Savage 110 LR Varmint rifle

[milemaker13]

Spotted another possibility in my search for a longish range rifle. Most of my long guns are carbines and such not really suited to long range shooting. This would mostly be a target gun for now at least.

Any opinions on the Savage 110 LR Varmint in .223? Buds has it for about $525 and then I would need to add scope & mounts. This rifle has savage accu stock, fit and trigger along with with 26" heavy barrel.

Compare this rifle with the savage trophy hunter hardwood package with a nikon scope for about $480 and the savage axis II with weaver scope for about $350.

 

[BigBL87]

For a target rifle, the 110 would make the most sense out of the 3. I have a 10 FCP which is a 22" heavy barrel, and it is definitely a load although it's not impossible to carry around. The Trophy Hunter would probably make a better hunting rifle for hoofing it if that may be what it turns into in the long run. Either will surprise you with how accurate they are for so cheap in my experience.

 

[milemaker13]

My friend recently got the axis II hardwood package in .308. It looked and felt nice, although he hasn't had it out shooting yet... and then he moved to AZ.

What scope and rings would you recommend for the 110? I need to add that cost for a fair comparison.

 

[BigBL87]

Soooo much of that depends on what you consider long range/what magnification you want, what your budget is, etc.. For rings, I've used Burris Signature Zees and Warne rings and been happy with both. The best thing about the Sig Zees is the "plastic" inserts that essentially make lapping unnecessary if you are getting that detailed. The Warnes supposedly don't need lapping for some reason relating to the fact they split vertically but I'm not experienced enough to comment on that. There are more expensive rings out there and I'm sure they're higher quality in some way, but mine have never failed me for the decent price they were.

As far as optics, I'm really a budget optics guy so I'm probably not the best for that. I've never spent more than $200 on a scope.

 

[milemaker13]

Dont laugh, but long range at the moment is only 100 yrds because that's the longest range I have access to. Its getting harder to see that far using iron sights!
I hope to stay in the $200 range for optics, unless I keep dragging my feet and growing my stash!
I think I'm better off choosing .223 over .308 or 30-06 since I already shoot and reload .223. I figure I can start to work on building accurate ammo with out investing in additional dies. As well as easier on the shoulder after many rounds.
ETA- I would however like to eventually shoot out to 300 and beyond. There is a club that I could possibly join that has a 600 yd range. And of course there is always vacation and/or moving

 

[LoonWulf]

a .223 will be challenging at 600yds, especially since that 1-9s gonna top out at 70gr or so.
Still works and is fun, I've shot ars that far out, but mostly just plinking.

I'd take the 110V over the other options also.

 

[stillquietvoice]

Don't know how you feel about cabellas bit they have the 12 fv priced at 419.00 right now 26 in varmint profile barrel . Weight is 8.75 pounds. Light weight varmint target accutrigger.

It would save you a few dollars that you could put into glass.

 

[LoonWulf]

Don't know how you feel about cabellas bit they have the 12 fv priced at 419.00 right now 26 in varmint profile barrel . Weight is 8.75 pounds. Light weight varmint target accutrigger.

It would save you a few dollars that you could put into glass.

those are the old style stocks arnt they?

if so I'd probably spend the extra on the lr varmint, just to get the newer style adjustable stock.

 

[stillquietvoice]

those are the old style stocks arnt they?

I'm pretty sure you are correct on the stocks.

Just thought that better optics would help at the longer ranges specified by the Op. Four years ago I could see 223 holes in my targets at 200 yds at 12 x with bottom of line Nikon bushmaster 2. Now I have trouble seeing them at 16 x with my monarch 3. With age and greater distances quality glass is your friend.

I'm seriously looking into a spotting scope. Never needed one before, but at 54 it might be time.

 

[LoonWulf]

I'm pretty sure you are correct on the stocks.

Just thought that better optics would help at the longer ranges specified by the Op. Four years ago I could see 223 holes in my targets at 200 yds at 12 x with bottom of line Nikon bushmaster 2. Now I have trouble seeing them at 16 x with my monarch 3. With age and greater distances quality glass is your friend.

I'm seriously looking into a spotting scope. Never needed one before, but at 54 it might be time.

no disagreement from me on getting better quality optics.
the adjustable stocks are worth the extra cost in my opinion, especially if the op goes with one of the larger target style scopes. savages straight line stocks are a little low on the comb. Equally tho, it's never a bad idea to put extra money into optics.

 

[BigBL87]

For the under $200 optic options, Primary Arms and Mueller are my preference. I've had some decent Bushnells from their AR line too if those strike your fancy. I do have a Weaver Kaspa Tactical (2.5-10x) on my Savage 10. Clarity is better than I'd expect for the price, but the eyebox is very unforgiving especially on max magnification, which is the biggest downside. My Mueller APV (4.5-14x) is also a little touchy with the eyebox but nowhere near as much.

You can get some Leupolds and Vortexes under $200 as well. They won't be as feature rich as the Primary Arms or Muellers for the dollar, but some would say you're trading quality for features. My big thing for optics is I want adjustable parallax, preferably side adjust but an adjustable objective works a la the APV. I don't own a single scope without it.

 

[loose noose]

I recently picked up a Vortex Diamondback 3X9X40 and placed it on my Ruger No.1RSI .243, and it was right at $199.00 OTD, I took off a Leopold Rifleman 3X9X40 that wasn't near as clear off the Ruger. Will get ahold of Leopold here shortly and see what they have to say about it.

 

[stillquietvoice]

I've had the axis 2 xp package with that weaver scope in 223 rem. Very accurate rifle package. My only complaint about the weaver scope was the cross hair was thick. It covered the bullseye at max magnification make g precision shooting more difficult.

It is more of a hunting optic.