My new savage scout rifle

[BarboursvilleBill]

i was pretty excited when i took delivery of my new piece, but now that i've put some rounds on it, it's evident that it needs some refinement. first case, the irons are on 25yd paper out of the box, but there are no instructions in the manual about how to adjust them, so i've left them alone for now--they are Williams, ghost rings and a front blade.
next up, the mag is very difficult to load fully to ten rounds, so i just put in five, as i'm eager to break this machine in. even then, usually the last round will not load, it hangs up before getting into the chamber. in the meantime, i'd like to load singles in it, but that's not as simple as it is in some of my other rifles. i'm thinking it might work well with a single-shot ramp, but i don't know where to look for one.
in spite of the magazine and the feeding problems, i've been able to shoot a 4" group at 100yds using a Bushnell TRS-25 3MOA RDS on the very front of the pic rail. i'll find some moderate glass for it.
my use for this rifle is target shooting and freestanding plinking; targets at 50 to 200yds mostly.
i'd appreciate any suggestions or possible sources any of you might be able to suggest. thanks!

 

[Demi-human]

first case, the irons are on 25yd paper out of the box, but there are no instructions in the manual about how to adjust them, so i've left them alone for now--they are Williams, ghost rings and a front blade.

Rear adjustments are in reverse. To make the bullet impact higher, move the rear sight down. To make the bullet impact to the right, move the rear sight to the left. And vice versa.

the mag is very difficult to load fully to ten rounds, so i just put in five, as i'm eager to break this machine in. even then, usually the last round will not load, it hangs up before getting into the chamber.

Fully load it, or as much as one can, and let it sit loaded for a few days. This will “set” the spring and make it a little easier to load. Be sure it is the correct magazine box for the cartridge.
If the last cartridge is nose-diving, there may be an issue with the follower. Some magazine springs can be installed backward and don’t provide enough support to the front of the cartridge.

in the meantime, i'd like to load singles in it, but that's not as simple as it is in some of my other rifles. i'm thinking it might work well with a single-shot ramp, but i don't know where to look for one.

What model is it? There are many makers of Fred Sleds, and even more 3D print files.
At the least it’s a Savage, throw a cartridge in there and close it. NorthlandShooters Supply Is a good place for things Savage.

i've been able to shoot a 4" group at 100yds using a Bushnell TRS-25 3MOA RDS on the very front of the pic rail. i'll find some moderate glass for it.

The ghost rings should be better. Unless the last sentence has more to do with it. One hundred yards is a long way for my eyes to see a one inch object anymore.

 

[Barbaroja]

Rear adjustments are in reverse. To make the bullet impact higher, move the rear sight down. To make the bullet impact to the right, move the rear sight to the left. And vice versa.

I think you’ve got this backwards

 

[Demi-human]

You’re right, @Barbaroja. It’s early and I've stated it exactly backwards.
Nothing like confusing a human that doesn’t know, sorry,@BarboursvilleBill.

I have no excuse! Sleep eludes me and I shouldn’t be posting until coffee!

To iterate correctly,
The rear sight moves in the direction you want the impact to move.

I’d better just stick to my scopes…


Now, what has my gears turning is what Savage has that wears a ghost ring. When I searched them they only came up with the 320s shotguns.

 

[Barbaroja]

You’re right, @Barbaroja. It’s early and I've stated it exactly backwards.
Nothing like confusing a human that doesn’t know, sorry,@BarboursvilleBill.

I have no excuse! Sleep eludes me and I shouldn’t be posting until coffee!

To iterate correctly,
The rear sight moves in the direction you want the impact to move.

I’d better just stick to my scopes…


Now, what has my gears turning is what Savage has that wears a ghost ring. When I searched them they only came up with the 320s shotguns.

My guess would be their hog hunter model!
I’m not aloud to do anything without coffee first

 

[jmr40]

The Scout rifle is the only rifle that I'm aware of with ghost ring sights. Savage website is hard to navigate and that rifle is hard to find.

110 Scout | Hunting and Target Rifle | Savage Arms

 

[H&Hhunter]

I think you’ve got this backwards

I was just gonna say.

 

[Demi-human]

I’ve been doing ARs and trying to like an iron sight for my light weight one. Lighter and no batteries. I swear I even thought it out first to make sure I didn’t do that.

Object fixation crash.

A lot of the rimfire Savages have peeps and ghosts. Offhand practice and plinking at 50 -200 yards with a rimfire would have a lot of my respect.

 

[Hunter 08]

I've been kind of contemplating getting one of these scout rifles or any from any manufacturer. Which caliber did you get your scout rifle in?

 

[jmr40]

the mag is very difficult to load fully to ten rounds, so i just put in five,

The newest version of the Savage Scout uses AICS style magazines. Those are available from several sources with 3 and 5 round mags available. I'm 99.999% sure the factory Ruger mags for their Predator rifles will work as well if you happen to find some at a good price.

Magpul also makes a 5 round AICS style magazine. Those have tabs on the bottom of the follower that are designed to snap off if you want to make it a 6 round magazine. They are shipped with the tabs in place for those areas with 5 round mag limits for hunting.

I had a Ruger Predator 308 that used those magazines. The 10 round mag was just a little too much of a good thing, but the 5 round mags were the sweet spot. I liked the 6 round Magpul the best.

 

[Turkeytider]

Rear adjustments are in reverse. To make the bullet impact higher, move the rear sight down. To make the bullet impact to the right, move the rear sight to the left. And vice versa.

Fully load it, or as much as one can, and let it sit loaded for a few days. This will “set” the spring and make it a little easier to load. Be sure it is the correct magazine box for the cartridge.
If the last cartridge is nose-diving, there may be an issue with the follower. Some magazine springs can be installed backward and don’t provide enough support to the front of the cartridge.
can help
What model is it? There are many makers of Fred Sleds, and even more 3D print files.
At the least it’s a Savage, throw a cartridge in there and close it. NorthlandShooters Supply Is a good place for things Savage.

The ghost rings should be better. Unless the last sentence has more to do with it. One hundred yards is a long way for my eyes to see a one inch object anymore.

That`s an interesting idea about loading a magazine and letting it sit for a few days to enhance loading. Wonder if that will help the function of " standard " Savage factory rifle magazines (? ). I know from experience that reversing magazine springs can help Savage rimfire magazines to function better. Their factory magazines are a weakness in Savage rifles IMO.

 

[dh1633pm]

I got the Ruger. Savage didn’t have one out yet. It should work great. Where are the pics? I don’t like it because it says scout on the box, I like it because it works. With the composite stock it’s light weight, accurate and handy. My friend who used to work at the arms, made a nice 700 scout prototype but the product people in Ilion didn’t think it would sell. I hope you love your purchase and get many years of service. Savage makes good stuff.

 

[Turkeytider]

That looks like a nice deep woods, up close ( 150 yards max ), open sight (quick on target ), camp and " safety " rifle. In the proper caliber (.308 ? ) would sure make one feel safer for those " things that go bump in the night " when off the beaten track!

 

[trackskippy]

I had one of the early Savage Scouts and it was a shooter, as most of my Savage rifles in the past have been. Mine looked like this and wasnt as tactical looking as the new ones.



I had a couple of different scout-type rifles and tried both the Leupold and Burris scout scopes on a couple of them, Much preferred the Leupold.

This was shot off a bipod, prone at 100 yards over about a half hour. 20 rounds of 165 gain Nosler BT's over 4064.

 

[robin banks]

That`s an interesting idea about loading a magazine and letting it sit for a few days to enhance loading. Wonder if that will help the function of " standard " Savage factory rifle magazines (? ). I know from experience that reversing magazine springs can help Savage rimfire magazines to function better. Their factory magazines are a weakness in Savage rifles IMO.

cant understand why the 10 rd mags in bolt actions look like 20 rd mags in a M-14. they must feed single column. why cant they feed from a staggered mag the way bolts have fed for 120 years?

 

[trackskippy]

The old 5 rounders were a staggered mag. I never had any troubles with mine, but I do remember there being complaints. They werent cheap either.

 

[PapaG]

D

I think you’ve got this backwards

efinitely bass ackward

 

[Demi-human]

More like Marlin Backwards!
Bass aren’t big enough for how I do backwards!

 

[Varminterror]

cant understand why the 10 rd mags in bolt actions look like 20 rd mags in a M-14. they must feed single column. why cant they feed from a staggered mag the way bolts have fed for 120 years?

Most bolt action detachable box mags are stagger column, center feed, so they retain rounds well outside of the rifle, but feed well to a round bolt. The center feed design doesn’t allow such a dramatic stagger, so the rounds are closer to single stack than double stack. But they ARE stagger stack. This center feed design means rounds must be fed into the mag from front to back, rather than pressed down from the top, between the mag lips. Naturally, they must strip OUT of the mag the same way, out forwards, never just upwards.

Many INTERNAL/FIXED box mags for bolt rifles are stagger feed, such they use rails on the receiver as feed lips, but this means the mag box and rails are VERY open, and wouldn’t hold rounds as securely outside of the rifle. But this does enable toploading by simply pressing rounds down into the staggered column between the rails. Without this rigid connection between the feed rails and bolt raceways, feeding reliability is reduced - and naturally, a guy can’t front load an internal/fixed mag, they MUST be capable of top loading.

M14/M1a mags are stagger stack, stagger feed, so the rounds do not have to come to the same common centerline at the top of the mag. This allows a shallower angle of stagger, approaching a true double stack, to be used. This allows toploading by pressing rounds straight down into the mag. However, this also does mean guys can drop a mag out of the rifle and watch it spray rounds like a fountain. The feed lips on these mags are more rounded and nearly encapsulate the outer diameter of the rounds on each side - whereas center feed mags typically look more like a pup tent, with straighter feed lips at each side.

There ARE stagger stack, stagger feed bolt action magazines, such as the AIAW magazine. These can topload and are very short, BUT not all rifles will feed well from them. 10 round (really 11 round) AW mags are only slightly taller than 5 round AICS mags. However, these generally take a little doing - receivers must be machined to accept AW mags (no internal feed rails on the receiver) and the mag height on the mag catch becomes more critical. Too low and the bolt misses rounds, too high and the bolt crashes the mag - with about 1/2 of the dimensional forgiveness of a center feed mag. Also, dropping an AW mag typically promotes a fountain of rounds, which will not happen with AICS center feed mags.

M14/M-1A’s have the advantage of mag lip clearance grooves cut down the bottom of the bolt body, which simply aren’t present in bolt rifles. Similarly, AR-15’s rely on locking lugs protruding down into the mag with grooves again cut into the bottom of the BC to clear the mag lips and feed from stagger feed mags. Round bolts like those used in bolt action rifles don’t work this way, and can’t reach as far down into magazines, so center feed DBM’s are more reliable. Stagger feed internal/fixed box mags work well in bolt guns because the feed rails are machined into the receiver, with the assuring of rigid relationship between the feed lips and the bolt, high enough for the bolt to dip down into the stagger stack and pick up rounds.



So THAT is why bolt action 10 round mags are tall.

 

[Laphroaig]

i'm thinking it might work well with a single-shot ramp, but i don't know where to look for one.

A Fred Sled might work. I'm not up on the specifics of the scout rifle.

https://www.kinneysshootingsupply.com/product-p/ss-2611.htm

 

[robin banks]

Most bolt action detachable box mags are stagger column, center feed, so they retain rounds well outside of the rifle, but feed well to a round bolt. The center feed design doesn’t allow such a dramatic stagger, so the rounds are closer to single stack than double stack. But they ARE stagger stack. This center feed design means rounds must be fed into the mag from front to back, rather than pressed down from the top, between the mag lips. Naturally, they must strip OUT of the mag the same way, out forwards, never just upwards.

Many INTERNAL/FIXED box mags for bolt rifles are stagger feed, such they use rails on the receiver as feed lips, but this means the mag box and rails are VERY open, and wouldn’t hold rounds as securely outside of the rifle. But this does enable toploading by simply pressing rounds down into the staggered column between the rails. Without this rigid connection between the feed rails and bolt raceways, feeding reliability is reduced - and naturally, a guy can’t front load an internal/fixed mag, they MUST be capable of top loading.

M14/M1a mags are stagger stack, stagger feed, so the rounds do not have to come to the same common centerline at the top of the mag. This allows a shallower angle of stagger, approaching a true double stack, to be used. This allows toploading by pressing rounds straight down into the mag. However, this also does mean guys can drop a mag out of the rifle and watch it spray rounds like a fountain. The feed lips on these mags are more rounded and nearly encapsulate the outer diameter of the rounds on each side - whereas center feed mags typically look more like a pup tent, with straighter feed lips at each side.

There ARE stagger stack, stagger feed bolt action magazines, such as the AIAW magazine. These can topload and are very short, BUT not all rifles will feed well from them. 10 round (really 11 round) AW mags are only slightly taller than 5 round AICS mags. However, these generally take a little doing - receivers must be machined to accept AW mags (no internal feed rails on the receiver) and the mag height on the mag catch becomes more critical. Too low and the bolt misses rounds, too high and the bolt crashes the mag - with about 1/2 of the dimensional forgiveness of a center feed mag. Also, dropping an AW mag typically promotes a fountain of rounds, which will not happen with AICS center feed mags.

M14/M-1A’s have the advantage of mag lip clearance grooves cut down the bottom of the bolt body, which simply aren’t present in bolt rifles. Similarly, AR-15’s rely on locking lugs protruding down into the mag with grooves again cut into the bottom of the BC to clear the mag lips and feed from stagger feed mags. Round bolts like those used in bolt action rifles don’t work this way, and can’t reach as far down into magazines, so center feed DBM’s are more reliable. Stagger feed internal/fixed box mags work well in bolt guns because the feed rails are machined into the receiver, with the assuring of rigid relationship between the feed lips and the bolt, high enough for the bolt to dip down into the stagger stack and pick up rounds.

View attachment 1114435

So THAT is why bolt action 10 round mags are tall.

you got a lot of know how

 

[BarboursvilleBill]

I've been kind of contemplating getting one of these scout rifles or any from any manufacturer. Which caliber did you get your scout rifle in?

.223 Remington, same as i've had on my Browning Lever, a Mini-14, and, any ARs i might have had. It's a Savage Model 110 Scout; but it's not much of a 'Scout' as it weighs 7.7lbs without a sling or MAG! even. i like many of its features: it is 38" long and sports a thick 16.25" barrel, button-rifled and free-floated.

FYI, and thanks.

 

[BarboursvilleBill]

I got the Ruger. Savage didn’t have one out yet. It should work great. Where are the pics? I don’t like it because it says scout on the box, I like it because it works. With the composite stock it’s light weight, accurate and handy. My friend who used to work at the arms, made a nice 700 scout prototype but the product people in Ilion didn’t think it would sell. I hope you love your purchase and get many years of service. Savage makes good stuff.

Thank you! i'm planning on it.

 

[chicharrones]

cant understand why the 10 rd mags in bolt actions look like 20 rd mags in a M-14. they must feed single column. why cant they feed from a staggered mag the way bolts have fed for 120 years?

Detachable magazine guns need wider bellies than internal magazine guns that hold the same ammo in width. Blame that on the extra width taken up by the detachable magazine.

M14's and their kin may have wider bellies than a typical rifle originally sized for an internal magazine. Especially true for sporter based detachable magazine rifles with relatively slim bellies.

Fer example, a magazine from a Ruger GSR compared to an M14 magazine below.

View attachment 1114778

 

[Varminterror]

M14's and their kin may have wider bellies than a typical rifle originally sized for an internal magazine. Especially true for sporter based detachable magazine rifles with relatively slim bellies.

Fer example, a magazine from a Ruger GSR compared to an M14 magazine below.

That both of these magazines share the same footprint (left is the same footprint as the GSR mag pictured above). But one is a stagger stack, stagger feed, while the other is a narrower stagger stack to accommodate its center feed design.



In principle, the GSR can take the AIAW mag on the right, but the receiver has to be modified to let the mag lips replace the feed rails on the receiver.