the bat you were experiencing recoil issues which might've amplified after very few rounds. It might not be the gun at all but the optics

You must put a pad on it so get one of the better ones as stated, Decelerator KickEez LimbSaver etc.

My opinion is switch the scope and rings sounds like it was the package deal that the original owner bought (?) maybe. And ANY sighting problem won't show at closer range vs. longer

 

[slowr1der]

I'm wondering if the scope is mounted so the reticle is canted. The elevation sounds correct to me. The windage is the only part that sounds off, and I'm wondering if it's canted so for longer shots it's making it appear that checks out, I'd suspect the scope and replace it.

 

[ball3006]

Flinching comes to mind here. Make sure everything it tight and the scope is alined properly.....chris3

 

[squirrelhunter4]

Thanks

Thanks for the replies guys, I understand the that the shot will be high at 100 yards compared to 25, but dont understand why is 5" off to the left. I hunt in PA, and where I hunt i cant even see past 50 yards, the forest is to thick. So thats why we set it up for 25. I will try again and sight in AT 100 yards then try backwards from there. We did use a bore sighter before hand to set it up. I will have to look into the limbsaver cause to be honest, if I cant tame this reciol down, I really dont want to shoot it anymore. Its great for a 1 or 2 shoot hunter, but not for a range session. I will bring another scope with me also just to see if I get the same results.

 

[squirrelhunter4]

Shot off a Plastic rest

 

[bigedp51]

Cheaper scopes can have parallax problems and on top of this a scope is normally adjusted to be parallax free at 100 yards. At 25 yards just a slight head movement left or right up or down will shift the impact point of the bullet

Zero the rifle at 100 yards "AND THEN" check the rifle at closer ranges for point of impact and adjust for your hunting conditions.

NOTE: I also hunt in central Pennsylvania with most of the hunting in the woods where 40 yards is a long shot. "BUT" my rifles are sighted in 2-3 inches high at 100 yards for our longer field shots when out of the woods.

With a 30-06 sighted in 2 3/4 inches high at 100 yards with a 150 grain bullet you can aim dead on out to 240 yards and only be a few inches high or low from 0 to 300 yards (its only -5 inches low at 300 yards)

Below Sierra Infinity charts for 30-06, note rifle is zeroed at 25 and 240 yards sighted in 2 3/4 inches high at 100 yards.

 

[Cob]

My problem is accuracy. @ 25 yards it's dead on, just about 1" high. @ 50 it's 2-3" to the left, at 100 yards it opens to 5" to the left! Its also 4" high @100 compared to 1" @25 yards

Are you shooting with a scope or iron sights? And if so, how high is the center of the scope/ crosshairs compared to the center of the bore?

My savage 110 ha "see through scope rings" so that i could shoot both iron sights/scope. The see thru mounts raise the scope considereably off the rifle's bore. Your point of impact will most never be the same at 100 yard as it is at 25 yards. (even with a 25,000.00 rifle & scope combo). The height of the scope off of the barrell, as well as ballistics of the bullet will affect the shot.

Re-zero the rifle at 100, or 200 yards, and adjust your POI using the scopes elevation windage dials accordingly. You need to move your POI to the left 4-5 inches ay 100 yds. (at 200 yards, your current POI will be probably be more like 8-0 inches to the left)

GET A RECOIL PAD! this simple step will improve your accuracy

 

[brian923]

Also remember that different ammo will shoot differently in every gun. Have you tried a different brand of ammo? Different weight? Make everything tight, ensure reticle is not slanted and get a recoil pad. Shoot off a bench or shooting rest of some sort. Hope this helps, brian.

 

[squirrelhunter4]

So your saying that even if I scope it in at 100 yards that my windage will still be off at 25-50 yards? I dont understand that. I do not have iron sights.

 

[Steel Talon]

Check your action screws for proper torque.

Is it a standard contour barrel? or a heavy barrel..

The first I would do is to get rid of the factory stock and get a better one. For the money The B&C Duramaxx is a winner, might be heavy barrel channel only. Or you can take a piece of flat stock fencing strap, and bed it into the factory channel to stiffen it up. Also add a decelerator pad.

You can have a gun smith check the fit and finish, barrel to action tru. Scope the barrel to see if its damaged etc.

Scope wise that Simmons could very well be the problem. A great line of well built affordable scopes are meuller optics

 

[DIM]

if its 110 model, then you got really thin barrel, do not shoot more then 3 shots, this barrel has tendency to get supper hot after. Also you have 1:10 twist barrel, so try to shoot 165 - 190 gr ammo. How's your muzzle crown any dents? Another thing you might want to check, remove scope with the rings and check scope bases you might have loose screw, they should be set with locktie or nail polish, torque on them should also be set 25 - 30 in*lbs, also check if your scope bases are not reversed.

 

[squirrelhunter4]

It has a floating plastic stock. The screws are tight, checked them again and again. The barrel is not a bull barrel, just a standard sporter. I think it may be from sighting in at 25 yards like many have stated. When you think of it, if I am a 1/4-1/2 off left at 25 then its 4x that at 100, that is where my 4-5" shot comes into play. I will sight in at 100, and if that dont work, then try another scope. I must put a pad on it though. I just cant bear to shoot it more then 3-4 times a session. I feel like a little girl saying that, but it feels like someone hitting you with a hammer. My 12 gauge does not hit as hard

 

[Eb1]

We zero my Dad's 1970's model BAR with Federal 180 grain Hi-Shock (yes the older ones) at 50 yards, and it is dead on at 200 yards as well.

Is your scope level? Sounds like you might have a canted scope where you adjust elevation, and it also adjusts windage and vise versa.

 

[LoonWulf]

squirrel. get a good recoil pad (libsavers decelerator etc.) or add gun weight. My savage 110 in .300 winchester wearing its plastic stock weighed in at a little over 7lbs scoped and loaded, im fairly recoil tolerant but that was more then i could handle shooting off a bench for testing. I put a boyds thumbhole stock, and a limbsavers pad on mine, total weight ended up around 9.5lbs . Eventually i trimmed the stock down so the guns right at 8lbs.

 

[Still Shooting]

I have a Savage 11 in 7mm WSM, and I found I could not shoot it up to the inherent accuracy of the rifle for 2 reasons. For me, the stock comb height meant that even using low rings, my "cheek weld" with the scope was actually a "jawbone weld!" -It made it hard to get repeatable accuracy.

The second problem was that the angle of the pistol grip, and its distance fron the trigger made it almost impossible for me to get a clean, right angle rest for my finger on the trigger. As a result, I was "pulling" shots off to the left at 100 yds. A B&C replacement stock cured both of those problems.

 

[d2wing]

I agree with slowrider, sounds like a canted scope and perhaps a lot of scope height.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

Sounds more to me like his drill and tap for the base is off. He is shooting to the left. While I am a HUGE Savage supporter, they have had a few with out of line drill and taps for the scope base. At 25 yards it may not be too noticeable but at 100 and beyond if will continue outward. I would find a smith or someone with a scope alignment tool to verify that your rings are aligned properly.

 

[squirrelhunter4]

Update

Hey guys, Have not gotten a chance to go to the range yet, but I was going over the Savage 110 today and I noticed that the left part of the stock forend was touching the barrel. Got the dollar bill out and it was snaging. I lossened the two bolts, and repositioned the stock, and now the dollar slides free, but the stock still cocks to the left more then the right. So I took the dremmel and took off some plastic where it was REAL close. Now it has plenty of room, and is very free floating I want a new stock any way as per all the recommendations from you guys, so I figured what the heck. I dont want to put money into this rifle if something major is wrong with it, so I figured this was a safe fix. and no, I did not take out much material at all. I will let you know how I make out, should make it to the range on Sunday. Thanks