A Savage for us savages

This little giant is a Savage 112. If you were to google it, you would find that the Savage 112 is available in 25-06 and 300 mag. This beauty is neither, it is a standard .308. When I purchased it, it was a 25-06. Not a bad cartridge, in fact a very good one for long range plinking or varmitting. My problem with the round stemmed not from anything I experienced, but rather from anothers bad range day. It seems a fellow went to a nearby range to zero his rifle for deer season and try out a few loads. His plinker was a .270. If you are not familiar with rifle cartridges, there are some families of cartridges. two prominent ones are based on the 30-06, and the 308. cartridges include, for the 30-06, the 25-06, 6mm Remington, and the 270, and for the 308, the 243 and 7mm-08 The 308 family, being somewhat shorter, will chamber in a 30-06 action.

You can also chamber smaller caliber cartridges in the larger calibers, but those are pointless. The round just bounces down the barrel.

Back to the story. The guy also owned a 308. he did not have that rifle at the range, but by accident he had some 308 rounds in the bottom of his shooting vest, forgotten from his last outing. After an initial group, he reloaded the rifle. he accidentally slipped a 308 round into the magwell of his rifle and chambered the round. One touch of the trigger did put the round down range, but squeezing a 308 caliber slug through a 270 caliber barrel takes considerable force. The bolt of the rifle jammed. He is lucky, some times an accident like that can split the chamber and might kill some one.

That prompted me to opt for the 308. The new barrel is a stainless matte finish. The wife thinks its purdy, and even though she will never fire it, it is displayed in our living room. besides, burlap camouflages anything. It is uncut, retaining its original 26 inch length. 20-22 is optimal for the 308 caliber. you don't get any additional speed with the longer length as you would going from 16 to 20, but what you do gain is control. The added weight reduces recoil allowing a better chance of remaining on target for a fast follow up shot or a chance to observe bullet placement.

This piece is topped with a Tasco 8-32X44 scope. giving the rifle just under .5 MOA at 200 yds. The trigger is factory original, and since this piece was molded before the accutrigger came to be, will eventually get updated to allow for a 1.25 to 1.5 lb trigger pull. Butler Creek lens covers replace the tasco screw in covers which take minutes to remove.

The rifle tips the scale at a mere 12.75 lbs loaded. You will want to be in shape if you haft this through the back country.