Savage 11 Trophy Predator Hunter in 223?

I have that exact rifle. The only issue I have had with it is the rear mag well ledge that the small hook on the mag sits on is not tall enough. When I would try to feed rounds 3, 4 and 5 it would pus the mag down and ride over the top. Savage said they would fix it for free but I didn't have time so I just put a piece of adhesive foam (might have been 3M tape) on the edge of it so it holds the mag tighter and it fixed it. It has been like that for over a year now with no problems. The gun shoots excellent though. With factory Fiocchi ammo it was shooting typically around .75" +/- but very rarely over an inch. I started reloading for it and with 26 gr of benchmark and a 50 gr nosler it will shoot around a .5-.6"ish, sometimes better if I do not screw it up (I believe the last 3 groups I shot were .43", .6" and .64" IIRC). For the price it is a hard gun to beat.

**Sorry, my eyes didn't read the "predator" part. Mine is just the regular trophy hunter with the light barrel. Don't know why the predator version wouldn't shoot as good or better than the regular though. Good luck.
 
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No experience with the "Predator" model. I have a Trophy Hunter in 7mm-08, that is my go to deer rifle. It gets shot 2 times (if I am lucky) a year. Comes bore-sighted pretty good and shoots an inch or so on a good day. LAst year, I fired the gun 3 times. To make sure it was on target. Then at a doe at about 60 yards... and then the mother-in-law used it to put down a buck at 30 yards or so.

I would highly recommend them - for the price they cannot be beat.

Good luck.
 
I wanted the predator model because it has a little bit of a heavier barrel compared to the standard model. The last 223 I had, had a standard barrel and it heated up so quickly that I could barely shoot 3-5 rounds without the barrel too hot to touch. So I am trying to avoid that now. I was also thinking about getting a savage axis heavy barrel and putting a boyd stock and accutrigger in it. That route would be a little cheaper for me as im trying to keep everything around $600 with a thumbhole stock in it.
 
If you want to go with option 2, the savage axis 2 has a accutrigger already in it. Not sure if they have them in heavy barrel though.
 
Yeah that's the problem. They don't make the heavy barrel with an accutrigger so id have to install one myself. I actually prefer a medium barrel. Something about .700-.720 at muzzle and a 22" barrel that way I can hunt with it along with being able to target shoot from the bench with it accurately.
 
I have a savage 11 Prairie dog edition that for all intent and purpose is the same gun. The Prairie dog edition was a special run for Cabela's. It used a bigger bolt knob and had a blind mag and used a few older savage parts. The action and barrel are the same. It shoots really well. I've never messed with reloads for it even because it shoots Hornady factory 55 gr v-max so well. I topped it with a Nikon p-223(not the best scope, really narrow view through it) that has the ballistic turrets for 55 gr polymer tipped bullets and it has been a pretty accurate set up. Two of my boys were shooting prairie dogs with it out past 400 yds. I've shot ground squirrels with it out to 457 yds. I don't shoot it much anymore since getting a 204 ruger and then a 20 prac. For a 223 it's a great gun.
 


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