First Shots - Scout Project

Readers will remember that back in January, I bought a Savage 10FCM Scout, about a month before Savage came out with its Model 11 Scout.  Mine is the third generation of Savage's Scout rifle.  It still has the black stock, but the stock is the Accustock model, with Savage's aluminum bedding block in the stock.  It also has the Accutrigger.

Savage 10 FCM, as it came out of the box.

In March, I ordered a Burris Scout scope and mounted it.

I played with the scope around the house, trying to learn to use it, but I never got to the range with the rifle.  Until this morning.  I found a window of time, several hours, where Milady didn't want me underfoot, so I grabbed a box of my standard .308 hunting ammo and headed to the range. For those that wonder, my standard .308 hunting ammo is a Federal GMM brass, lit with a Winchester Large Rifle Primer, pushed by 43 grains of Reloder 15, and topped with a Sierra 168 grain GameKing.  It's very good, consistent ammo, that shows MOA tendencies in several rifles.  I don't take any special pains in building that ammo, simply because we have several .308s in the family, and I don't know which rifle it may be shot in.  It's pretty much my version of factory ammo.  It runs out of the tube at 2600 fps, and does everything we expect .308 ammo to do.

When I got to the range, I set up a target at 25 yards and sat down at the bench.  I used a 1-inch target dot and within three rounds, had zero'd the rifle at 12 yards, so when the line went cold, I hiked out to the 100 yard line and put up another target, this time with a 2-inch dot to verify the zero.  Six shots later, and one small adjustment, I had the zero fairly well nailed, so I waited for the line to go cold.

I noticed, trying to zero the rifle at 100 yards, that the reticle in that Burris scope pretty much hid that 2" dot way out at 100 yards.  Regular readers know that I've got some scopes, and some rifles that seeing and hitting a 1" dot at 100 yards is no real challenge.  Nice optics, plenty of magnification, and hitting very small targets isn't much of an issue.  This scope isn't for that type of shooting.  This is a Scout rifle, designed for practical shooting from a variety of positions and at a variety of targets.

When the line went cold, I went down to the 100 yard line with another backer, this time with a 3-inch dot, so that I could see the dot beyond the cross-hairs, but this time I didn't try for gnat's eyelash accuracy.  So, I moved the sandbags off  the bench, got on my elbows, and loaded a 10 round magazine.  I started shooting and cranking the bolt, probably a shot every four seconds, letting fly.  In less than a minute I was done.  The few other fellows on the line were looking at me as if I'd lost my mind.

Yet, when I walked down to get my target, I was fairly pleased with what I found.

That ins't bad for ten shots from a new rifle with a sighting system I'm still learning.  10 shots, all minute-of-Coke-can.  It's certiainly capable of taking a deer, or a hog, or any varmint that presents itself .  No, it's not benchrest quality, but the rifle wasn't built to compete in benchrest class.  It's a hunting rifle, a practical rifle with a low power scope.

I'm very pleased and as I spend more time with it, I can see that it will become an integral part of my battery.  What I did like about it is that it's very fast.  That forward mounted scope tends to promote shooting with both eyes open.  When you shoulder the rifle, the crosshairs seem to be hanging over the target, simply align the rifle and fire.  Snap-shooting is no problem with this rifle, and the serious caliber, along with that 168 grain bullet will send the message to whatever you're shooting at that you are serious indeed.