First step into a larger world: Savage FCP-SR
Most of the firearms I own are capable of better accuracy than I, the shooter, can muster at this point. But today, I picked up an “elegant weapon” in the Savage 10 FCP-SR in 308 Winchester. I took advantage of a Cabela’s after Christmas sale and some ammo rebates to walk out of the door with a nice new rifle.
There were a ton of nice bolt action rifles to consider, but with a sub $700 rifle budget, the FCP hit all of my needs.
- Excellent out of the box trigger
- Easy mounting system for just about any scope
- Detachable box magazine
- Threaded for a muzzle brake/suppressor
- Oversized super grippy bolt handle
- Bullet capable of taking down large game
- Options for future upgrades as they are needed
I pulled the Vortex Crossfire II 4x12x44 scope and bipod off of my AR-15, so this thing is ready to go with a pair of Warne Scope Mounts. For the moment, I won’t be making any changes to the setup.
My in-laws have a great range set up on their property, so I was able to get home, slap the scope on and start shooting. Thanks to the aforementioned sale, I picked up a few boxes of Winchester Super X 150 gr “power-point” cartridges. These would have been great for big game, but today I was just shooting paper, at about 51 yards.
I could have stretched it out farther (I will in the next few days) but just about as soon as I was ready to shoot, the Michigan weather gods remembered that it was December and it was time to at least be rainy and cold.
So with the goal to site in, get on paper, and get a solid group, I loaded up 10 rounds and got to work. Here are the results:
The first shot was high and left. I walked the scope down and right, shot twice more, then corrected a third time and shot 5 rounds, all breaking the red, forming a 1.5 inch group. It may look like there’s only 4 in the red, but when you look at the cardboard backing or zoom up close on that group, you can see it’s actually 5 shots. The final two I shot at the small target in the top left corner.
The Savage FCP is exactly what I was hoping for. Though I didn’t fill the mag to capacity, I had no feeding issues (beyond getting used to bolt action). However, the magazine does need to be inserted with enough force in the right spot, otherwise it won’t really click in there.
Right out of the box, the Savage AccuTrigger had a super crisp, clean break. I don’t mind the safety blade at all (it’s similar to a Glock) in fact I actually quite like it. However, I did discover that if you pull the trigger and don’t depress the blade, you have to recock the firing mechanism by lifting the bolt handle. Probably a nice feature, but worth knowing. Check out this video to see it in action:
This rifle is definitely capable of more, especially at such a short range, but this is a decent start to site in and get a group. I’ll load up again tomorrow and shoot at 100 yards, then maybe push out to 200 yards and see how I perform.
Next, I’ll work to develop a handload that this rifle likes. I’ll reuse the brass from this outing, but I’ll look to purchase some new powder, as well as some heavier bullets, not to mention the reloading supplies.
Anyways, back to dry firing this thing until my wife can’t stand it anymore. Until then, here are some more pictures.
