Savage Long Range Hunter Rifle Review
The stock is what Savage calls their Accu-Stock. It is fully bedded with laid in aluminum. This stock absorbed recoil well and was a pleasure to use for extended shooting at the range. It comes with an adjustable cheek piece. It is adjusted by the use of two bolts with Allen heads. In comparison, the first models had knobs and threads that protruded out on one side. This resulted in quick adjustment but would tear up a soft case when sliding the rifle in and out. The adjustable cheek piece is a good idea but does need to be lowered when using a cleaning rod. Overall the stock is well thought out and impressive for a factory rifle.
The adjustable cheek rest with the new Allen head adjustment.
The action is typical Savage with the bolt being of the two lug design. It is smooth and works flawlessly if the shooter does his part. It has a magazine that is loaded from the top but can be emptied from the bottom. On this .260 the magazine is 2.97 inches long which allowed for some leeway on the overall length of my loads. Savage moved their bolt release to just in front of the trigger guard. It does work in conjunction with the trigger. This helped clean up the lines of the action. The trigger was their Accu-Trigger and is adjustable from 1.5 to 6 pounds. From the factory mine was set at 2.5 pounds which is perfect for me.
The action screws.
The rifle came with Weaver scope bases. I mounted a new Nightforce SHV using Burris Tactical rings. Reloading was an interesting endeavor in that no matter what brand bullet I used, the smallest groups remained very close to MOA. That was until I moved up to the 140 grain Berger VLD, set out to 2.95 inches overall length, pushed by 40.0 grains of H4350. Going down range at 2604 fps, this load shot at one half MOA consistently. Just to show how even a slight adjustment to a load can make a difference, I tried bumping up the load to the maximum load listed in the Berger manual of 41.5 grains H4350. That 1.5 grain difference opened up the group to almost MOA again. The above results were at 100 yards on my own range. I took it out to the Best of the West Range for some long range shooting. I shot steel plates out to 750 yards with consistent hits. At 500 yards I played around by shooting some clay pigeons that the range staff had placed on the berm. Overall I was pleased with the rifle's accuracy and comfort for shooting off a bench.
The Remington .260 is here to stay for a long while. Currently there are seven different ammunition makers selling this ammunition in multiple bullet weights. So if you are not a reloader, the .260 may be the way to go.
Savage makes fine rifles for the money and accuracy is usually great. This Savage LRH is a good long range rifle for the beginner, the experienced shooter or hunter. The muzzle brake would probably show a bigger difference reducing recoil in the magnum calibers. It is not a lightweight rifle, weighing in at 10 pounds with scope and rings.
After twenty-five years with a major law enforcement agency, John Johnston retired to the hill country of central Texas. His law enforcement career was diverse with assignments with the tactical/motorcycle unit, patrol, and criminal investigation. After retiring, writing became his calling. He started with a newspaper column which, he still writes and then moved up to major magazines in the area of shooting and hunting. He is known for his unbiased product testing and evaluations. Having a full size range from 25-450 yards next to his home was his dream come true. 2010 marks his fiftieth anniversary in the hunting, shooting and reloading sports. You will notice his writing style is quite relaxed and he prefers to write like he is speaking to you around a camp fire. John welcomes questions and comments whether good or bad. You can reach John at [email protected].
The adjustable cheek rest with the new Allen head adjustment.
The action is typical Savage with the bolt being of the two lug design. It is smooth and works flawlessly if the shooter does his part. It has a magazine that is loaded from the top but can be emptied from the bottom. On this .260 the magazine is 2.97 inches long which allowed for some leeway on the overall length of my loads. Savage moved their bolt release to just in front of the trigger guard. It does work in conjunction with the trigger. This helped clean up the lines of the action. The trigger was their Accu-Trigger and is adjustable from 1.5 to 6 pounds. From the factory mine was set at 2.5 pounds which is perfect for me.
The action screws.
The rifle came with Weaver scope bases. I mounted a new Nightforce SHV using Burris Tactical rings. Reloading was an interesting endeavor in that no matter what brand bullet I used, the smallest groups remained very close to MOA. That was until I moved up to the 140 grain Berger VLD, set out to 2.95 inches overall length, pushed by 40.0 grains of H4350. Going down range at 2604 fps, this load shot at one half MOA consistently. Just to show how even a slight adjustment to a load can make a difference, I tried bumping up the load to the maximum load listed in the Berger manual of 41.5 grains H4350. That 1.5 grain difference opened up the group to almost MOA again. The above results were at 100 yards on my own range. I took it out to the Best of the West Range for some long range shooting. I shot steel plates out to 750 yards with consistent hits. At 500 yards I played around by shooting some clay pigeons that the range staff had placed on the berm. Overall I was pleased with the rifle's accuracy and comfort for shooting off a bench.
The Remington .260 is here to stay for a long while. Currently there are seven different ammunition makers selling this ammunition in multiple bullet weights. So if you are not a reloader, the .260 may be the way to go.
Savage makes fine rifles for the money and accuracy is usually great. This Savage LRH is a good long range rifle for the beginner, the experienced shooter or hunter. The muzzle brake would probably show a bigger difference reducing recoil in the magnum calibers. It is not a lightweight rifle, weighing in at 10 pounds with scope and rings.
After twenty-five years with a major law enforcement agency, John Johnston retired to the hill country of central Texas. His law enforcement career was diverse with assignments with the tactical/motorcycle unit, patrol, and criminal investigation. After retiring, writing became his calling. He started with a newspaper column which, he still writes and then moved up to major magazines in the area of shooting and hunting. He is known for his unbiased product testing and evaluations. Having a full size range from 25-450 yards next to his home was his dream come true. 2010 marks his fiftieth anniversary in the hunting, shooting and reloading sports. You will notice his writing style is quite relaxed and he prefers to write like he is speaking to you around a camp fire. John welcomes questions and comments whether good or bad. You can reach John at [email protected].
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