Desert Savage 10FP Project Complete

I, however, am a work in progess. (many rifle courses in my future.)

I've gotten my .308 Savage 10FP, with SharpShooterSupply Varmint/Tactical stock and SSS trigger topped with an IOR-Valdada 2.5-10x42 scope to shoot as good as I can get it.

Desert-camo pics and a couple of typical groups will be attached.

I spent a pleasant Saturday morning at the Ben Avery range for the first firing of the rifle now that I have replaced the Choate US stock with the SSS.

That previous outing using Lapua brass, 44-ish grains of Varget powder with Nosler 168g J4s with a Winchester standard primer touching it off. Using a piss-poor rest I was flirting with well under .5moa groups spoiled only by the random flyer.

The Protektor rear bag made all the difference in the world. I shot ten strings yesterday. All but three were sub .5moa and the majority of those were sub .3moa.

The first five three-round strings were 44.0 to 44.4 grains with a cartridge OAL set at a .005" jump to lands. The second string was the same powder throw with the OAL set at a .002" jump.

I can't say that the OAL did anything to my groups other than to move the cluster from left of center for .005" to right of center for .002" (it could have been the wind shift at the end of the day or it could be barrel harmonics).

So, I've seen what the rifle can do under near-perfect conditions -- and that is about the only time I deem it okay to go to the range. Now, when the wind is gusting 10-15, or it's raining -- that's when I really need to go shooting. No more off the bench -- prone off the bipod or off a backpack. I'll have to do some standing/supported (off-hand is too wobbly).

The growth begins.

Attached is two of my "quarter-ish inch" groups.

.005 jump is on the left. .002 jump is on the right.

These aren't just the best groups, these are pretty typical, which helped me come to the conclusion that I would be better off spending time working on *me* rather than on my rifle or loads (okay, I might try match primers).

Ah, the "scope ghillie." You noticed that, eh?

Necessity is the Mother of Invention, and I was too much of a wussy to paint my scope. I did wrap it in some 3/32" kevlar line (hang glider towing line) which was previously alternately sprayed with camo paint (I used various brands of paint on the rifle such as Krylon, and that camo kit one sees at some hunting supplies). I considered using Bowflage but nixed it.

So, for the ghillie, what I did was to go to Sportsman's Warehouse in Phoenix and bought a yard of camo-mesh which was mostly green and a little tan to brown. I snipped off enough to wrap around the scope, and sewed a hem on the longitudinal (sides) edge to make it stronger and last longer. I left the fore and aft sections ragged as I figured I would trim them later to clear the lens caps and not get snagged in them as I close the caps.

Next, I cut one-inch strips of mesh (sewed them in half length-wise for strength) to use as tie-wraps (you'll notice that they were tied with pretty bows) which gave the ghillie more fluff. I think there are eight ties (four on each side) which are spaced as evenly as I could, given the limitations of where one could easily wrap the ties around the scope, considering turrets, one-piece base, ejection port, knobs. Each of the eight ties are sewn to the side of the Scope Ghillie (Hey, I may have to trademark that).

Now it was time to cut holes for the knobs (right turret, top turret, and the rear turret which turns on the reticle illuminator). The lateral (windage on the right) turret "hole" was actually just a semi-circle. I didn't want too much material down near the ejection/loading port as that would be a bad place for the material to snag. As it turned out, I would trim quite a bit off that side to keep the mechanism free.

I sewed a reinforcing circle around the illumination knob. The hole that allowed both the top turret and the scope level to pop through was move of an oval and was at least twice the length of the other holes and rather flimsy. I decided to reinforce this top area with another piece of mesh sewn all around the perimeter.

Speaking of fluff, I randomly cut some ragged strips of mesh and laid them cross-ways on the ghillie. They ranged about four to ten inches in length. I sewed one line down center of the length of the scope ghillie to attach them. I figured, but didn't know for sure that the sideways strips would not tend to bend around the scope and so, would fluff out. As you can see, it fluffes nicely and breaks up the lines.

I then placed the ghillie on the scope and looped the ties around the body of the scope. The bows were knotted on top and served to break up the silhoette nicely. The cross-ways ragged strips fluffed out just fine. The Scope Ghillie stays in place.

Lastly, I trimed the front and rear of the ghillie so as not to interfere with vision or operation of the flip-up scope covers. As stated earlier, the ejection port was trimmed quite a bit as well.

Rick

The stock and trigger was purchased directly from SharpShooterSupply in Delphos, Ohio

http://www.savageshooters.com/sharpshooters/

BTW, if you want to talk Savages, I found this on a google search:

http://savageshooters.proboards22.com/index.cgi

Anyway, I love the stock.

I weighed all of the components (for giggles) but I can't find the numbers.

The SSS stock is a gem ($215 filled and primed ready for paint, including shipping).

The first stage epoxy gel-coat surrounds a unidirectional hand laid fiberglass and carbon graphite cloth, impregnated with the most modern epoxy resins. An internal aluminum skeleton with contoured pillars and recoil block are added for extra rigidity. All internal parts are surrounded by a super high-density glass filled foam. A second coat of high-grade epoxy surface gel-coat if added for abrasion resistance.

Click to expand...

It is said that the SSS stock is stiffer than McMillan stocks (can't verify that).

The empty SSS stock weighs 2.75 pounds. The original Savage plastic stock weighs about 2.0 pounds. I did have a Choate "Plaster Disaster" which weighs in at an unGodly 6-ish pounds (all on my kitchen scale).

The whole rifle as it sits in the SSS stock (including barreled-action, scope, Harris bipod) weighs about 11 pounds (on my balky bathroom scale).

The shooting lessons will likely come from local Phoenix gunnie instructor George Dean of "Tac-Train." http://tactrain.net/index.htm

[email protected]

He has basic rifle "workshops" that go for $15 to $30 as well as full-blown couses that go for the usual $100 to $300.

His next 300 yard workshop is April 24th. I'll be there (I hope).

I hope I've answered your questions. I don't want to come off as some kind of expert here. I'm not. I'm more like a second-grader all proud of knowing how to print, but now I have to learn cursive.

Rick
Going with 44.0 of Varget

43.8 grains still gives me good groups, but 44.0 is right in the middle of the sweet spot such that if I mess up my powder charge by 0.2 grains, I still have a shooting load. As you know, every rifle is different. Who knows, your fave load might not do so well in my rifle, and visa versa.

The recoil lug pocket in the SSS stock is very small. Just enough space all the way around for the lug itself and maybe a tidy 1/8-inch layer of epoxy. Just glob it in there and squish the rifle on top (with headless bolts in the action for guidance and pressure applied with rubber bands or, what I used, several pieces of paracord wrapped around action and stock). Trim the excess later.

On thing about the primed stocked, make sure you sand the primer off the areas where the lug and action will be touching. Only a thin layer of epoxy is needed where the action rests.

BTW, despite the thin recoil pad on the SSS stock and its light weight, for some reason, the felt recoil is now less than when I had the 6-pound Plaster Disaster stock. Maybe I'm just in bliss.

Rick