Is
the Savage 10ML-II the Most Accurate Muzzleloader On the Market?
The
question of the most accurate muzzleloader available today seems
to come up again and again, and the Savage 10ML-II's accuracy is
asked about quite often. Yes, the Savage is clearly the most
accurate muzzleloader you can possibly buy, for several reasons--
some readily seen, and some not quite so apparent. It is not to
say that other muzzleloaders cannot be shot accurately; if they
don't shoot they are not what I hunt with. The Savage generally
holds a clear, provable, quantifiable accuracy edge, though, for
several reasons.
Savage
CEO Ron Coburn, who hunts with a 10ML himself, promises that every
new Savage 10ML-II is capable of 1-1/2 inch accuracy at 100 yards,
something no other manufacturer promises about their line of muzzleloaders.
In actuality, my own experience and that of many, many other Savage
10ML-II shooters is that a new 10ML-II is capable of ¾ inch
100 yard accuracy out of the box, assuming that the shooter does
his part under good range conditions. Its accuracy supremacy is
even more evident in the field, and I'll do my best to explain
why that is.
I. Barrel Quality
The Savage Team is quite
proud of their barrels, the heart of any rifle. Rather than rely
on outside vendors for machining, or third parties that they have
no direct control over--Savage Arms makes their own barrels from
American steel supplied to their own exacting specifications. Savage
barrels are made more accurately than any other manufacturer's muzzleloading
barrels, and that is where the 10ML-II accuracy supremacy
begins. In the muzzleloading world where barrels have no universal
standards, varying all over the map from .497" land-to-land
rifling dimensions all the way to .505" in. or greater, muzzleloading
does have a standard in barrel quality-- and it has been
set by Savage Arms. The Savage 10ML-II barrel's bore is held
to .501 inches, +/- .001. Most Savage barrels are .501 in. land
to land right on the button. It is for this reason that the Savage
10ML-II is so very easy to find accurate loads for-- a load that
works well in one Savage will very likely work quite well in the
majority of them. This is in stark contrast to most muzzleloaders
out there today, where even guns of consecutive serial numbers can
be a baffling mystery unto themselves, with sloppy barrel tolerances
that can (and do) vary all over the place. Perhaps even more impressive
is the allowable rifling depth tolerance enforced by Savage Arms.
Every new Savage 10ML-II barrel has a rifling depth held to the
industry's best and closest tolerance: .004 in. +/- .0005
in. No other manufacturer does this, or perhaps can do this. So,
for starters, one of the reason the Savage 10ML-II is so accurate
is that its barrels are made more accurately, more uniformly than
any other frontloader available today.
II. Barreled Action
Integrity
The method of attaching
a muzzleloading barrel to its stock is often a source of both amusement
and disdain to expert riflesmiths-- several frontloaders have only
one screw that attempts to hold their rifles together. Two piece
stocks, of course, may problematic in themselves-- no varmint or
target rifle of any repute is a break action, or shotgun type action.
The Savage stands alone by offering the consumer the muzzleloading
industry's only dual pillar bedded action. Not only are there two
dedicated action screws, you also have a generous recoil lug in
front of them to complete the picture. No other muzzleloader made
today features this rigid, three point level of barreled action
to stock strength, integrity, and unitization. Not made like a tinker-toy,
the 10ML-II is held to the same standards
as Savage centerfire rifles that have set the standard for production
rifle accuracy.
III. Consistent Bore
Conditions
One of the relatively
few sayings that has been universally held as true is "accuracy
means consistency." It is difficult to achieve a consistent
bore condition with corrosive propellants that leave behind half
of themselves as heavy, moisture attracting fouling crud. The preferred
Savage 10ML-II propellants such as Vihtavouri N110 and Accurate
Arms 5744 are the cleanest, most efficient muzzleloading propellants
in use today. They are non-corrosive, and the light fouling attracts
no moisture. The Savage 10ML-II barrel stays, by far, in the cleanest
and most consistent condition from shot to shot of any muzzleloader
that can be had. That allows for tack-driving accuracy shot after
shot, with no bore swabbing, spit-patching, or struggling with the
odd assortment of solvents dubbed "muzzleloading cleaners"
that clog the marketplace. When you are done shooting, your bore
needs no special attention-- just put your rifle away; no immediate
cleaning of any kind is required. The barrel
quality allows for great accuracy, the barreled action rigidity
maintains it from shot to shot, and the super-clean propellants
used by the Savage 10ML-II do not degrade its inherent accuracy.
IV. Lock Time
Slow locktime guns offer
can poor field accuracy. Discussed in depth in another article,
hammer guns have horribly long locktimes-- and can destroy field
accuracy, as no accuracy improvement can happen after you pull the
trigger. Hammer guns are among the worst actions in this regard,
but over the years those who care about accuracy have harshly criticized
poor locktime service rifle locktime. The Mauser 98 military action
has been criticized for having a slow locktime, actually a service
rifle design choice. Back in 1932, Winchester released their "Speedlock"
feature on their Model 54. The older 54 had a locktime similar to
the Mauser, with a ½ inch firing pin travel and weak spring.
The 1903A3 has a locktime of somewhere around 6.5 milliseconds,
contingent on the mainspring. Savage's revolutionary Accu-Trigger
was developed in part with the use of the state-of-the-art Dvorak
"TriggerScan" program.
The Savage 10ML-II short-action
has a locktime of just 1.6 milliseconds, over 4X FASTER than the
1903A3, some 10X FASTER than many hammer guns, and even TWICE as
fast as a Remington 700 long action. All this means is the bullet
from your Savage 10ML-II is speeding its way towards your deer while
the hammer may not so much as touched the primer on other muzzleloaders.
This is why jerking your rifle can be a gut-shot waiting to happen
with hammer guns. This has been demonstrated to be a huge problem
in the field, particularly in offhand shooting. The
Savage 10ML-II has, by far, the fastest locktime of any muzzleloader
ever made.
In late August of 2005,
Harry Hill of Hoover, Alabama, decided he had enough of filthy muzzleloaders
that take longer to clean than his deer, and made the decision to
step up to the lower recoil and superior accuracy of the Savage
10ML-II.
In just his third 3-shot
group from the bench with his new, factory Savage 10ML-II, Mr. Hill
was rewarded with this outstanding .652 inch 100 yard group:
I mentioned this to
patent holder Henry Ball, who replied, "So? That's just
what they are supposed to do. But tell Harry Hill that it's still
great shooting on his part!"
I don't think that performance
like this tends to upset Savage CEO Ron Coburn, either. Of late,
this type of Savage 10ML-II accuracy is more often the rule than
the exception-- I hope this brief article explains why that is indeed
the case. Great
job, Harry! That should help keep your brother on his toes, who
tends to struggle somewhere in the ¾ MOA area with his Savage
10ML-II's (glad Chuck has a sense of humor, though). More
and more, 3/4 MOA stock Savage 10ML-II's are reported all over the
country, including the bone stock 2005 10ML-II I shoot myself, along
with a few custom versions.
Maybe
now you can see why other muzzleloaders are starting to look a bit
sad by comparison?
©
September, 2005 by Randy Wakeman
