Savage 110 Ultralight (w/ Proof CF Barrel) Question - LR Shooting

[TX_Diver]

I'm not normally an impulse buyer (nor one to sell guns), but the local cabelas has the Savage 110 Ultralight in stock in 6.5CM w/ 22" proof carbon fiber barrel) and it has me questioning what I want to do w/ my "LR rifle" setup...

The only long range rifle I have currently is a first gen 700 5r (.308 w/ 24" barrel). I've shot it to 1000 and it's a great rifle with factory Hornady Precision Hunters (178gr ELD-X) and FGMM (175gr SMK). The only thing I don't like is that it's heavy and therefore limited in it's applications for me (8.5lb rifle + 3lb Razor HD Gen 2 scope).

I carried it for a low country deer hunt once and even just the 1 mile loops from the truck sucked.

I don't intend to get seriously into long range hunting, (I really enjoy archery hunting now) PRS matches, etc. but I do live somewhere that I can shoot coyotes out to 500ish and targets to 1k if I want to do a bit of work to setup the range. It'd also make a great deer rifle and something for my daughter to shoot as she gets older (still a ways off but why not start planning now... )

Is there any comparison between the two in their "long range" capabilities? Or am I stretching a bit trying to justify the swap? I would need to ditch the 700 5r and the Gen 2 Razor in order to cover the cost of the rifle (~$1275) and another scope (potentially a Razor LDHT or maybe another SWFA 3-15 if I go FFP).

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I have that rifle but chambered in 6.5 PRC. Handloads are 147 gr ELD-M (3050 FPS). It did shoot the commercial 147 gr ELD-Ms very well. It has been very accurate to 1000 yards; not yet taken it further. It is my "prettiest" rifle and shoots very well.

My two complaints with the rifle are 1) the sloppy-ish bolt and 2) its 2 round magazine. Both are actually pretty minor. The bolt action gets smoother with use and it is not an issue having a spare magazine available if needed.

I have a Tikka T3X in 6.5 CM (just under 8 pounds scoped) that is also accurate to at least 1000 yards using handloads. I also have a Savage 110 Storm in 6.5 CM (8.8 pounds scoped) that is also scarily accurate to at least 550 yards using commercial 143 gr ELD-X and 147 gr ELD-M; she'll go out to 700-1000 in the next week or two.

The Proof barrel on the Ultralite is gorgeous. But from a pure shooting perspective, I do not know if it is worth $500-600 more than the Tikka or Savage that I have for my uses.

Here's what I would probably do in your shoes. Keep the 308 and relegate it to practice. Use it to work your fundamentals. Due to its weight, the recoil will be pretty negligible which makes extended range sessions more enjoyable especially for your daughter. I'd then look at grabbing another rifle and scope that weights less (target 8-9 pounds all-in). I'd look at a 6.5 CM or a 7mm-08.

 

[TX_Diver]

Good suggestion.

I do have a RRA predator pursuit (20" heavy barrel AR) that I can practice with. It's easily sub MOA with decent ammo and the upgraded trigger helps. It's not much use for anything other than plinking and coyotes though so my thought was to keep that one to cover fun shooting and practice.

As I'm not a serious long range rifle hunter (or even shooter though) I don't figure on keeping the 700 and picking up the savage. I'm also in no rush so may just keep an eye on the classifieds here and see what pops up. I'll check out the Tikkas mentioned too. Had good luck with savage in the past though.