Opinions on Savage 111 Long Range Hunter

[chowder]

I was the guy having some grouping problems w/ the LRH .308 last spring. I'm not a a hand loader but did eventually find the Hornady Superformance Match 168 grain Amax to group very well in this rifle. I set up my long Range Hunter w/ a Bushnell 4200 and this combo was consistently very effective for whitetail deer doe management. My muzzle break is frozen open and I have no plans to rectify the situation.
For the coyote season we are using the Savage model 12 in 22-250. I did purchase & install the same Karsten cheek piece used by Savage on the LRH on this 22-250. Using the Hornady 55grain Vmax this rifle groups very well with a relatively inexpensive 8.5-25x 50 Mueller scope.

 

[firemedic4]

Hey fellas, new to this forum, I just bought the 111 in the 338 lapua, fit and finish is superb, not really heavy for a big magnum. I bought one on a recommendation from a buddy who has the 110 and this rifle both in this caliber. He said it shoots as accurate as a custom rifle at 1/3 the cost. Time will tell I guess. Taking it to AK moose and Bear hunting this fall. I liked that I could carry 5 rounds in the mag and have a back up ready if need be.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Unless you are very physically fit and a young buck, you'll quickly dislike the weight as much as you like the accuracy.

I do like my 111LRH but as a 'in one place' firearm and not trekking about and you'll quickly find that the long barrel is a tree branch snagger. In heavy forested hunts, you'll develop the 'hunch back' stance from walking bent over.... Been there, done that.

I'm a creeper for the most part and the 111 limits that because of the weight and the physical size. I find it cumbersome, like carrying a ball bat in front of you, walking through tree branches.

It is just fine to sit quietly with and wait and it excels at that as well as a great blind gun.

...... Why I also purchased a 111 lightweight Savage Hunter in 308WSM. That will be my carry about firearm at half the heft of the 111LRH. 7 versus almost 14 is a lot of granola bars or bottled water or other 'necessary' items.....

Besides, I'm an old fart.

I really enjoy shooting mine. It has a very unique report and the recoil is very light, partially attributable to the weight of the firearm as well as the brake. The 111LRH inspires confidence in the fact that no matter what you aim at, it's going to kill it, at least in North America.

What originally got me tuned in to a 338 Lapua Magnum was Ted Nugent's cousin Rick. He has one and let my fondle it. I was immediately hooked.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I was the guy having some grouping problems w/ the LRH .308 last spring. I'm not a a hand loader but did eventually find the Hornady Superformance Match 168 grain Amax to group very well in this rifle. I set up my long Range Hunter w/ a Bushnell 4200 and this combo was consistently very effective for whitetail deer doe management. My muzzle break is frozen open and I have no plans to rectify the situation.
For the coyote season we are using the Savage model 12 in 22-250. I did purchase & install the same Karsten cheek piece used by Savage on the LRH on this 22-250. Using the Hornady 55grain Vmax this rifle groups very well with a relatively inexpensive 8.5-25x 50 Mueller scope.

Interestingly, I was at odds with either the HS stock or the snot stock with the Karsten.... I chose the Karsten as well. Rick has the HS on his. I feel the Karsten, while not only less expensive, allows more of an adjustment for cheek weld and overall shooting alignment, very crucial with a high power scope and limited eye relief. No point in getting a black eye....IMO.

I just set the cheek where it's most comfortable and aligns my eye with the ocular and then I put a witness mark on the cheek rest on the clamp nut side. That way, if I pull the bolt (I have to drop the cheek to fully rxtract the bolt), realignment is as easy as aligning the witness marks.

Mine came with a fixed brake not that I'd fire it with the brake closed. I don't usually carry Ben-Gay with me...... EGW provides the CNC machined brake and the scope rail BTW.

I believe the favorite feature is the Accutrigger. Mine pulls at a consistent 3 pounds, has very little pre-travel and no creep. It's more finger reflex, like second thought and bang. This is probably the first large caliber rifle that I have no qualms about prior to ignition. It's an extension of my trigger finger.

I did have to pull the action and barrel and remove a tiny bit of the forend with some sandpaper and an appropriate diameter dowel rod. My 'freefloating' was a little too close, as in rip a dollar bill.

Now, if the ammunition was reasonably priced...........

 

[firemedic4]

I sure hope it shoots straight, all the 338 lrh's I have seen shoot drive tacks. I think for what it is it is not that heavy. My Weatherby is 11 lbs anyway. This one shoots a might further

 

[sdhunterman]

I bought one not to long ago. 6.5 x 284. It shot the Norma ammo alright. I have dialed in a handload that shot a 3 shot group under half moa(close to. 4). Berger 140 VLD. I was between a Sendero and this. Cost was the deciding factor.

 

[med7mmstw]

I have a 338 Lapua mag great groups but hornady factory ammo sticks had chamber polished by savage hornady still sticks lapua brass doesnt.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I have a 338 Lapua mag great groups but hornady factory ammo sticks had chamber polished by savage hornady still sticks lapua brass doesnt.

Try spraying the unfired rounds with Hornady One-Shot prior to chambering.

If you search around here (on forum) you'll find some interesting comments about Joyce Hornady .338 Lapua factory loads and brass.

Aside from the suspect .338 caliber, I like Hornady components, brass, projectiles and load data. I guess you can't be good with everything.

 

[Brad615]

Hi,
I'm also new to this forum so here it goes. This past feb I purchased the savage model 111 long range hunter in a 7mm rem mag. I did alot of reserach before deciding to purchase a savage, and was impressed with the gun when I received it. Then the nightmare began, first off I went through a few quality scopes & probably 3 different bases/rings to find out that the holes on the receiver that were drilled by savage were mis-aligned! This includes the one piece talley's, and the leupold prw rings! I called savage which told me to return it for them to look into it. I did some reserach & pretty much found out that they would only correct or replace if windage adjustable rings couldn't solve the problem! I happened to have a set of windage adjustable rings, so I installed them & that did solve my problem of the scope running out of adjustment to the left! I also had the same issue that has been mentioned on this forum of the stock hitting the so called free floating barrel! I also had to have that corrected by a good friend of mine who is also loading my berger bullets. The gun is finally cutting hole's at a 100 yards using 180 grain bergers which I am very happy about! My problem is before this gun was ever shipped to me you would think savage would double check their product! This gun should have never left the factory with the issues it had! Especially coming from a company who is stating that this isn't the same old savage! & The definition of accuracy! I would not buy another savage due to what I have had to deal with. There are plenty of gun companies out there that double check their products before they leave the factory, in fact you can buy a weatherby vanguard series 2 which GUARANTEES sub-moa with a 3 shot group at a 100 yards for 1/2 the price of the savage LRH! Good luck to all those who have a savage! Stay safe & shootem straight!

 

[Duckman208]

I have owned a LRH in 6.5x284 for about a year. I get 2975 fps out of it with the brake on and can keep 5 shots in 1.5" at 500 yards with 140 Berger Hunting VLD's. I get virtually no change in POI between cold bore and warm bore shots. It didn't take much effort to get it shooting. The weight is just right for me and I really like the adjustable cheekpiece. On the negative side, I don't like the rubbery feel of the crappy plastic stock and the brake freezes up no matter what I do to avoid it. Just left it open and forgot about it. I did have to take some sandpaper to the stock at the forearm tip to fully float the barrel. I won this rifle at a match. My primary hunting rig is a Cooper 52. Performance wise, the Savage doesn't give up much if anything to the Cooper so far. Fit, finish, and overall workmanship, no contest. For short money though, the LRH is probably one of the better performing hunting rigs out there.

Greyfox, I have almost decided on the same setup based on feed back from others on 700yd deer gun with reasonable recoil. The load you have mentioned is what I plan on starting with. Have you taken any deer at long range with this load? I am in Idaho and hunting big muleys so the performance of this load on game is the final criteria I'm looking at. Thanks for your time.

 

[Greyfox]

Greyfox, I have almost decided on the same setup based on feed back from others on 700yd deer gun with reasonable recoil. The load you have mentioned is what I plan on starting with. Have you taken any deer at long range with this load? I am in Idaho and hunting big muleys so the performance of this load on game is the final criteria I'm looking at. Thanks for your time.

I have not shot a mulie past 440 yards with this load, but he was a big Alberta buck that went right down. I have shot 8 whitetails between 550 and 998 yards. All broadside chest shots, one shot kills with complete penetration. 1" entrance, 3" exit with major internal damage. I would not have any problem shooting big mulie at 700+yards with this load.