I apologize up front if this is too much reading. Blame my 9th grade typing teacher in Greenville, TX. 
I've been hankering for a .308 for years now. I'm a cheap son of a gun at heart (raised that way out of necessity) and I love the "basic" nature of this caliber, it's versatility and esp. it's availability in everything from $8/box surplus to $45/box custom match grade ammo. But I've never owned one until yesterday.
Having a good sum in Bass Pro gift cards I've been holding onto for a while, I decided I was going to get a .308 from the Katy store come hell or high water. It was just a matter of which gun. I looked at every .308 they had, and the fine gentleman who was helping me (Don, I think?) was gracious enough to scour the back storeroom for more when he realized I was going to buy a rifle that evening. They had about 5 on the shelf, but he came out with a Savage 11 scoped package that I fell in love with. I looked at everything they had from the cheap (but nice) Mossberg Patriot to the Browning A-Bolt II and Ruger Gunsite Scout. Cost was not an obstacle since I wanted to buy a gun I could hunt with when I'm 90.
The salesman was very knowledgeable and said he had become a real Savage fan over the years for their ability to shoot everything very well, and some ammo really, really well. I had read volumes about Savage accuracy, so I was sold when that stock hit my shoulder and the gun fit like a glove. In fact, the Savage 11 was the best fitting rifle (and one of the lightest, which was a priority for me) I shouldered by a long shot.
So with a hearty handshake and thank you to the friendly and capable salesman, I sent my info to BATF and Homeland Security and then went grocery shopping for the new pet while I waited. I wanted to find at least 4 kinds of ammo that are very common - stuff I could expect to get at a Wal-mart in Del Rio at 10:15 the night before opening day if you know what I mean (not that I've ever done that... <cough>). What I came up with was the trusty "green box" of Remington Core-lokt 150's, Winchester 150's, Hornady Whitetail (quickly becoming one of my favorites) in 150, and then the much anticipated Hornady Lite reduced recoil in 125 grain.
I figured that out of those four, one would group well (and I'm not gonna lie - part of me hoped it would be the Hornady Lite!).
So today I hustled home from work and did a quick cleaning on the gun, then it was off to the range. I was more than a bit annoyed to find an older gentleman and his son shooting pistols on "my" rifle range (how dare they!) but they saw that I was anxious to get shooting in the limited daylight, so they hustled through their pack up and finally the range was mine alone.
( At this point I should mention that I had to replace the rings and bases on that package deal, as they were pretty cheap. The bases were actually steel, but they had a weird dimension on the edges that kept my Weaver rings from fitting, so I had to stop on the way home and get some genuine Weaver bases. $10 later, problem solved, so the gun wore brand new Weaver bases and quad-lock rings and a Leupold 3-9x40 VX-II scope for testing )
First sighter shot was about 2" left at 25 yards, so a quick adjustment and cleaning, and the second shot at 100 yards was just 2" off. Another cleaning and then a 3-shot group with the "expendable" ammo (or so I thought), the Winchester 150's. Turns out, they grouped darn well. Huh. My daughter's gun likes them too. Go figgur!
Second 3-shot group was with the famous "green box" Remington 150's - not impressed.
Third 3-shot group was the Hornady American Whitetail (a promising round) and they were very good. Darn good. Or wait, is that two holes or three? ****. I can't tell. Grrr. I think it's two.
Then a cleaning and the final group of the highly anticipated (for me) Hornady Lite 125's. I've made these out in my head to be the ultimate whitetail round. Maybe they are, maybe not, but I did really enjoy the low recoil, and they actually shot pretty well. Cool.
After another cleaning and letting the rifle cool, I contemplated another series of 3-shot groups in the fading light. I figured I could squeeze it in, so I got started. 3 with the Winchester / Clean / 3 with the Remington / Clean / 3 with the Hornady Whitetail / Clean / then finally when I could barely see - 3 shots with the Hornady Lite 125's...
Now, keep in mind this was rushed and my rifle rest still needs some work. This was not san****s over 4 hours. It was more like a flimsy Chinese rest flying through 24 rounds in 45 minutes! But you gotta go with what you got.
Best group was ... well we'll get back to that.
2nd best group - easily the Winchesters. Nice 1.3" groups in a shape that gave me confidence. Following closely behind was the Hornady Lite (sweet!) at a tidy 1.5" and then lagging behind was the Remington at two-group average of about 2" (yuk!).
Oh yea - the best group. Well the jury is still out. But twice, the Hornady American Whitetail gave me two hole, three-shot groups. Now anyone who has done this knows, you immediately start looking for the 3rd hole. If you're like me, you think "there's no way that's three shots in two holes" and honestly, I can't tell you sitting here if it is or not. I either shot two two-hole 3-shot groups, or I had two of the worst flier/flinches I've ever had. Flip a coin, but it did happen twice, and the better of the two was .68"!
Now, about the rifle...
Likes: 1) it's a Savage 11 with the accu-trigger and they have a reputation for being great shooters, plus if I ever want to swap barrels, they have an advantage there too.
2) Super lightweight. As light or lighter than the Ruger American, which I really considered buying. I hunt on my feet and go in on bikes a lot, and light weight is a real priority for me.
3) Fit. This rifle just fits me perfect. Every time I bring it to my shoulder, the scope is exactly where I want it, and the balance is great.
Dislikes: 1) I had a couple of rough feeds at first (bolt was hanging up and tough to close) but it got better as I used it. By the end it was a non-issue.
2) Recoil. Holy crap. That light gun kicks like a freakin' mule. I was not expecting that as the 7mm-08 with 140 grain bullets didn't seem to kick nearly as bad. But the Hornady Lite 125's were really sweet. Just about like my 30-30, which I'm very used to.
I do expect the groups to get better as the rifle gets shot-in and I plan to take more time and more care with the rest during my next session. Things were a bit rushed tonight, not helped by the two guys who though the rifle range was their personal handgun range with no regard to the guy standing there with a rifle. LOL. You gotta love small town gun ranges though.
Well that's it for now. More as I shoot it. 26 rounds tonight was a good start though.
I've been hankering for a .308 for years now. I'm a cheap son of a gun at heart (raised that way out of necessity) and I love the "basic" nature of this caliber, it's versatility and esp. it's availability in everything from $8/box surplus to $45/box custom match grade ammo. But I've never owned one until yesterday.
Having a good sum in Bass Pro gift cards I've been holding onto for a while, I decided I was going to get a .308 from the Katy store come hell or high water. It was just a matter of which gun. I looked at every .308 they had, and the fine gentleman who was helping me (Don, I think?) was gracious enough to scour the back storeroom for more when he realized I was going to buy a rifle that evening. They had about 5 on the shelf, but he came out with a Savage 11 scoped package that I fell in love with. I looked at everything they had from the cheap (but nice) Mossberg Patriot to the Browning A-Bolt II and Ruger Gunsite Scout. Cost was not an obstacle since I wanted to buy a gun I could hunt with when I'm 90.
The salesman was very knowledgeable and said he had become a real Savage fan over the years for their ability to shoot everything very well, and some ammo really, really well. I had read volumes about Savage accuracy, so I was sold when that stock hit my shoulder and the gun fit like a glove. In fact, the Savage 11 was the best fitting rifle (and one of the lightest, which was a priority for me) I shouldered by a long shot.
So with a hearty handshake and thank you to the friendly and capable salesman, I sent my info to BATF and Homeland Security and then went grocery shopping for the new pet while I waited. I wanted to find at least 4 kinds of ammo that are very common - stuff I could expect to get at a Wal-mart in Del Rio at 10:15 the night before opening day if you know what I mean (not that I've ever done that... <cough>). What I came up with was the trusty "green box" of Remington Core-lokt 150's, Winchester 150's, Hornady Whitetail (quickly becoming one of my favorites) in 150, and then the much anticipated Hornady Lite reduced recoil in 125 grain.
I figured that out of those four, one would group well (and I'm not gonna lie - part of me hoped it would be the Hornady Lite!).
So today I hustled home from work and did a quick cleaning on the gun, then it was off to the range. I was more than a bit annoyed to find an older gentleman and his son shooting pistols on "my" rifle range (how dare they!) but they saw that I was anxious to get shooting in the limited daylight, so they hustled through their pack up and finally the range was mine alone.
( At this point I should mention that I had to replace the rings and bases on that package deal, as they were pretty cheap. The bases were actually steel, but they had a weird dimension on the edges that kept my Weaver rings from fitting, so I had to stop on the way home and get some genuine Weaver bases. $10 later, problem solved, so the gun wore brand new Weaver bases and quad-lock rings and a Leupold 3-9x40 VX-II scope for testing )
First sighter shot was about 2" left at 25 yards, so a quick adjustment and cleaning, and the second shot at 100 yards was just 2" off. Another cleaning and then a 3-shot group with the "expendable" ammo (or so I thought), the Winchester 150's. Turns out, they grouped darn well. Huh. My daughter's gun likes them too. Go figgur!
Second 3-shot group was with the famous "green box" Remington 150's - not impressed.
Third 3-shot group was the Hornady American Whitetail (a promising round) and they were very good. Darn good. Or wait, is that two holes or three? ****. I can't tell. Grrr. I think it's two.
Then a cleaning and the final group of the highly anticipated (for me) Hornady Lite 125's. I've made these out in my head to be the ultimate whitetail round. Maybe they are, maybe not, but I did really enjoy the low recoil, and they actually shot pretty well. Cool.
After another cleaning and letting the rifle cool, I contemplated another series of 3-shot groups in the fading light. I figured I could squeeze it in, so I got started. 3 with the Winchester / Clean / 3 with the Remington / Clean / 3 with the Hornady Whitetail / Clean / then finally when I could barely see - 3 shots with the Hornady Lite 125's...
Now, keep in mind this was rushed and my rifle rest still needs some work. This was not san****s over 4 hours. It was more like a flimsy Chinese rest flying through 24 rounds in 45 minutes! But you gotta go with what you got.
Best group was ... well we'll get back to that.
2nd best group - easily the Winchesters. Nice 1.3" groups in a shape that gave me confidence. Following closely behind was the Hornady Lite (sweet!) at a tidy 1.5" and then lagging behind was the Remington at two-group average of about 2" (yuk!).
Oh yea - the best group. Well the jury is still out. But twice, the Hornady American Whitetail gave me two hole, three-shot groups. Now anyone who has done this knows, you immediately start looking for the 3rd hole. If you're like me, you think "there's no way that's three shots in two holes" and honestly, I can't tell you sitting here if it is or not. I either shot two two-hole 3-shot groups, or I had two of the worst flier/flinches I've ever had. Flip a coin, but it did happen twice, and the better of the two was .68"!
Now, about the rifle...
Likes: 1) it's a Savage 11 with the accu-trigger and they have a reputation for being great shooters, plus if I ever want to swap barrels, they have an advantage there too.
2) Super lightweight. As light or lighter than the Ruger American, which I really considered buying. I hunt on my feet and go in on bikes a lot, and light weight is a real priority for me.
3) Fit. This rifle just fits me perfect. Every time I bring it to my shoulder, the scope is exactly where I want it, and the balance is great.
Dislikes: 1) I had a couple of rough feeds at first (bolt was hanging up and tough to close) but it got better as I used it. By the end it was a non-issue.
2) Recoil. Holy crap. That light gun kicks like a freakin' mule. I was not expecting that as the 7mm-08 with 140 grain bullets didn't seem to kick nearly as bad. But the Hornady Lite 125's were really sweet. Just about like my 30-30, which I'm very used to.
I do expect the groups to get better as the rifle gets shot-in and I plan to take more time and more care with the rest during my next session. Things were a bit rushed tonight, not helped by the two guys who though the rifle range was their personal handgun range with no regard to the guy standing there with a rifle. LOL. You gotta love small town gun ranges though.
Well that's it for now. More as I shoot it. 26 rounds tonight was a good start though.
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