Savage 110 for Elk

[GCW]

Over the last 20 years I have been out to CO with a group of friends elk hunting several times now.It is a do it youeslf ungiuded hunt.I have not been able to make the trip the last few years due to personal reasons ,due to a run of bad luck I had to sell most of my guns off.Now Im at the point in my life were me and my son dont have to answer to anyone and we can afford to start going back out to CO to chase elk.My ? is do you guys feel that the Savage 110 line of guns is capiable of shooting good enough to make a 300yds shot to harvist a Elk.I need to put a elk rifle togather for under 400.00 dollar price range.I do allread have a scope,Leupold veri xII3x9x40 that was a gift from onr of the guys that we hunt with out there,he upgrade to a better scope.I dont have a problem with buying a used oler model savage or buying one of the new non accu trigger models to make it happen in this price range.This will be me and my son vaction if we can draw tags for elk and mule deer.Also me and him would most likley have to share this gun while we are out for long range shooting because im letting him carry my 270 stevens.I would also like to know what the recoil is like on these guns in magnum calibers for the longer shots.thank you

[NONYA]

tAKE THE MONEY AND BUY A REM 710 W/ SCOPE FOR LESS.

[rickyp]

you may have to add a few hundred dollard for MSRP. you can get a Model 11F with AccuTrigger for a MSRP for about $500 in 300 win mag check with the dealers and see what they have in stock you should be able to get one for under $400 or very close to it. You will be better off getting a newer one with the accu trigger.

as for the Remingtons in the past few years I have had several and had to put a lot of money into themto make them shoot good that is just good not great but good.

[reyn 61]

I bought a used 110 in 300mag 2yrs ago. I dont hunt elk and the largest thing ive shot was a 7pt last Friday. Ive shot 6 boxes of all kinds of ammo from 150,165,and 180gr. It is very accurate with all factory loads ive tested. I recently had it sighted with 150gr Core-lokts. I found a good deal on some PMC 150gr and went to test it to make see if it was close to the Core-lokt. I painted a black  circle and fired 3rds at 100yds. After the first shot i couldnt see my hole and was thinking i missed. Fired 2 more because i figured i would find them somewhere on the target and adjust. Walked down and they were all in the black. I measure my groups from the outermost holes and it was 1 1/8 in out side to outside. I would definately take a 110 over a 710. IMO.

[GCW]

NONYA,I have shot the 710 and was not impressed buy it,plus a local sporting goods store had the 111FXP3 on sale for 329.00 in 270wsm or 300wsm

[45/70fan]

Just because a rifle is more expensive doesn't mean it will be more accurate. My father in law's favorite gun is a Savage 24 (222 over 20ga). I've seen him bump off woodchucks approaching 400 yards. He's fond of saying it looks like it was built by a blacksmith instead of a gunsmith, but she sure shoots. Bottom line is if you like the Savage, buy it, find a load it likes, and practice, practice, practice.

[GCW]

45/70,I have not been out west sence the fall of 99.But back when I was going all the time I did practice atleast once a week shoting my rifle at veryice yardage out to 400yds from all kind of positions.I hav not shot much in the last few years but have decided that I need to start looking now for a rifle so I can start practicing.I dont know if I will drew a tag this coming fall but would like to be ready for when I do

[SectorSteve]

I HAD a Remington 710, sold it. Now I have 2 Savage 110's, both w/Accutrigger. Miine is a 7mm  Remington mag and my wife has a 30.06. Do yourself a favor, get the Savage, you won't regret it.

[mangulator]

Go with the Savage you will be happy with it!!!!!!!!!!

[handirifle]

That Savage 110 will be accurate easily to 300yds and beyond, especially for elk.  At 300yds as long as you go 30-06 or better you're OK with caliber too.

Good luck.  Recoil on the synthetics with magnum calibers is stiff.  I'd suggest the wood stock for a magnum caliber.

[GCW]

I traded tonight my Leupold Veri x II,for a like new Winchester model 70 Ranger 30/06.This should make for a nice light elk rifle.I have a brand new Burris fullfield 4x that Im going to put on this rifle after christmas.This should make for a nice allround hunting rifle for deer and elk.Thank you to everyone for your input

[myarmor]

tAKE THE MONEY AND BUY A REM 710 W/ SCOPE FOR LESS.

 
...to each his own i guess....
I'd take a Savage anyday over a 710, just my 2 cents..


-Aaron

[rickyp]

That 4x scope will be under powered for long range shots it will be at it's best for shots of 100 yeards or less

[GCW]

rickyp,I am going to put 4x scope on this gun for the time being.I have enough confidence that I can shot out to 300yds with 4x.In the past I have Killed a mulley at this range with a old Weaver K4 on a Model 700ADL in 270 at a littile over 300yds.Back when we first started going out to CO in the late 80's most of us hade cheap Tasco 4x scopes on our rifles.That being said I hope someday this will be my backup rifle.We also found that fixed powered scopes held up to the abuse better and helped in making the rifles lighter.It seems to me that most people now days over scope a rifle instead of under scoping them.It always seemed that the scopes that have failed out there were always higher powered veriables.That is just my thought and what I have seen over the years

[Slamfire]

Back in prehisteric times, a 3X was considered plenty for all around huntin'. An elk at 300 yards would look like one at 100 yards without a scope. If a 4X is what you have it'll do just fine. A fixed 6X ain't so very good up close, on movin' targets. 

[Siskiyou]

Having hunted in Colorado with a 4x scope and other Western locations let me assure you that a 4x scope is very workable.  Back in the 60's and 70's I took numerous deer in the West at ranges over 100 yards using fixed power 4X scopes.  In facted I stayed away from early variable powder scopes because the point of impact would change with a power change.  I still have a 6.5 Swede with a 4X scope that flatten a Muley at approximately 150 yards.  An Elk presents a much large kill zone then a deer, worry not.

As time goes on I am replacing my 4x scopes with variable power scopes, but I find myself hunting with the scopes in the lowest power.  A few years back I had an oppertunity at three Muley bucks at over 250 yards.  I had time to set down turn the scope up from 2x to 10x and sight on the buck I want.  At 10X all my wondering showed up as the cross hairs moved across his chest.  This was a real event, normally I do my shooting at the lowest power.

The biggest down fall that hunters have is the failure to practice shooting.  Practice cost money, but practice with a scoped .22 rifle has a lot of benefits because you are using a scope, acquiring breathing skills, and trigger control.  Taking my grandson out and shoting up bulk .22 shells is a lot of fun.  My seven year old nephew has fired over a 1000 rounds in a new CZ .22 rifle in the last six months.  The .22 is a cheap way of getting in a lot of practice. 

Over the years I have been around a lot of hunters and hunter camps.  Years back the big excuse was that the scope blacked out on them when they brought it up on their game.  Proper mounting and focus are key to success.  One needs to practice "with an empty" rifle, shouldering the rifle and sighting.  The norm for many hunters is to take the rifle to the range, shot at a target, and then put the rifle away until they go hunting.  Before the season sighting practice from all positions pay off.  I have never taken a deer from a bench rest.

My first Colorado Mule deer was taken with a Savage 110, in 270 Win. top with a 4X Banner.  The shot was a steep uphill shot.  I used a big boulder for my bench rest and the rifle did the job.  Before the trip I had fired over one hundred rounds from the .270. 

[lefteyedon]

   
 Buy a used Savage chambered for 270 or 30.06 and budget about $200 for a good enough 3X9X40 scope. If you shop online you can find  some killer deals on the most common scopes. A $400 Elk rifle is doable though $550 is a more realistic price range.

 
Any Mauser based 30.06 that is in good shape would do as well.

Good Luck
Gary

[rickyp]

GCW ,
 If all you have, feel commutable with  and can afford is the 4X scope then use if but before you put it on think about this.
At 300 yards the cross hairs will cover a very large part of the animal's vitals, With the 4x you will be more picking a location on the animal and not a spot. You will be more aiming for the front shoulder instead of sighting in the exact spot you want to hit such as the heard. With the higher magnifications you have a much bigger margin of error.
You and your son will be using the same rifle, No rifle will shot to the same P.O.I. for two different people. if you are using a 9 pr 12X both of you will be more likely to beable to Put a bullet in the vitals.
Do you really want to spend all that money on the hunting trip, ammo, rifle Then put a scope that "will work" and  take a chance of not making a good hit and loosing the animal?

I just love it when people say something use to work for use so it should work for you. There is a reason for it to be "use to" and not  use all the time.
 Hunters use to use there work boots for hunting and wrap rags around them for insulation, Many hunters lost toes doing this.  hunters use to use iron sights and the 30-30 for elk and many of them have been killed like this but does this mean it is still a good choice for elk? Times change technology changes (not always for the better) Just because a fixed power scope worked in the 60"s doesn't mean it is the right choice now. Variable scopes are now better then ever and are on par with a fixed power.

[Siskiyou]

The Savage 110 package deals are currently selling for $400.00.  The advertised packages have been in 30-06 or 7mm Remington magnum with a 3x9 Simmons scope mounted on the rifle.  Recently another outfit was offering deals on Winchester M70 rifles in the 7mm WSM.  The Winchesters also offer a Simmons scope.  Many sportsmen miss out on these deals because they do not subscribe to a newspaper. 

A good 4X scope is a starting point and not always the lowest cost answer.  Standard crosshairs do not cover up a lot of the target at long range.  The newer generation Dual X reticle, or what ever the manufacture calls them does cover-up more target area and are more suited to hunting in heavier cover.  A better test of a 4X scope comes from shooting small game using standard crosshairs.  I have shot a boat load of rock chucks out to 150 hundred yards with a .270 Win.  using a 4x scope.  Not the ideal chuck rifle, but you go chuck hunting with what you have.  The bottom line is the standard cross hairs did not cover up a little rock chuck.  A rock chuck is a smaller target then the kill zone on a deer or adult Elk which is two or three times larger then an adult deer.

Admittedly after today I will have only one deer rifle with a 4x scope.  I will be replacing a bargain basement 4x with a 3x9 Banner on a rifle that was given to me.  The Banner has a proven track record, but is being moved to make room for a shorter 3x9 that will not fit on my long action rifle. 

An issue with early variable power scopes was that the crosshairs would increase in thickness when the power was cranked up.  This was rather bothersome and I did not purchase my first variable scope unit 1969 or later.  It is simple; a fixed power scope is less likely to have problems.  Technology has improved many of the lowest price scopes around, but take a look at what you are buying.  Your past Colorado experience will pay-off.  In the late fall I have gone from 85 degree weather to minus 15 degree weather in Western Colorado.  And snow came with the weather change.  A low cost fix power or variable power scope may fail you at a critical time in a changing climate.  I have always hunted with a limited budget.  I have had some cheap scopes cause me problems when it comes to weather.  The Banner’s have never failed me, nor my more recent Weavers. 

I keep an unmounted 4x scope handy along with a pair of binoculars to watch deer.  You never know who will be taking a nap out back and the cross hair do not cover a large area on this buck.  Oops we are talking Elk.



NONYA's sugestion regarding the 710 package also fits.  There is a good choice of package deals in suitable calibers.

[shoottothrill]

About 6 years ago i purchased a 110 30.06. the next year i took a 400 yard shot on christmas morning on a cow hunt and hit a beautiful cow with both shots. this was my first hunt and my savage is forever dear to me because of it.

[sluggo]

 The Savage 110 action is tough, falls in line behind the Mauser, Rem 700, Winchester mod 70, rebarrel the Savage 110 to whatever caliber you want, it'll take the heat...

[handirifle]

That 4x scope will be under powered for long range shots it will be at it's best for shots of 100 yeards or less

The 4X on my Savage 30-06 is near perfect for a hunting scope.  Leaves a bit to be desired for making itty bitty groups, but oh, well.

With the rifle zerored 1 1/2" high at 100yds, 180gr loads, for 300yard shots, I just put the top of the bottom bold section of the crosshair on the target and bang.  8" steel plate gets rung all day long that way.  Yea I think a Savage would do it, but you already bought a Win.

[DaveShooter]

Over the last 20 years I have been out to CO with a group of friends elk hunting several times now.It is a do it youeslf ungiuded hunt.I have not been able to make the trip the last few years due to personal reasons ,due to a run of bad luck I had to sell most of my guns off.Now Im at the point in my life were me and my son dont have to answer to anyone and we can afford to start going back out to CO to chase elk.My ? is do you guys feel that the Savage 110 line of guns is capiable of shooting good enough to make a 300yds shot to harvist a Elk.I need to put a elk rifle togather for under 400.00 dollar price range.I do allread have a scope,Leupold veri xII3x9x40 that was a gift from onr of the guys that we hunt with out there,he upgrade to a better scope.I dont have a problem with buying a used oler model savage or buying one of the new non accu trigger models to make it happen in this price range.This will be me and my son vaction if we can draw tags for elk and mule deer.Also me and him would most likley have to share this gun while we are out for long range shooting because im letting him carry my 270 stevens.I would also like to know what the recoil is like on these guns in magnum calibers for the longer shots.thank you

Man I would get the savage in a heart-beat. They are a great rifle for the money. I just picked up my 6th savage rifle in my collection it is a rem-.222 in a 110E I changed the stock to a ramline. Sure it is not as pretty as my 2 mod sav 99's and 1- 1895 308 but i don't care the trigger is as sweet as honey on the 110E. Savage builds one heck of a rifle. All the best to ya and good hunting.
DaveShooter

[Idaho Ron]

My first rifle was a Stevens 110 in a 270 win. I got a Weaver K6 at the pawn shop for next to nothing. I heard that they were great scopes. I got this one and sent it in to a shop in Texas to rebuild it.  It still has the scope on it, but I up graded the mounts, and rings to Leupold. My daughter used the rifle to shoot her elk. Her load was a 130 gr Hornady  at 2800 fps. This is a very light load and she shot it well.  One day at the range she out shot 5 guys that were shooting mags of one kind or another. To this day I bet she can still out shoot them. She was never scared of the guns recoil. While they would never admit to it those guys were scared of their guns.
Here is proof that a "savage" can put a elk down,  Ron

[mdatlanta]

My first rifle was a Stevens 110 in a 270 win. I got a Weaver K6 at the pawn shop for next to nothing. I heard that they were great scopes. I got this one and sent it in to a shop in Texas to rebuild it.  It still has the scope on it, but I up graded the mounts, and rings to Leupold. My daughter used the rifle to shoot her elk. Her load was a 130 gr Hornady  at 2800 fps. This is a very light load and she shot it well.  One day at the range she out shot 5 guys that were shooting mags of one kind or another. To this day I bet she can still out shoot them. She was never scared of the guns recoil. While they would never admit to it those guys were scared of their guns.
Here is proof that a "savage" can put a elk down,  Ron

Ron,

What a great posting!  Imagine!  A young woman drops a big Elk using a "cheap" rifle with a modest fixed-power scope, chambered in the most plain-vanilla caliber, shooting "light" bullets that didn't cost $3 each, and which were traveling at (gasp!) less than 3000fps.  My goodness, it just occurred to me that her rifle is probably just a "push-feed", too!   It's a wonder that not only could she apparently see what she was shooting at, but that the rifle actually fed and fired the cartridge and shot accurately enough to hit the animal.  All that and the bullet didn't bounce off or blow up!

Heck, from what I've been reading on the web and in a lot of the hunting/shooting rags for the past few years, a person would be foolish to hunt Elk with anything less than a Big Name rifle which has (at a minimum) a $400 4-12 variable power scope mounted on it, chambered in a .30 cal. magnum of some sort (bigger would be better), and shooting premium bullets of no less than 180grs at 3000+ fps.

I wonder if she realized just how "under equipped" she was?  Judging from her smile, and the results, I don't think so (and I hope she never does!).

Please excuse my sarcasm aimed at equipment snobs, but it sure is satisfying to see that regular stuff works just fine. 

Mike

[Idaho Ron]

I take it you like you rifles the way we do Vanilla.  I have two vanilla rifles a savage 30-06 and this 270.  They work great for us.  Ron

[GCW]

Ron great picture and story,I did end up selling the winchester back to the guy I had bought it from.I did end up picking up a older 110 in 270 at a local trader days .It needs the stock refinished on it but should clean up nice .The scope mount that was on the gun when I bought it is to long to mount the 4x  burris on it so I will have to put another scope or buy differnt mount for it.Right now I have a cheap 3x9 tasco mounted on it and it shot good.A littile work and some more scronging and I should have a great rifle.And as of right now It is ooking like I am going to make it to CO for the second season this year

[GCW]

At one time in my life,I could afford to go out and buy the best of everything,I had the latest and greatest thing on the market.But the last two years have been such a struggle for me and my son to just survive,we have lost everything and hunting and fishing is our only source of recreation that we have.Most everything that we have is what we can piece together,I have to spend my paycheck to pay the bills so we make due with what we have or get.I personally have found that I enjoy hunting and fishing more now then I ever have buy getting buy with as simple as passable .If it was not for a few very good friends alot would not possible for us

[mdatlanta]

I take it you like you rifles the way we do Vanilla.  I have two vanilla rifles a savage 30-06 and this 270.  They work great for us.  Ron

I do like Vanilla!  I like champagne and expensive rifles, too.  Admiring high-dollar rifles and scopes and arguing the merits of one caliber and bullet combo over another is great fun, but it just seems that we (me included) get so caught up in all the equipment hype that we often forget what's really important.  I can't see how a $1000 rifle,  as cool as it might be, would make that young lady's smile any bigger.

I think GCW is on the right track...because of his current difficulties he may not have the sexiest rifle in the woods, but he's getting out there; and to my way of thinking that's what is most important.   Sometimes "less is more". 

[GCW]

I believe any more in the keep it simple Principal.A bad choice in picking a wife left me and my son with no choice but liquidate everything that I had to pay off my wifes debts after she went to live in another part of the state.The great thing about  all of this I have learned to make due with what is at hand.After 2 years we are seeing lite at the end of the tunnel.The greatest thing about this whole deal is I have learned to save money for those rainy day,and just to enjoy life and not to try to keep up with everyone else.Extras in life is just not a options right now ,everything extra that we do get we get buy scrounging or horse trading,lol,It has almost became a Hobey.My tag for CO is being paid for buy a group of local men who need someone to drive there truck and gear out there and back.Im  thankful to have a job and to have time to spend time in the outdoors and also not above sleeping on the camp floor just to have the privilege to hunt out there once againe