Savage Sierra?

[tennbuck]

looking at buying my 16 year old a deer rifle. he/we like the priceand size of the Savage Model 10FCM Sierra. we hunt the woods so we seldom shoot over 150 yards, but when opportunity knocks we want to be able to take one @ 250-350 yards.
it comes in,
243 low-recoil but not a lot of knock down
7mm-08 a step up from the 243, but stretching the shot concerns me
308 is what we are leaning towards, seems like what we are looking for
270/ 300 wsm  don't know a lot about either of these rounds, the 270 seems like a good option with great knockdown and distance. the 300 seems like a bit much on the deer, ears and shoulder.


any opinions or input would be appreciated.

Action Short
Caliber 243 Win, 7mm-08 Rem, 308 Win, 270 WSM, 300 WSM
Overall Length  39.75"
Barrel Length    20"
Weight               6.25 lbs
Magazine Capacity  4 rounds (243 Win, 7mm-08 Rem, 308 Win)
2 rounds (270 WSM, 300 WSM)
Stock Black synthetic with positive checkering, dual pillar bedding
Sights Drilled and tapped for scope mounts
Rifling Rate of Twist
243 Win (1 in 9.25")
7mm-08 Rem (1 in 9.5")
308 Win, 300 WSM (1 in 10")
270 WSM (1 in 11")
Features AccuTrigger™, new detachable box magazine, blued barreled action, lightweight barrel, nylon sling. Quick detachable swivels.

[beemanbeme]

to paraphrase a whole bunch of gun writers that were extolling the virtues of the '06, east of the big river, the 7-08 is never a mistake.  My son and I are not poke and hope shooters by any means but our (his ) longest shot on a mulie was 284 long steps with a 7-08 & a 140gr NP bullet.  One shot.  If you decide to get the .243, you can always use it for a tomato stake.   

[the jigger]

i have one in 308. mine is pre-accutrigger so i installed a sss trigger. it shoots very well. i have no problem getting .750" at 100yds and 1.5" at 200yds. with nikon3x9x40 it weighs right at 7lbs loaded. the recoil starts to get a little stiff with the heavier bullet weights but it's my go-to for walking or on the buggy.

[bigjeepman]

In my opinion, your choice of a Savage is a good one for your son. I have a Savage 10FP in .223 that will shoot .500" groups more often than not. The weight is fine for a 16 yr old and the barrel length should be just about right for him. The AccuTrigger is awesome in my world and I love it. It took me a little while to get used to it but it was worth it. However, I am going to have to go along with beemanbeme on the 7mm-08. I must first say I do not own a 7mm-08 but it is my next rifle. My first rifle was a .243 and it was fine and I have learned to shoot it well in the field. Since your son is already 16 yrs old, I think he can easily handle the additional recoil of the 7mm-08 and have a better "deer" caliber.

Good luck to you and your son .... and good shooting!

[jasonprox700]

Try the .280.  It is right in the middle of the .270 and the .30-06.  It shoots the 7mm bullets.  I shoot 140 gr bullets with good results.  Recoil isn't too bad.  I hunt in West Central Wisconsin and most of my shots are under 200 yards.  You can reach out to 400 yards or better if your capable.

[Steve Pennington]

I own a Sierra in 7-08, great rifle.  It shoot around 3/4" @ 100 yds with handloads, 140 gr. Btip.  It works great on deer.  My longest shot was a little over 200 yds. Never took a step.  Good luck!!

[7x57mm]

Tennbuck: I did a little research for you and your son. I am very glad that you are even thinking of a rifle for him. You mentioned recoil, so that must be a concern. What I did was go to reloader's nest and look up loads that have similar attributes in 7/08, .270 WSM, .308 Winchester, .300 WSM. For all calibers I selected middle of the road loads and I took off 30 fps for each inch of barrel loss in each caliber to get the barrel lengths listed to the same length of 22 inches. After that I plugged the niumbers into a recoild calculator using the 6.25 pounds as a base for each caliber. When you add a scope you are looking at another pound, but for simplicity sake I just used the 6.25 pound number. Now, as to the numbers:

1. 7/08 has 21 foot pounds of free recoil with a 140 grain slug going 2,844 fps.

2. .270 WSM has 36 foot pounds of free recoil with a 140 grain slug going 3,145 fps.

3. .308 Winchester has 20 foot pounds of free recoil with a 165 grain slug going 2,611 fps.

4. .300 WSM has 36 foot pounds of free recoil with a 165 grain slug going 3,020 fps.

I hope this helps. Tom Purdom