Davo
Member
I recently purchased a Savage 10fp in .308 with HS precision stock. Just wanted to give a quick review.
The Savage 10fp a heavy barreled .308 fed from a 5 shot internal magazine. I wanted this rifle because of the great reviews it had recieved, and because I want to get into competition shooting, especially F-TR stuff. My model came with a 24 inch barrel, enlarged bolt handle, and Savage's accutrigger. Im in California so I had to special order and it came home for around 850 bucks-I think its availible for quite a bit less in most states, but everything is more here.
The stock gun weighs in at 9.5 lbs, and is of course muzzle heavy. Savage describes the barrel contour as medium heavy. Its not as heavy as the varmint models I have seen. The twist is 1/10, and supposedly it will stabilize up to 220 grain match rounds. After about 250 rounds fired, Ive noticed that the fowling is much less, and cleanup is quicker. I use wipeout and it works well. Some people make savage barrels out to be horrible, but mine never was as bad as what Id read online. The throat is not as long as the remingtons, and the magazine fed rounds dont need to be loaded shorter to function or reach the lands. In the future I may install an aftermarket barrel, but thats the only upgrade planned.
I was suprised with the lightness and rigidity of the HS precision stock. It has an aluminum bed, and is high quality. Its also resistant to some pretty strong cleaners, and it still looks good. The action is connected via two hex head bedding screws. I have pulled the action a few times and the zero has never wandered more than 1 moa. The screws also remain tight. I have removed the 3 sling swivels for now since I dont plan to shoot it with a sling and it affects my rear shooting bag. The recoil pad is effective and looks good.
The trigger has been adjusted to 2 1/2 lbs. The accutrigger is excellent and adjusts from 6 lbs. to 1 1/2 lbs. There is no creep, and no overtravel. Everyone who has fired this rifle remarks at the great trigger.
The action is not the smoothest I have ever felt. I plan to polish some of the internals to rectify this. The floating bolt head, and barrel nut are supposed to aid accuracy. I like the fact that a barrel swap can be done at home in a few minutes.
The magazine occasional jams when Im loading it, and is a little gritty. The magazine follower is plastic and feels cheap. I wish there was an aftermarket replacement, this is my biggest critizism. Savage is introducing detachable mags to the FP line soon-I like that idea. The matte finish is well done. I like the 3 position tang saftey.
I went with TPS for rings and bases. The picattinny rail has a 20 MOA angle. This elevates cheek weld a bit, but assures that most scopes will get the rifle zerod at 1000 yards. The rings and bases are solid steel, well finished and sturdy. I also like that the 30mm rings dont scratch or cant the scope when being tightened down. I would highly reccommend these rings.
For a scope I chose the SWFA Supersniper 16x. It is a fixed 16x with rear parrallax adjustment and is built well. The optics are satifactory, though im not an optics snob. I had a Bushnell elite 3200 10x on this rifle for a while and it was much clearer. The Supersniper has good eye relief, and 65 minutes of elevation. This is more than enough to get to 1K. With the 20 MOA bases I actually have 85 minutes of upward elevation, more than enough. The scope zeros well at 100 yards, and although Ive only done limited testing the scope tracks well, and retains its zero. A good scope for $300, but I may upgrade in the future.
My range time has been mostly at 100 yards seated, though Ive done some prone at the range and in the desert. Recoil is mild, and not a detriment to accuracy I believe with this rifle. Fully set up with a black hawk cheek pad, and bipod the rifle weighs around 14 lbs.
I typically shoot 5 round groups, and most are around 3/4 MOA. I have not shot any handloads over 1 MOA. My smallest 3 shot group was .2 MOA. With 45 grains of Varget, winchester brass, and a 175 SMK seated to 2.8 OAL. I have found a load that will become my standard in this.
The 168 SMK get slightly larger groups, but still under 1 MOA for 5 five shot groups and will be trying the 190 SMK soon. Cheap hunting ammo, and reloads with surplus .308 rounds dont shoot as well. The POI does not wander after 10 rounds rapid fire, which is more then I ever usually shoot.
Id like to find a decent local range to try this rifle out at 600-1000 yards, as of now I haven't.
I would recommend the Savage 10 fp highly. There are no better rifles for less money IMO, and to see better performance you are getting into custom rifle territory.
The Savage 10fp a heavy barreled .308 fed from a 5 shot internal magazine. I wanted this rifle because of the great reviews it had recieved, and because I want to get into competition shooting, especially F-TR stuff. My model came with a 24 inch barrel, enlarged bolt handle, and Savage's accutrigger. Im in California so I had to special order and it came home for around 850 bucks-I think its availible for quite a bit less in most states, but everything is more here.
The stock gun weighs in at 9.5 lbs, and is of course muzzle heavy. Savage describes the barrel contour as medium heavy. Its not as heavy as the varmint models I have seen. The twist is 1/10, and supposedly it will stabilize up to 220 grain match rounds. After about 250 rounds fired, Ive noticed that the fowling is much less, and cleanup is quicker. I use wipeout and it works well. Some people make savage barrels out to be horrible, but mine never was as bad as what Id read online. The throat is not as long as the remingtons, and the magazine fed rounds dont need to be loaded shorter to function or reach the lands. In the future I may install an aftermarket barrel, but thats the only upgrade planned.
I was suprised with the lightness and rigidity of the HS precision stock. It has an aluminum bed, and is high quality. Its also resistant to some pretty strong cleaners, and it still looks good. The action is connected via two hex head bedding screws. I have pulled the action a few times and the zero has never wandered more than 1 moa. The screws also remain tight. I have removed the 3 sling swivels for now since I dont plan to shoot it with a sling and it affects my rear shooting bag. The recoil pad is effective and looks good.
The trigger has been adjusted to 2 1/2 lbs. The accutrigger is excellent and adjusts from 6 lbs. to 1 1/2 lbs. There is no creep, and no overtravel. Everyone who has fired this rifle remarks at the great trigger.
The action is not the smoothest I have ever felt. I plan to polish some of the internals to rectify this. The floating bolt head, and barrel nut are supposed to aid accuracy. I like the fact that a barrel swap can be done at home in a few minutes.
The magazine occasional jams when Im loading it, and is a little gritty. The magazine follower is plastic and feels cheap. I wish there was an aftermarket replacement, this is my biggest critizism. Savage is introducing detachable mags to the FP line soon-I like that idea. The matte finish is well done. I like the 3 position tang saftey.
I went with TPS for rings and bases. The picattinny rail has a 20 MOA angle. This elevates cheek weld a bit, but assures that most scopes will get the rifle zerod at 1000 yards. The rings and bases are solid steel, well finished and sturdy. I also like that the 30mm rings dont scratch or cant the scope when being tightened down. I would highly reccommend these rings.
For a scope I chose the SWFA Supersniper 16x. It is a fixed 16x with rear parrallax adjustment and is built well. The optics are satifactory, though im not an optics snob. I had a Bushnell elite 3200 10x on this rifle for a while and it was much clearer. The Supersniper has good eye relief, and 65 minutes of elevation. This is more than enough to get to 1K. With the 20 MOA bases I actually have 85 minutes of upward elevation, more than enough. The scope zeros well at 100 yards, and although Ive only done limited testing the scope tracks well, and retains its zero. A good scope for $300, but I may upgrade in the future.
My range time has been mostly at 100 yards seated, though Ive done some prone at the range and in the desert. Recoil is mild, and not a detriment to accuracy I believe with this rifle. Fully set up with a black hawk cheek pad, and bipod the rifle weighs around 14 lbs.
I typically shoot 5 round groups, and most are around 3/4 MOA. I have not shot any handloads over 1 MOA. My smallest 3 shot group was .2 MOA. With 45 grains of Varget, winchester brass, and a 175 SMK seated to 2.8 OAL. I have found a load that will become my standard in this.
The 168 SMK get slightly larger groups, but still under 1 MOA for 5 five shot groups and will be trying the 190 SMK soon. Cheap hunting ammo, and reloads with surplus .308 rounds dont shoot as well. The POI does not wander after 10 rounds rapid fire, which is more then I ever usually shoot.
Id like to find a decent local range to try this rifle out at 600-1000 yards, as of now I haven't.
I would recommend the Savage 10 fp highly. There are no better rifles for less money IMO, and to see better performance you are getting into custom rifle territory.
