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I picked up a Savage Edge in .223 awhile back, and wasn't too impressed with the factory stock. When I would load the bipod, there was noticeable forearm flex. Groups with steel-cased ammo were OK, but nothing spectacular. I purchased this Boyd's thumbhole stock in January and was very impressed with fit, finish, and the easy drop-in installation. Factory screws worked fine.
Before and after shots:
Rifle Details:
- Custom 3lb trigger spring off ebay. Works great, didn't have to guess/modify my factory spring. A lot cheaper than a Timney/Rifle Basix. LINK if you're interested.
- Boyd's featherweight thumbhole stock in forest camo. Great stock.
- Burris Signature Zee Rings, Medium, 1". At this height, the bolt knob barely clears the eye bell of the scope. I got lucky.
- Mueller APV 4.5-14x40 AO. All groups were shot at 14x. Love this scope!
- Harris 6-9 BR bipod
I feed my AR a strict diet of steel-cased munchies only, so I decided to splurge a little and see what this rifle was capable of. I ordered a hodge-podge of 223 from sgammo and brought some of my commie steel rounds out to do an informal unscientific range test. I'm not the best or most patient shooter, but I did try to focus on breathing and trigger pull for this exercise.
5 round groups were shot with the following ammo:
Herters 55gr FMJ (steel)
Wolf 62gr FMJ (steel)
Wolf MC 55gr FMJ (steel)
MFS 55gr FMJ (zinc-plated steel)
Golden Bear 62gr HP (brass-plated steel)
PMC 55gr FMJ (brass)
Wolf Gold 55gr FMJ (brass)
PPU 55gr FMJ (brass)
AE 50gr varmint tip (brass) - this was the most expensive, so I had high expectations
Ammo:
Notes:
- ~70-75 degrees, beautiful day out at LPRG. A bit windy, mostly in gusts.
- Shot sitting/benched off a Harris BR bipod, rear sandbag.
- Distance: 100y, 5 round groups.
- Cold bore shots went wide left. When I zeroed the gun, I had to adjust windage right, that's why my first two groups are to the right. I corrected left after that.
- After about 20 rounds, I had really bad barrel mirage that plagued me the rest of the day. I had to guess on some shots. I'm going to have to remedy this in the near future. Found some DIY solutions online. Open to suggestions.
Ammo test 1
9 targets, .5" white centers.
Groups were shot left to right, top to bottom.
AE 50gr did not fail me, Wolf Gold looked decent. PMC shot low.
Ammo test 2
4 targets, 1" white centers, with .5" red pasties.
Kinda rushed these and pulled a couple of them.
Best group of the day was with the PPU.
Of course, I pulled the last shot of the day. Rangemaster called out the 2 minute warning for ceasefire and, I know, excuses excuses.
All in all a fun day. I was a bit rushed/pressed for time, but it's going to rain the rest of the week and I really wanted to get out to the range. Feb is always a stressful month (work and family), so it was nice to just get away for awhile. I'm definitely going to address the barrel mirage issue and see if that makes a difference. I also saved my brass and hope to start reloading in the near future.
Before and after shots:
Rifle Details:
- Custom 3lb trigger spring off ebay. Works great, didn't have to guess/modify my factory spring. A lot cheaper than a Timney/Rifle Basix. LINK if you're interested.
- Boyd's featherweight thumbhole stock in forest camo. Great stock.
- Burris Signature Zee Rings, Medium, 1". At this height, the bolt knob barely clears the eye bell of the scope. I got lucky.
- Mueller APV 4.5-14x40 AO. All groups were shot at 14x. Love this scope!
- Harris 6-9 BR bipod
I feed my AR a strict diet of steel-cased munchies only, so I decided to splurge a little and see what this rifle was capable of. I ordered a hodge-podge of 223 from sgammo and brought some of my commie steel rounds out to do an informal unscientific range test. I'm not the best or most patient shooter, but I did try to focus on breathing and trigger pull for this exercise.
5 round groups were shot with the following ammo:
Herters 55gr FMJ (steel)
Wolf 62gr FMJ (steel)
Wolf MC 55gr FMJ (steel)
MFS 55gr FMJ (zinc-plated steel)
Golden Bear 62gr HP (brass-plated steel)
PMC 55gr FMJ (brass)
Wolf Gold 55gr FMJ (brass)
PPU 55gr FMJ (brass)
AE 50gr varmint tip (brass) - this was the most expensive, so I had high expectations
Ammo:
Notes:
- ~70-75 degrees, beautiful day out at LPRG. A bit windy, mostly in gusts.
- Shot sitting/benched off a Harris BR bipod, rear sandbag.
- Distance: 100y, 5 round groups.
- Cold bore shots went wide left. When I zeroed the gun, I had to adjust windage right, that's why my first two groups are to the right. I corrected left after that.
- After about 20 rounds, I had really bad barrel mirage that plagued me the rest of the day. I had to guess on some shots. I'm going to have to remedy this in the near future. Found some DIY solutions online. Open to suggestions.
Ammo test 1
9 targets, .5" white centers.
Groups were shot left to right, top to bottom.
AE 50gr did not fail me, Wolf Gold looked decent. PMC shot low.
Ammo test 2
4 targets, 1" white centers, with .5" red pasties.
Kinda rushed these and pulled a couple of them.
Best group of the day was with the PPU.
Of course, I pulled the last shot of the day. Rangemaster called out the 2 minute warning for ceasefire and, I know, excuses excuses.
All in all a fun day. I was a bit rushed/pressed for time, but it's going to rain the rest of the week and I really wanted to get out to the range. Feb is always a stressful month (work and family), so it was nice to just get away for awhile. I'm definitely going to address the barrel mirage issue and see if that makes a difference. I also saved my brass and hope to start reloading in the near future.
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