Savage 110 Magpul Hunter: A Compact Bolt-Action in 6.5 Creedmoor

Do you want a compact bolt-action rifle that doesn’t take up a lot of room? For the most part, long-distance shots require long-barrel rifles. If you want to shoot 800 yards away, you probably won’t be using a short-barreled rifle for the trophy shot. But not everyone that goes hunting is planning to shoot 800 yards. In fact, most people hunting for various game only shoot distances of 100-400 yards.

Where I live, between 100-200 yards is the most common for white tail deer. Everyone has their favorite caliber and type of rifle they shoot with, but if you haven’t looked at the Savage 110 Hunter with the Magpul stock, you should. This is one of the better rifles I have seen for the price. I found mine on sale making it an even better deal, but the way it shoots is what impressed me the most. I’ll get to the shooting here after a while. But first, let’s look at the Savage company and then go over the specs of the 110 Hunter with a Magpul stock.

Who is Savage?

Like most American gun companies, Savage Arms has an interesting history with lots of ups and downs. When a company faces difficult times, it either leads to their demise, or they end up stronger than before. Savage had plenty of hard times, but they didn’t stay down.

Founded by firearms inventor Arthur Savage, the company’s first big success was producing the Model 1895 lever-action rifle. Savage didn’t have his own factory yet, so he paid another company to build more than 8,000 guns for him. He had attempted to sell guns (model 1892/93) to the US Military but never did land a contract with them in those early years.

But not letting this stop him, he simply produced a sporting version of the gun and kept working on his next design. He eventually purchased the Stevens Arms Company and A.H. Fox, a shotgun manufacturer. With the purchase of these companies and the opening of his own factory, Savage was among the largest gun manufacturers in the country. His company produced machine guns during WWI and again in WWII along with other items.

But after that, things started to fall apart for the company. They were purchased several times by different companies, one of which was Black & Decker, but eventually filed for bankruptcy. When they emerged from bankruptcy, the company decided to stop production of all but one firearm. The model 110 bolt-action rifle would be the gun they produced, and this rifle brought the company back to life. Today Savage offers many firearms, but the model 110 remains their most popular rifle.

About the Savage 110 Magpul Hunter

With a rifle so popular as the model 110, it only makes sense that Savage would produce several variations of the gun. If you want the classic wood stock or the tactical sniper look, Savage has a model 110 for you. I have heard some complaints that Savage has overproduced the model 110. But I would disagree.

When a company finds a gun that works, they need to stick with it. There is nothing wrong with making new models, but stick with what works. And the model 110 works well. With the model 110 Magpul Hunter, Savage partnered with Magpul to make the stock as a factory option. I like seeing companies do this because I can’t count how many times I have purchased a gun knowing that I would want to upgrade to an aftermarket stock.

Buying a factory model with Magpul stock was a perk for me. This model is box fed and uses five- or 10-round PMAG 5 7.62X51 magazines. According to Savage, the bolt is a factory blueprinted action. The 18” heavy barrel has a Cerakote Tungsten finish and is threaded at 5/8X24. The handle of the bolt is oversized making it easy to work. Savage used their AccuTrigger in this model allowing the trigger to be adjusted from 1.5-4 pounds. I have mine set at 1.5 pounds and it’s a nice trigger pull. There are M-Lok slots at the end of the stock so just about any attachment can be added. They also drilled and tapped the receiver and the Picatinny rail comes installed.

On the Range With the 110 Magpul Hunter

You can put all the upgrades and features you want on a gun, but it’s worthless if you can’t hit anything with it. So let’s get down to the important part, taking it to the range. I sight all my long-range guns in at 100 yards so that’s where I started with the 110.

I used Federal 140-grain power shock soft points to sight it in because that’s what I will be using this hunting season. For my purposes, I need to shoot out to 150 yards and Federal power shock works great for this range and isn’t super expensive. It took me six shots to get it sighted in enough to meet my purposes using the Vortex Crossfire II which I’ll talk more about in another upcoming article. I placed six shots within a 3-inch area at 150 yards free-standing, and although I was shooting a little low, it works for me.

Shooting from a resting position, I was able to place six shots within a 2-inch diameter at 150 yards. The butt pad comes with three additional adjustment plates if you need to make any adjustments. I liked the length that it came in from the store, so I didn’t add or remove any. Once it was sighted in, me and a friend had some fun with it and shot about 40 rounds through it. He was able to hit a golf ball at 100 yards on his first try, but I’ll admit I missed twice and gave up.

Summary

Overall, I was really pleased with the Savage 110 Magpul Hunter edition rifle. For the price, this is one of the best rifles I have used. I like the look of it, and how compact it is. I didn’t shoot it with a silencer yet so that will be another fun project another day. The threaded barrel and adjustable trigger pull are some nice features that you don’t always get with other hunting rifles. The Savage 110 has a good reputation and teaming up with Magpul only makes the gun more appealing. If you want a great-looking rifle at a decent price, you can’t go wrong with this one. I think it will make a great hunting rifle for those who want something just a little sportier looking.