New Savage Model 110 PPR: A Legitimate Purpose Built Rifle

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A flagship of the Savage Arms line is the Model 110 bolt-action rifle. Originally introduced in 1958, today there are literally dozens of Model 110s available with many different feature sets. The company has introduced riflemen to many innovations with the Model 110, including the Accu­Trigger and the AccuStock. It has been said that if you can’t find a Savage Model 110 you want, maybe you’re just too picky.

A prime example of the innovative Model 110 is the new Model 110 Pro Pursuit Rifle (PPR for short). Savage has teamed with Mike Robinson, host of his Farming the Wild presentations, in the design of the Model 110 PPR. Robinson envisions and describes “hunting” as just another way of “food gathering” by people who spend a lot of time in the field in pursuit of wild food. This view of hunting is distinctly different from merely harvesting an animal for sport or a trophy.

Actually, this concept is really not foreign to many hunters. For example, I once wrote an article on an elk hunt entitled “The Trophy Cow.” It included a description of the preparation for the hunt, selection of the rifle and cartridge, working up the handload for the hunt, describing other various equipment, and recounting the days and cold nights in the tent by the wood-burning stove. The story ended back home with a photo of nicely wrapped packages of elk meat in the freezer.

The Model 110 PPR Up Close

This new Savage Model 110 action is true to the model’s form and represents quality and value. I first learned of the new rifle at an industry gathering last August. The Savage representatives there filled me in on the new rifle, and I have to say it is packed with great features. I ordered one on the spot.

The Model 110 PPR is crafted to meet the needs of hunters who spend many days a year afield and especially to meet the needs of responsible wildlife stewardship and to result in the efficient and humane harvest of game. As such, the rifle incorporates physical features in the stock and the metal that make it accurate and reliable. Also, it is chambered in a range of cartridges that combine accuracy with a balance of stopping power. The stock is fashioned from a weather-resistant synthetic material that has an ergonomic shape, adjustability, and attachment points for aftermarket items that allow accurate shooting from a variety of field positions.

The stock is a lightweight Grayboe Phoenix 2 painted with earth-tone camo and black web. It has an M-LOK rail on the bottom. The cheekpiece is easily adjusted up or down, and the length of pull is adjustable from 12.5 to 13.5 inches via three supplied LOP spacers. There are flush QD cup adapters for mounting a sling.

The receiver comes with a one-piece 20-MOA Picatinny rail for optics mounting. The heart of a rifle is its barrel, and Savage went whole hog here. The Model 110 PPR’s barrels are 20-inch, carbon-fiber-wrapped, stainless steel from PROOF Research. The muzzle is threaded 5/8-24. An Omniport muzzle brake comes on the rifle. The muzzle of the brake has a provision for a T-55 or T-60 Torx bit. I tried to remove the brake with both sizes of Torx bits but couldn’t budge it, so I left well enough alone. I didn’t want to risk breaking anything. The bolt knob is also listed as removable, but I couldn’t budge it, either.

The Model 110 PPR is offered in nine chamberings. The .308 Winchester, .300 WSM, .30-06 Springfield, .270 Winchester, and .300 Winchester Magnum guns have 1:10 twists. The 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, and 7mm PRC rifles have 1:8 twists. The 28 Nosler’s twist is listed at a unique 1:8.44. The sample I received is chambered for 6.5 Creedmoor.

Right out of the box, the new Model 110 PPR weighs 7.2 pounds. The fluted bolt body is coated with Blackout Cerakote to reduce friction. And the bolt has an upgraded head with dual pin ejectors and an enhanced extractor. The knurled bolt handle is threaded 5/16-24. The receiver is stainless steel with Magpul OD green Cerakote finish, and as I stated earlier, it is equipped with a one-piece 20-MOA Picatinny rail for scope mounting. The removable box magazine is AICS style, and it holds three rounds. The trigger is Savage’s revolutionary AccuTrigger, which is user adjustable from 1.5 to 4 pounds. As received, the trigger broke at a delightful 2 pounds, 5.6 ounces, so you can bet I did not mess with it.

The PPR at the Range

I installed a Trijicon Tenmile 3-18X 44mm scope in Leupold 30mm rings for my shooting session with the new Model 110 PPR. This brought the weight of the rifle-scope combo up to 9.5 pounds. I had a good assortment of 6.5 Creedmoor factory loads on hand, plus plenty of reloading tools and components for this popular cartridge.

I followed my standard break-in procedure. I handloaded 20 rounds with Hornady cases, Federal No. 210 primers, Sierra 100-grain HP bullets, and 44.0 grains of StaBALL 6.5 powder. It may be just superstition, but I like my break-in load to use a powder with copper-reducing ingredients. I fired one round, then cleaned the rifle’s bore after each of 17 shots. This, you will note, left three rounds, which I fired for a group. The velocity of my break-in load was 2,752 fps, and the group measured 1.34 inches.

After that, I cleaned the bore after each set of three, three-shot groups. I am delighted to report that the Model 110 PPR’s barrel collected only minimal amounts of jacket fouling.

The popularity of the 6.5 Creedmoor has led to the introduction of scads of .264-inch bullets and powders suitable for the round. Thus, it is virtually impossible to test a representative cross-section of the available components. So, I just picked 10 handloads with a range of hunting-weight bullets and suitable powders. After all, the inherent accuracy of the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge and the new precisely made rifles for it are already well known.

All handloads were assembled in Hornady dies using a Redding T-7 turret press. Seating depths were determined with a Hornady Lock-N-Load Headspace Comparator. The average bullet jump was 0.118 inch. Throughout the shooting, I checked the rifle’s bore with my Gradient Lens borescope and observed that there was little jacket fouling in the rifling. That’s a major bonus in my opinion.

You’ll note from the accompanying chart that Hornady cases with CCI 200 BR Large Rifle primers were used for six of the handloads, and just for fun, I handloaded three loads in Lapua cases with Federal No. 205 Small Rifle primers. Interestingly, the average group size for the small primer handloads was 1.13 inches, while that for the large primer handloads was 0.76 inch. The average recoil of all handloads was only 9.3 ft-lbs.

Since the 6.5 Creedmoor has plenty of high-quality factory loads from which to choose, I tested 11 of them. Bullet weights ranged from 125 to 143 grains. The average group size for the factory loads was 0.84 inch. No surprise there. The standard deviations (SDs) of the factory loads were quite small. As expected, over the course of testing, there were no malfunctions of any kind. The superb AccuTrigger was a delight to use, and I’m certain it contributed to the rifle’s excellent accuracy. And I will say that the stock as received on the rifle seemed to fit me just right. Again, I’ll remind you that the comb and LOP are adjustable.

Scoped, slung, and loaded, the new Model 110 PPR rifle was a trifle heavy at 9.5 pounds, but it sat solidly on the Lead Sled’s sandbags and punched nice, neat groups with many factory loads and handloads. Some shooters might balk at the MSRP of $2,399, but like I always say, you get what you pay for, and the feature-packed Model 110 PPR is ready for action right out of the box.

Overall, the performance of the new Model 110 Pro Pursuit Rifle was excellent. It makes a delightful package for the far-­ranging hunter.

SAVAGE MODEL 110 PPR SPECS

• MANUFACTURER: Savage Arms, savagearms.com
• TYPE: Bolt-action repeater
• CALIBER: 6.5 Creedmoor
• MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 3 rounds
• BARREL: PROOF Research Carbon Fiber Wrapped 20 in. barrel
• OVERALL LENGTH: 41.5 in.
• WEIGHT, EMPTY: 7.2 lbs.
• STOCK: Synthetic Grayboe Phoenix 2
• LENGTH OF PULL: 13.5 in. (as tested)
• FINISH: OD green Cerakote barrel and receiver, camo stock
• SIGHTS: None; 20-MOA Picatinny rail on receiver
• TRIGGER: 2.4-lb. pull (as tested)
• SAFETY: Three position
• MSRP: $2,399

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