Savage 111 budget build

[desertbowhunter]

Ok so 2 years ago I bought a stock Savage 111 in 7mm rem mag. I decided to build it up, because this year I get to rifle deer hunt (if the draw gods are good to me) ). So my question to you guys is what else can I possibly do it? Its had the following done:

New Boyds Thumbhole stock

Pillar and glass bedded

Vortex viper 6.5-20x50 scope

Rifle basix trigger Sav 1 set to 2 lbs.

Bubble level for the scope

Harris Bi pod

Shrewd brake

Custom turrets to come once I figure out a factory load that shoots good out of it.

Thoughts are welcome or am I pretty much done? Besides a new barrel. I figured I would get what I could out of the factory barrel and then just re barrel later. Good factory ammo suggestions would be nice also. Thanks for looking.

[John O]

How do you like the brake, and who did it for you?

[desertbowhunter]

I dont know I havent shot it yet. The brake was put on by Bryan Smeltzer from 2nd amendment in Tucson.

[452b264]

Reloading equipment.

[nighthawk]

Reloading equipment.

+1!

[desertbowhunter]

Reloading huh. Thats what everyone keeps telling me. But what if im a bowhunter that only rifle hunts once every 3-5 years? I was thinking of trying some Hornady superformance ammo. Has anyone tried shooting this ammo? Is there better stuff out there that I dont have to reload?

[PRDATR]

If you don't reload and want a good round for long range then I would use these or the 180's when they come available.

 

http://store.iqmetals.com/trophygold7mmremingtonmag168grbergerhuntingvld.aspx

[desertbowhunter]

Sweet! I will give them a try. Thanx for the reply.

[azgutpile]

What you don't understand now is that an accurate rifle is a lot of fun to shoot... I suspect that you will be putting the bow down for a couple years.

[desertbowhunter]

Haha we shall see azgutpile. I love hunting no matter what weapon. Im pumped to see what I can do with this set up to say the least.

[willhunt4coues]

You could replace the bolt body and bolt head with the PTG Body & Head. The only difference is the body is closer to spec with your raceway and the head it a tempered steel. With most factory heads on the savage they begin to pit around the flash hole the PTG one will not pit and is tighter on spec. If you do change these out you will have to headspace again which will take any gunsmith minutes to do. Just something else you could do.

 

You could also replace the barrel with a Shilen, Criterion and make it more precise and accurate.

[desertbowhunter]

Willhunt4coues barrel is coming im sure. I looked into the ptg bolt body but couldnt figure out what the benefit would be. Thanks for clearing that up. Your 6.5 is badass by theway.

[azsugarbear]

You seem to have your rig pretty well buttoned up. Any more dollars spent there would probably not yield the incremental improvements in accuracy you are looking for. Having an accurate rifle is the first obstacle to successful LR hunting/shooting. The second hurdle would be a decent scope with repeatable dial up and return to zero. The scope you are running is a bare minimum, but it will get the job done. Challenge number three is to absolutely know the range of your target. What kind of rangefinder are you using? To my mind, anything over 500 yds. requires a Swaro or a Leica 16. Both should be quite consistent out to 1000 yds. Even with these two, you still need to be careful when ranging. The divergence of their laser beams can be so wide that they may pick up another object other than your target and give you a false reading. Finally, the last stage is lots of experience with you rifle. This is why so many are pointing you in the direction of reloading. Once you have your reloading gear, your can make more accurate ammo for your rifle at roughly half the cost of store bought stuff. Developing your load and drop data (both on paper and out in the field) is only the first step. You then need to practice, practice, practice. Not at the range, but out in the real world. Learning to shoot prone, sitting, with a bi-pod, resting on your pack, etc. stretched out on the ground, over rocks and cactus. Shooting uphill, downhill and cross-canyon. Learning to shoot in all types and speeds/directions of wind. This is the only way you can learn you limits with this rifle. Know what can do and also what you cannot do with any assured consistency. Lots and lots of bullets down range. Remember the old adage: 'Beware the one gun man'.

[yotebuster]

You seem to have your rig pretty well buttoned up. Any more dollars spent there would probably not yield the incremental improvements in accuracy you are looking for. Having an accurate rifle is the first obstacle to successful LR hunting/shooting. The second hurdle would be a decent scope with repeatable dial up and return to zero. The scope you are running is a bare minimum, but it will get the job done. Challenge number three is to absolutely know the range of your target. What kind of rangefinder are you using? To my mind, anything over 500 yds. requires a Swaro or a Leica 16. Both should be quite consistent out to 1000 yds. Even with these two, you still need to be careful when ranging. The divergence of their laser beams can be so wide that they may pick up another object other than your target and give you a false reading. Finally, the last stage is lots of experience with you rifle. This is why so many are pointing you in the direction of reloading. Once you have your reloading gear, your can make more accurate ammo for your rifle at roughly half the cost of store bought stuff. Developing your load and drop data (both on paper and out in the field) is only the first step. You then need to practice, practice, practice. Not at the range, but out in the real world. Learning to shoot prone, sitting, with a bi-pod, resting on your pack, etc. stretched out on the ground, over rocks and cactus. Shooting uphill, downhill and cross-canyon. Learning to shoot in all types and speeds/directions of wind. This is the only way you can learn you limits with this rifle. Know what can do and also what you cannot do with any assured consistency. Lots and lots of bullets down range. Remember the old adage: 'Beware the one gun man'.

What he said.

[AverageJoe]

Superformance ammo has always ran sub moa in my guns when shooting factory ammo. Consistancy has been decent from lot to lot. I prefer Hornady custom factory ammo as opposed to Superformance...not as fast but seems to shoot better.