The Savage brand, imported by Edgar Brothers, offers a great range of rifles and calibres for all forms of shooting, be it vermin, fox, deer or plains game, at decent prices.
A good example is the Savage Model 11 TH XP synthetic .308 rifle, a basic sporting rifle that is here presented in .308 Win calibre, with matt blued steel and a synthetic stock. It is positioned as an entry-level rifle but doubles as a great “do anything” rifle that can take a few knocks. It is made to shoot well and comes threaded for a sound moderator as standard. The model in this review is the Trophy Hunter (TH) and XP means it comes with scope and mounts as standard.
The bombproof action and AccuTrigger system offer high reliability
With a .308 Win cartridge, one of my favourites, you have a cartridge capable of being loaded to take vermin, deer or loaded up for plains game. It just works and is also an intrinsically accurate round. Factory or reload, you have an enormous choice of ammunition or components suitable for this rifle — it really is a rifle for whatever game takes you.
Sensibly the barrel is 22in; in fact a .308 can be shorter and still give excellent accuracy and velocities. But 22in is fine and even with an MAE Scout sound moderator fitted only makes the rifle 46in overall.
I set up the chronograph to measure velocities and positioned the target board at 100 yards. It is handy to test a range of ammunition to ascertain the rifle’s preference, and obtaining an accurate velocity from your barrel means you can make precise sighting adjustments down range.
The scope was fitted using a twin Weaver-type base and scope mounts and it came supplied with a Weaver 3-9x40mm scope in proportion to the gun’s size, weight and cost.
Mid-range bullets are great for deer and having a lower-expanding bullet than a fox load means less venison spoilage too. Here, the 150-gr bullet weight was excellent, with the Hornady SST load yielding a velocity of 2,789fps for 2,592ft/lb energy and solid 1in groups.
Another great 150-gr load was the Winchester XP, which shot just under the inch mark for three shots at 2,768fps for 2,553ft/lb energy. A good all-rounder.
A non-lead option is the Federal Triple Shok load at 2,689fps and 2,409ft/lb energy with 1.25in groups.
Reloading can perfect a load or offer a bullet the rifle likes that is unavailable factory-loaded, such as the Hornady 110-gr V-Max bullet loaded with 41.25 grains of H4198 powder that gives a flat trajectory from the 2,944fps velocity and 2,118ft/lb energy. A good fox/small deer load is using the Nosler 125-gr Ballistic Tip with 40 grains of RL10X powder, my favourite, for 2,817fps and 1,939ft/lb energy. Both these loads shot 0.75in to 1in groups.
The Savage Model 11 shot the classic Sierra GameKing 150-gr bullet at 2,655fps/2,348ft/lb and 0.85in with 45.5 grains of RL15 powder, making it a good deer load.
In the field with a sling fitted, you notice how lightweight the Savage is even with a scope and moderator fitted, and with that synthetic and dull blued finish you can concentrate on stalking and not watching every thorn or branch that would damage the rifle.
Today I was after fallow and that involved a lot of wet weather, sleet and muddy ditches to crawl through. I was going to fit a bipod but just took sticks, which were a godsend when it came to keeping steady in the mud. Though the Weaver is a cheaper model, the lenses are fine, but first light at 7am meant I had to wait until 7.20am for a clear picture.
Parallax problems may not be due to a scope.
The Savage rifle and Winchester XP bullets did their job very well
The fallow were out in force and 40 deer were spotted but that half moon meant they had fed most of the night so were already heading for the sanctuary of the woods. We decided to slip down out of the field and on to a small rise behind some conifers and ambush the lead does as they walked through.
Being synthetic the Savage was muddy, but no matter as I was already in the aim and slipping off the tang safety and the AccuTrigger was gone as soon as I thought of the shot. The Winchester XP bullet did its job very well as a doe dropped in her tracks. Now for the long, muddy drag home. In fact, my friend Julian went back to the 4×4 and brought a deer sledge he had made to transport the fallow across the water-logged fields back to the chiller.
No complaints from me in the shooting department. As a practical, hard-wearing rifle for the cost-conscious or occasional stalker, the Model 11 TH XP is more than good enough. The stock actually grew on me after a while and, when all is said and done, it is quite a nice-looking rifle and you know it can take a few hard knocks. The package is priced at £858, which is as much as I would pay for it.
