Please help me set up my new Savage 112 338LM

[cboom]

I'm far from an expert, but have been shooting for 30+ years, and been handloading for most of that time. But until now all my experience has been with lighter dedicated hunting guns, with the largest being a Sako chambered in the .308 Lazzeroni Warbird.

Have had the itch for awhile now of getting one of the big .338's. When I ran across these Savage 112's and did a bit of research they seemed like a great way to test the waters at a low price. So far I have the gun, EGW 20 Moa rail, 150 rounds of Lapua brass, and a box of Hornady ELD-M 285 gr bullets to start out with, plan on trying 300 Bergers if I'm not happy with the results. Powders I plan on trying are R33, H1000, and Retumbo to start with. Also plan to bed the action and rail before shooting.

Sorry this post is getting long, but here are a few of my questions to you experts (and please tell me if you think I am off track in the things I have already mentioned.

#1 Scope. Leaning towards the NF SHV 5-20x56 with MOAR redicle. Got the economy model gun, figured I wouldn't break the bank on the scope. And they seem to get good reviews. So the question is, is that a good move or is there a better option around that price point?

#2 Bipod. looking at the Harris swivel models. For bench and prone what do you guys find to be the best length? 6-9", 9-13", or something else?

#3 Dies. Better off with full length sizing dies, or something like the Lee collet neck dies?

Any help will be very appreciated with these questions or things I failed to mention. Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Wild Bill G]

I would get really good dies as they are important to your reloads. Maybe look at a match die set they should come with a neck die full length and micrometer seating die. Your scope choice sounds good but if you could spend a little more go for it as you can use your scope where ever you want if this is not your cup of tea. Or better yet you want to upgrade the rifle later on.
I have a intrest in this much like you I will see how this works for you. A friend of mine got one of the Savages and had a few issues with it. They have probably been taken care of by now as that was a few years ago.

 

[cboom]

Thanks for the reply Wild bill. As far as the dies you suggested, is there a particular brand you would lean towards?

And did your friend have the Savage 112? I did find some negatives researching Savage's in the 338LM on their 110 platform. Didn't see much negative in the 112's. I believe they didn't start building this gun until 2015?

Kind of funny for most of my life I swore I would never own a Savage. But it is kind of hard to ignore how well guys are getting them to shoot (not caliber specific) basically out of the box these days.

 

[Axl]

I just set one up last month. I went with the Forster benchrest dies. The first load I worked up with the 285 eld-m, new Lapua brass, and fed 215's and reloader 26 shoots very well. 1/2 moa to 600 yds.
Retumbo shot good too but the es with R26 was 5.

 

[gohring3006]

I went with a Leupold 20 Moa steel base and just a old SWFA 20x42 SS.
Works great with tons of elevation adjustment.
I have a Hex coated 285 ELD and 89.5 grains of H1000 load. It's very mild running about 2750 fps. It's good for the 1000 yard plate and very easy on the brass.
The good thing about the 112 is I don't have to worry about wanting to load the mag, so I can run a long OAL and take advantage of all of the case capacity.

 

[Wild Bill G]

I was going to say Redding dies and may RCBS not sure if Hornady makes a match die. Hornady's other dies have alot of good features and I have enjoyed them. As for the model of my frieds gun I am not sure. You are right about the mind set of Savage firearms now compared to not so many years ago.

 

[cboom]

Thank you guys so much for the information! So any advise on the length of bipod that would be the most practical for the application I have explained?

 

[gohring3006]

I learned very quickly that the width of the bipod legs when deployed is very important with the 112. It's heavy and needs support, so the wider the better.

 

[cboom]

gohring, is there a particular make and model you found best for this gun?

 

[gohring3006]

I went with a Accu Tac SR 5, but I think the Atlas 5H would be even better.