I only just realized this was 1:7” with enough room in the mag for 80gr at least. Maybe this is of some interest to others here:
I took the M110 Trail Hunter Lite from the frigid sub-arctic to the west texas. It's one of the best $600 hunting rifles you'll find.
www.outdoorlife.com
This is my first post here, and this thread prompted me to sign up.
I can confirm it is indeed a 7 twist, and you can load out to ~2.400" OAL with the factory mags. 2.35-2.40" puts most varieties of ELDs right near the lands for me. Mine shoots quite well with N540 and 80gr ELD-m holding near MOA with the 80s loaded on a Dillon, with thrown charges (not trickled... fairly wide variations .2-.3). I recently fired a 10 shot .79 MOA group with that combo. I can hold MOA ish for ten rounds pretty consistently with that basic load. I didn't play with crazy case prep, or do much load development... just worked up to pressure and started shooting the gun. I need to put a little time into fine tuning the load, but it was new LC brass, BR4s, and a healthy charge of N540. 2775ish average from my gun. I think I can bump that speed up over 2800, but its enough velocity to still upset the ELDs to 500 yards, which is as far as I'd ever shoot an animal. It shot Hornady factory 73gr ELDs into similar groups. If 77 TMKs were not almost impossible to find right now, I'd be giving them a try, as I think they are likely more consistent, terminally, than the ELDm. I do have a few boxes of the 80 ELD-X to try... but ran out of time to get a load developed before hunting last fall.
I did swap the stock for one off another Savage (an Ultralite of some sort, IIRC)... the Houge is made of soft cheese or something, and flexes terribly, as noted in the article. I'd like to get a carbon fiber Stockys or something... but keep the weight down. Mine weighs ~9lbs all up with a 3-15 VX5 HD, bipod, sling, and suppressor.
I shot an okay 3x3 mule deer, and a cow elk with it last fall (two packouts in 5 days time was a workout). Had been a goal for about a year and half, to get a .223 set up and kill an elk with it. Mission accomplished.
I've been a .223 fan for a long time, and killed several deer and antelope with that caliber before this year (way back when folks still called ARs "poodle shooters")... but this year was the first time I attempted an elk. I will admit the ".223 for everything" thread influenced me a fair amount in the last year, though I have toyed with the idea of .223ing an elk for at least a decade.
