Top to bottom: 6.5-06 AI Savage action, SSS stock, muzzle brake, 27" Douglas 8-twist barrel, Burris 8-32x Black Diamond scope, and 100-gr. Nosler BT H4350. 243 AI, Savage action, SSS stock, 27" Douglas 12-twist barrel, Burris Signature 8-32x scope, 70-gr. Nosler BT, and Varget.
the fairly inexpensive price tag, but they really seemed to shoot great. I put a Sightron target-style scope on the fl uted stainless 25-06 and my uncle made me a click-chart that would tell me how many clicks of the elevation turret I would need to make to hit long- range targets. This was my fi rst attempt at precision-type ranging and it turned
out to be very accurate in making shots well beyond 300 yards. On a trip to the gun shop I ran
into the man who sold me the Savage 22-250. I was chatting with him about my new love of groundhog hunt- ing and he said he had a magazine to show me that he fi gured I might enjoy. It was The VARMINT HUNTER
Magazine®. I took it home to look at and after a cover-to-cover read, I joined the next day! While reading my fi rst issue I came across the ads for the Downrange Clubs. I couldn’t stop thinking of the possibility of actually hitting something beyond 500 yards. My uncle joined, too, and together we tried to get into that magical 500 Yard Club. One evening while hog hunting, a fl ock of crows appeared on a distant hillside. The rangefi nder told us that the crows were at least 500 yards out, so I hurriedly set up the 25-06 for a shot. Dale double-checked the range and told me they were 510 yards away. A check of my click chart had me making the proper adjustments to the Sightron and I prepared for the shot. The 85-grain Nosler raced toward the crow I picked out of the fl ock. As the black puff of feathers settled to the ground my uncle confi rmed through the spotting scope that I had made it into the 500 Yard Club! Reading more issues of TVHM
only gave me the bug again. Seeing articles on barreling Savage rifles yourself gave me the idea of doing one myself. I read about a place called Sharp Shooter Supply and gave them a call. I had decided on a 243 AI, and with Fred Moreo’s expert advice, I had a stock and barrel on the way. I had bought another stainless Savage in 25- 06 and sold Dale the barrel, so I had an action to use. We carefully assembled the 27" Douglas barrel from Fred onto my action and glass-bedded it into the SSS thumbhole stock. I installed a Burris target scope and broke-in the barrel while fireforming my Lapua 243 brass. The rifl e really looks good with the big varmint scope on it and man, does it shoot! My fi reform loads that I just threw together were produc- ing amazing groups at 100 yards. My hunting loads are 70-grain Nosler BTs and a healthy dose of Varget. This rig is super accurate and very deadly on ’chucks out to 600 or 700 yards. It wasn’t long before the bug bit
Savages with Douglas barrels, from left: 7mm-08 with Burris Fullfi eld, 120- gr. Nosler BT, H4895, 3150 fps. 7mm WSM with Leupold, 140-gr. Nosler BT, H4831 SC, 3,175 fps. 6.5x47 Lapua with Burris Signature Select. 243 AI with Burris Signature, 70-gr. Nosler BT, Varget, 3,900 fps. 6.5-06 AI with Burris Black Diamond, 100-gr. Nosler BT, H4350, 3,500 fps.
Page 152 Spring 2012
again and I fi gured I needed something with a bit more oomph! Another call to Fred was made and I asked if he could chamber me a barrel for 6.5-06 AI. He said “no problem” and I began to as- semble the necessary components I would need to build my latest creation. I picked up a long-action Savage for a
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212