Savage 12 Varmint is on the way !

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Ken C

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Finally, the LGS called and the distributor has one. So, the rifle should be here in a few days. It's a VLP DBM model in .223 Rem and will mainly be used for target shooting at 100-200 yards.

So, the next step is a scope and mount. Probably going with a DNZ Lightweight mount. But, regarding the scope, not a clue. This will be my first "scoped" gun , rifle or handgun. And, it's confusing out there.

The scope budget is $750, about what the rifle costs. Been looking at Leupold, Vortex, Nikon ... Hell, I can't figure out what reticle to get much less which scope. :)

Other questions, is a Wheeler laser boresight a good idea ? What's a good rifle rest ?

Plus, I'm going to reload but that's a question for another forum.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.
 
great gun Ken. you will find that rifle will shoot as good as 1-3 thousand dollar rifles. You can go way beyond 1-200 yds if possible. one scope to look at is the excellent millet 4-16 very good for the money or almost any money. a regular non laser boresighter would be ok. good luck with your rifle
 
You have a lot of options in that price range. Check out cameralandny.com they have demo sales sometimes. I bought a ziess conquest 6.5x20x50 a couple months ago for 549.00. I would recommend leupold, vortex or ziess. I've had a few nikons but for me they don't seem as sharp. As far as the reticle goes. I would recommend a very fine for target shooting. It's harder to shoot small groups if your reticle is covering too much of the target. I wouldn't spend the money on the laser boresighter. You can literally bore sight it by removing the bolt and looking through the barrel. If google how to bore sight a rifle you'll get plenty of articles that explain how to do it. I prefer sand bags over a bench rest.
 
I'd check out the SWFA SS 3-15 in that price range. It's FFP, Mil/Mil, and just a great all around scope that you can count on to be durable and track well. IMO it's one of the best you will get for that price range.

As far as a boresighter, it's a waste of money imo. Every gun I've ever had boresighted by one of these lasers has been further off than when I've just stuck a scope on and shot it. On a bolt action, you can put the rifle on a rest, remove the bolt and look down the barrel at a target. Adjust the crosshairs to the same point, and you will probably be close.

What I usually also do is fire a couple of shots at 25 yards and set it about 1" high. Then I move to 100 yards or whatever range I'm sighting it in at, and it is usually fairly close. I make final adjustments from there.
 
The SWFA sure looks good. I'll check it out.

Good to know about the boresight. This is my first bolt action (not including a 55 year old Rem Model 514 .22) so never thought about pulling the bolt.

I was going to go with the DNZ mount but thinking about using the Talley Lightweight mounts. Any thoughts ?
 
I'm not a fan of the Talley Lightweights at all. I bought several sets a year or so ago when they were on sale after reading a few good reviews of them. IMO they were absolute junk. I can't see see why anyone likes them, and I'd never consider mounting a scope that I cared about in them. Since this time, I've also read numerous complaints online about them. There seem to be two groups of people with them, their fanboys that praise them even knowing their issues and try to make excuses for them, and then the rest of us.

The rings aren't round, and you have to "snap" the scope down into the ring. It often still doesn't get contact all the way around as the rings aren't round as they should be. IMO, it's not worth getting horrible ring marks and possibly ruin a scope just to save a few ounces.

Now that said, I've never used the DNZ mounts, so I can't comment on them.

My opinion is that if you don't want to shell out the money for a set of Badgers, Seekins, etc. I'd go with a set of quality Weaver bases and a set of Burris Signature Zee rings. They are by far the best rings under $100 that I've ever used, and I use them 90% of the time now. Not only are they strong, but they also eliminate the need for lapping, eliminate ring marks, and you can use the different shims to allow you to zero your scope with the adjustments being closer to the center instead of using a lot of windage or elevation to get the scope zeroed. If you have any misalignment problems, these rings can fix that too with the shims. Overall, while they aren't aluminum, they are much stronger and much better imo. I personally would rather have a few extra ounces on there, than giving up as much quality as you give up going with something like the Talleys.
 
I do not see where you need to spend 750 on a scope unless you just have to much money and want to get rid of some. a millet 4-16 or a burris with their good reticules you would spend half of the 750 and have plenty left for a good amount of ammo
 
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The Savage axis is a good rifle and cost less then the model 12.
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I don't mean any offense to you by saying this, and I think that the Axis is a good rifle for it's price, but it's no where near the rifle that a Model 12 is. I'd also personally never choose it over a Model 12, or 10, 11, 16, etc. It's really like comparing apples to oranges.
 
Great purchase.

The DNZ mounts are great. I have them on my two main rifles (target) and will have them on anything that requires a tubed scope from now on.

For scopes I recommend Vortex, SWFA and Leupold in that order. The Vortex PST is the best scope I have owned for any amount of time (did have a Nightforce but flipped it).
 
Beentown said:
Great purchase.

The DNZ mounts are great. I have them on my two main rifles (target) and will have them on anything that requires a tubed scope from now on.

For scopes I recommend Vortex, SWFA and Leupold in that order. The Vortex PST is the best scope I have owned for any amount of time (did have a Nightforce but flipped it).
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they are great scopes but for half of what the OP has to spend you could get an excellent scope. today with the ammo situation you have to figure hundreds for it and maybe some reloading stuff. the OP will be surprised of what he needs and how much it costs after the scope and rifle are procured
 
If you wanna spend the extra money for the model 12 go ahead! I have the axis its a good shooting rifle, I also had the model 12 and SOLD IT wasn't impressed by it at all!.
 
Checked out the SWFA SS 3-15. It's a "first focal plane" scope. Once I figured out what that meant, probably not what I'm looking for. I'll be target shooting at 100 or 200 yards. My take is an ffp scope is better suited to hunting, a sfp scope is better for target shooting. Opinions ?

Anyhow, got a call from the LGS, the rifle is here. I'll be headed there this am.

Wonder if this thread should be in the "Firearms Accessories" section ?
 
I prefer a FFP reticle over SFP for everything. After using one, it's hard to go back to SFP. If you do any long range shooting FFP is for sure the way to go. The difference is on a SFP while the reticle appears the same size at all magnification, if using a mil dot reticle, or any other tactical style reticle the reticle will only be accurate at one power. This means you can only range at one power, and when making adjustments based on mil's, it would only be accurate at one power.

With a FFP scope, the reticle appears different sizes depending on the power the scope is set on, but the dots will always be spaced evenly. You can range at 3x and again at 15x and it will be accurate on both. The same goes for reading the reticle to try to make adjustments.

This is also a big factor for BDC style reticles if you choose to use the reticle for hold over. With SFP scopes, the BDC lines would only be accurate on one power, while with a FFP scope they would be accurate on any power.

I'm not the best at explaining this, but that's the basics of it. If you plan to get into any long range shooting, the FFP is the way to go. After using it, while I still have some SFP scopes, I would prefer FFP scopes on every rifle.
 
slo rider have you aimed at maybe a 16 inch steel plate at a long distance with FFP on high magnification? does the reticule block out the target?
 
Picked up the rifle at the LGS. Looks good. The LGS owner talked me into a Warne base, Burris Zee rings, and a really good deal on a Leupold VX3 scope.

Ordered a Wheeler torque wrench and some levels from Amazon, they should be here Monday or Tuesday.

After I get the scope mounted, I'll try and figure out how to post a picture.

With any luck, should be going to the range on Wednesday ! Yea !

Thanks, guys.
 
it sounds like the owner of the gun store was a used car salesman before getting gun store lol
 
Congrats. I really like the lloks of the M12. The .223 Rem within 300 yards, deadly accurate, and well, just plain deadly on varmints. :cool:

Of course we expect pictures. :)

Geno
 
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