Shooting The Model 840
My nephew is the proud owner of a Savage Model 840; he received it as a Christmas gift last year. It is a late-production rifle in very good condition with a smooth, beech stock. It is chambered for .30-30 Win. It is a lightweight, well-balanced little rifle, and while the trigger pull is a bit heavy, it has a crisp letoff. The magazine is easy to load and insert, and the bolt operates with the smoothness one would expect from a much more expensive rifle. A previous owner had installed a Weaver side mount and rings, which I used to mount a Burris 4X Mini scope.

Considering its intended role in life as a woods rifle, I decided to test-fire the Model 840 from my shooting range's benchrest at an intermediate range of 75 yards. It took about 10 rounds to zero the scope, and then I settled down and proceeded to shoot for score. When

I had finished, I was pleasantly surprised.

The Savage produced some nicely centered, sub-2-inch groups with boring regularity. While the Federal, Winchester, Hornady, and Remington ammo shot to point of aim, the rifle showed a slight preference for Remington's new Managed Recoil load. To my way of thinking, this is a pretty impressive performance from an economy-model rifle. A bit of trigger work and a more powerful scope would turn this little rifle into a real performer.

All in all, I found the Savage Model 840 to be a very admirable little rifle. It is lightweight, accurate, easy to operate, and reliable. While it was intended to fill a specific market niche, I think it's fair to say that it could easily perform the duties of more expensive rifles with aplomb--and at a considerable savings to the shooter. As the old adage goes, "You get exactly what you pay for," and in the case of the Model 340/840 rifles, I think you got quite a bit more. It was inexpensive, and it was worth every penny.