I bought my Sport as a HD weapon. i realize that many here will be quick to tell me that was a mistake but I don't think so. If it goes boom when you pull the trigger (and every time thereafter) it works well enough for HD. I don't train because it's my profession but I do train for SD because I think it's a good idea. And I don't do nearly as much of that as I once did. My health also took a turn for the worse a few years back.

I do love long range plinking and target shooting (informal only because I am not up to shooting competition even though I came very close to getting into 600 yard matches at a local club. But that's when my health finally got me out of that frame of mind.

I still shoot 500 yards or so when I can. But it isn't with my Sport. I have a .223 Savage 12 LRPV that is very close to being identical to the F Class Savage rifles built specifically for that sport. The only differences are my barrel is slightly shorter and the stock is different. Many in the Savage community will say the 26" barrel is actually better than the 30" barrels on the Savage F Class rifles because of balance issues. My Savage has a 1:9 twist rate and I've done a good bit of shooting at 500 yards with it. I got to where I could consistently shoot 4"-5" groups at that distance as long as the wind wasn't really bad. Heavier bullets were better for that reason (the wind). I use 75 gr. bullets for shooting that distance although my best group was actually shot with 52 gr. bullets. The wind was nil that day and everything came together just right and a passing fairy sprinkled dust on my rifle and I shot a 1" group at 500 yards. It was only one though and I don't expect to do it again.

I had to move away from my home club and getting involved in the local club proved too much for my health. So my shooting is limited at long distances now. I did manage to shoot a target at 125 yards with my Savage not long ago. I had not shot it more than twice in the previous year (which stinks). I managed this 4 shot group once I walked the bullets in to get zeroed. I only shot 10 rounds and this was the last 4.



I do practice shooting my Sport some. There are coyotes around but they are wary of me ever since I had one dead in my sights at 150 yards. I had the Savage 12 in my hands setting it up to shoot that distance when the coyote appeared. I didn't have a bullet with me though. The coyote looked at me and must have realized it was in danger, or would have been if I had a bullet. because it took off and I haven't seen it again in 2 years. Other people have seen it though along with it's mate. I hope to get a shot at both before long and I hope to nail both of them with my Sport. The Savage is a single shot which limits it's ability to get more than one varmint at a time (depending on what type of varmint I'm shooting I guess.) My Sport does shoot pretty accurate. It's not like my Savage of course but few rifles are. It's much better than I worried it might be. I'm very happy with it. I should have no trouble nailing a coyote at 150 yards, which is about the limit I have for distance here at the house.