Savage 110 Elite Precision Rifle – Review

With the rise of long-range shooting competitions gun manufacturers have started to include designs that are ready to compete straight out of the box. The Savage 110 Elite Precision bolt-action rifle is just such a rifle.

The Savage 110 is America’s oldest continuously-produced bolt-action rifle on the market, however, for this iteration it has been given a complete overhaul with upgrades that make it suitable for long-range shooting.

Overview

• MDT ACC aluminium chassis with fully adjustable stock and MDT Vertical Grip,
• ARCA Rail along the entire length of the chassis,
• AICS magazine compatible,
• Stainless steel, flash nitride target receiver,
• Savage factory blueprinted action,
• 1.5 – 4 lb user adjustable AccuTrigger,
• Self timing taper aligned muzzlebrake,
• Modified Palma contour barrel,
• 1-Piece 20MOA Rail,
• Cerakote finish,
• Weight 12.6 lbs (5.72 kg)
• Available in .223 Rem, 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Win (LH version in .223 Rem only).

The Chassis

A note on the chassis: a rifle chassis and a rifle stock are integral components of a firearm, but they serve distinct purposes. A chassis is a modern, modular system constructed from materials like aluminium or polymer, providing a stable and highly customisable platform. On the other hand, a stock, whether made of wood or synthetic materials, is what would traditionally be found on a hunting or historical rifle. It offers limited adjustability compared to a chassis.

The Savage 110 Elite Precision’s action and barrel sits in an Adjustable Core Competition (ACC) chassis from Modular Driven Technologies (MDT), a company well-known among long-range enthusiasts for the quality, durability and customisation options of its products. The finish on the chassis is grey Cerakote which provides exceptional protection against corrosion, abrasion, and wear – the perfect choice for the demanding conditions of PRS competitions.

This hard anodised aircraft-grade 6061 aluminium chassis was designed with competition in mind and has an integrated weight management system which allows you to fine-tune the chassis weight and balance point. The chassis alone weighs 4.5lbs, but weights can be added to bring the total weight up to 12.3lbs, which can help to lower the felt recoil of the rifle and steady the rifle when firing (allowing for faster followup shots).

The MDT ACC chassis has an SRS-X Premier rear stock which features an incredible amount of adjustability. You can adjust the height of the butt by 106 millimetres, the cheekpiece by up to 34 millimetres, and the length-of-pull by 31 millimetres.

The grip is an MDT Vertical Grip Elite which can be adjusted forwards and backwards as well as angled to get the perfect grip position. The chassis accepts different AR-15 style grips should you wish to change it for a different style.

The flat forend is ultra-wide making it incredibly stable on barricades and other objects (there is a barricade stop in front of the magazine). The forend also has an integrated ARCA rail which is over 43 centimetres in length, allowing you to perfectly position accessories such as a bipod or tripod.

The ACC chassis is compatible with AICS patterned magazines.

The AccuTrigger

The AccuTrigger is a patented single-stage trigger system developed and produced by Savage Arms. Introduced in the early 2000s, it has become a hallmark feature of numerous Savage rifles. The AccuTrigger stands out for its user-adjustability, allowing you to fine-tune the trigger pull weight to your preference within 1.5lb – 4lb. Additionally, it incorporates a safety mechanism that ensures the rifle will not fire unless the trigger is intentionally depressed, significantly reducing the risk of accidental discharges. The distinctive blade-style safety lever within the trigger shoe must be fully depressed for the trigger to engage, providing an extra layer of safety.

The three-position safety located on the tang allows you to operate the bolt to safely unload the rifle when in the middle position. Intuitively, forward is to fire and by sliding the safety all the way back you apply the safety which locks both the trigger and the bolt.

The Barrel

Savage takes barrel accuracy seriously, placing a high value on geometric consistency. The stainless steel Precision Rifled Barrels are a standout feature for the 110 rifles, elevating accuracy to a new level.

Modified Palma contour barrels are found on the 110 Elite Precision; these feature a relatively heavy and tapered profile. They are heavier towards the chamber and taper down towards the muzzle and are designed to provide added stability and accuracy, especially for long-range shooting. The heavier profile allows for better heat dissipation during prolonged shooting sessions. The end of the barrel is threaded and a self timing taper aligned muzzle brake comes as standard.

Button rifling is a key manufacturing process that ensures consistent bore and groove dimensions, resulting in efficient and precise rifling. Skilled operators and advanced machinery work together to perfect barrel geometry, ensuring uniform bore diameters and twist rates (1in7 for .223, 1in8 for 6.5 Creedmoor, and 1in10 for .308 Win.). This not only enhances accuracy but also minimises the point of impact shift as the barrel heats up.

Additionally, an 11 degree target crown is integrated to guarantee proper bullet exit and gas release. Each barrel undergoes a final quality check, with experienced operators meticulously examining for any geometric irregularities and ensuring straightness.

The Action

Blueprinting, also known as truing, is a meticulous process crucial for achieving optimal alignment between a rifle’s action and its bore. This involves squaring critical components like the receiver locking lug recesses, receiver face, bolt face, recoil lug, and barrel lock nut. When executed meticulously, as done in factory blueprinted actions, it establishes concentricity between these elements, ensuring consistent accuracy and repeatability. By fine-tuning all these surfaces, tight tolerances are achieved, facilitating seamless interaction among the components.

Savage’s factory blueprinting takes this process a step further by individually truing and blueprinting actions during the manufacturing process. This approach mirrors the precision a custom gunsmith would apply, but Savage integrates it directly in the production facility as the rifles are machined and assembled. In this method, all of Savage’s standard production tolerances are upheld, with the additional step of custom grinding the recoil lug, locking lugs, and barrel lock nut to even tighter tolerances. The receiver face and internal lug surfaces are also machined with exacting precision to guarantee perfect squareness upon rifle assembly. Expert craftsmen then marry the precision-machined receivers with the precisely rifled barrels and custom-machined small parts, resulting in a rifle boasting match-grade accuracy right out of the box. This meticulous process yields a set of components that are impeccably aligned with the bore’s trajectory.

Savage have opted to use a floating bolt head design to address the intricacies of achieving accuracy. This innovative approach separates the bolt head from the rest of the bolt, allowing for a subtle degree of movement whilst ensuring complete engagement with both locking lugs and the rear face of the cartridge. As a result, the bolt head aligns perfectly with the barrel’s axis every time a round is chambered. This provides a consistently precise action that rivals custom-built firearms. Achieving accuracy in a rifle demands meticulous attention to detail, particularly regarding the bolt’s pivotal role in two critical factors: guaranteeing even bearing of locking lugs in the receiver recess and ensuring full contact of the bolt face with the cartridge head. Additionally, alignment with the bore is paramount, from chamber positioning to balanced pressure on the cartridge’s base as it enters the bore.

The bolt cylinder gets its yellow colour from a specialised coating process known as Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD). This coating enhances durability and corrosion resistance. This hard, wear-resistant surface provides protection against repeated cycling and exposure to environmental elements, thus ensuring a longer lifespan. Additionally, the coating reduces friction between moving parts, crucial for the smooth and reliable operation of the bolt. This results in improved overall performance and longevity of the rifle. To remove the bolt from the rifle you press down on the lever on the right side of the receiver and pull the bolt out.

On top of the stainless steel action sits a 20 MOA Picatinny rail ready to accept your optic of choice. In practical terms a 20 MOA (Minutes of Angle) rail has a slight slope angling downward towards the muzzle. This design intentionally raises the rear of the optic to compensate for the bullet’s natural trajectory arc and allowing for more usable elevation adjustments from the scope – this is especially useful at long ranges.

What’s It Like To Shoot The Savage 110 Elite Precision?

Shooting the Savage 110 Elite Precision took place at the West London Shooting School and whilst this event was hosted by Viking Arms (the UK importer of Savage Arms), this review aims to give you an honest opinion of the rifle. The test rifle was chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor.

The first thing that stood out on the rifle was the chassis and weight. The chassis really did allow the tester to get comfortable in different positions behind the rifle. The ample adjustability meant that a good sight picture through the Leupold Mark 5 HD 5-25×56 scope was easily found – side note: this is an incredible piece of glass, and well worth considering for your next long-range rifle setup.

The AR-15 style grip and thumb ramp were comfortable and allowed the tester to quickly transition to the bolt for fast follow-up shots. The combination of the heavier weight of this set-up (even without added weights in the chassis) and the muzzle brake really did help with recoil management and maintaining the position of the rifle after each shot.

Not enough praise can be heaped on the AccuTrigger. The break was light and clean, every pull of the trigger was smooth and crisp without excessive creep or overtravel. This not only helped play a part in how enjoyable it was to shoot this rifle, but also in how accurate and consistent the shot placement was.

Whilst cycling the bolt was smooth it did take a little force to lift the bolt handle up from the closed position. This is being pedantic and isn’t really an issue with the rifle, just an observation (the rifle was new and it can be expected to bed in and become slightly easier to work with use). There was an issue when chambering one round, however it cannot be said whether this was the tester’s fault or the rifle’s. Upon deeper online research it was discovered a small number of Savage 110 owners in America have gently ground/chamfered the ejector pin (removing less than 1 millimetre in some cases) towards the firing pin to eliminate any feeding issues (any work carried out on a firearm should be done by a competent gunsmith). This isn’t to say that the test rifle suffered from issues, just what was discovered when further research online was carried out.

136 grain Scenar-L Lapua rounds were used throughout testing. On West London Shooting School’s 100 and 200 metre ranges the Savage 110 Elite Precision was brilliantly accurate with tight groups of touching bullet holes, which isn’t surprising as this rifle has been built to tackle ranges that stretch out past 600 metres.

Overall the Savage 110 Elite Precision is an outstanding rifle. Even with factory ammunition there would be no hesitation in going straight to the range and tackling targets at long ranges. The MDT chassis is comfortable and has plenty of adjustability, and the trigger is incredible – this rifle is definitely worth looking at if you want to get involved Precision Rifle Series or other long-range shooting competitions.