I’m thinking there must have been a time when weekends meant road trips and sight seeing or maybe even a little relaxing, but the memories are too distant to form clearly in my recollections. Those days must have existed in a very narrow window of family life between too young and too broke to go anyplace and a more mature “How the hell am I ever going to keep up with home projects?” stress that came with home ownership.
Now, the to do list is so long there is no catching up, consequently there is no wiggle room for a little procrastination. So my wife and I were out early, mowing the lawn, putting down fertilizer and then, in a drizzling rain, filling planters, setting chipmunk traps and whacking brush growing out from the tree line. The only travel that will happen this weekend is a trip upstairs to remove what seems like miles of caulk from the bathroom shower. Writing about firearms actually is work, but somehow it is more relaxing than my off time.
Since Savage threaded the end of the Hog Hunter’s barrel and include a number of length of pull spacers in the box, the least I could do would be to press these features into service. Since the rifle would be shot in dense Maine tree growth and at relatively short distances, other than the metallic sights that are standard issue with the rifle, I thought that a moderate magnification, wide field of view optical sight might enhance the overall package.
The Bushnell Accelerate 4x Prism Sight
The Bushnell AR Optics Accelerate 4x Prism Sight is an alternative to a traditional rifle scope or a red dot sight as it is neither. Using a prism with etched reticle in pl, The Accelerate is more durable than a tradition rifle scope with adjustable erector lens assembly.
| Bushnell Accelerate 4x Prism Sight | |
| Magnification | 4x |
| Reticle | *Red – Green BTR-3 |
| Brightness Settings | 5 + Off |
| Objective Lens | 32mm |
| E/W Adjustment | 0.5 MOA Per Click |
| Length | 5.5″ |
| Weight | 17 Oz. |
| Eye Relief | 3″ |
| MSRP | $427 |
| * Unpowered Reticle appears in black outline |
|
The sight is well made, nicely finished and intended for AR applications. The reticle really stands out when lit red or green and is as distinguishable as a traditional black scope reticle when power is off, or in the event of a dead battery.
BTR-3 places a 0.5 Mil dot inside of a 0.5 Mil thick arc and a descending hold over scale graduated in 1.0 Mil increments to a maximum of 10 Mil hash marks. For anyone that knows the trajectory of the ammunition is use, which should be everyone, the Mil indexing is of value in hold over and in range estimating, working with all calibers. Overall, the Bushnell Accelerate 4x Prism Scope’s optics are bright and have good contrast. The scope is water proof, fog proof and shock proof and comes with a high rise mount for quick mounting in AR Picatinny rails.
Use of the Accelerate on the Savage Hog Hunter was a bit of an experiment on my part and not a scope application recommended by the manufacturer. The mount places optical center too high off the comb and other buttstock geometry placed the eyepiece too far forward for my short neck to stretch, even with the smallest length of pull spacer in place. Installed on an appropriate firearms, like my AR flattop carbine in 300 Blackout, the scope was terrific. I went through five boxes of ammo shooting at a reactive bouncing target out to 100 yards. I can remember when 4x scopes were for everything but western antelope hunting where the big optics were 6x.
Sometimes the obvious choice is the best
Shooting distances would be moderate and low mounting to accommodate the stock’s drop at the heel would be a big plus. Subsequently, a mature model Bushnell Elite 3500 2-7x32mm was installed, primarily because it spec’d well for the application; good magnification range, good reticle, appropriately small size objective bell to facilitate low mounting, and a wide field of view. Five types and three brands of 308 Winchester ammunition were used for the range session.
| Ammunition | Bullet Type |
Bullet Weight Grains |
Rated FPS |
Actual FPS |
100 Yard 3 Shot Group “ |
| Remington CoreLokt | PSP | 150 | 2820 | 2785 | 0.7 |
| Federal Power Shok | Copper | 150 | 2820 | 2830 | 0.4 |
| Federal Power Shok | JSP | 150 | 2820 | 2763 | 0.6 |
| Federal Big Game | Poly Tip | 165 | 2700 | 2634 | 0.6 |
| Prvi | JSP | 180 | 2542 | 2567 | 0.9 |
The three targets below are the targets from the three Federal loads appearing top to bottom on the table. Shot for group size, not zero, these are typical for the rifle and ammunition when shot from a rest. The rifle was also shot with and without silencer with not practical difference in group size. With an ambient of 68°F, at the end of nine rounds in relatively rapid succession, the barrel at the receiver climbed to 84°F, with the muzzle at 73°F… relatively cool. The AAC SR-7 silencer peaked briefly at 181°F which yielded some heatwaves in front of the scope, however, nine shots in close succession is not a in any way typical use.
Conclusions?
The Savage 110 Hog Hunter is an excellent medium range big game rifle that produces exceptional accuracy. Value priced, but well made, it is a positive representation of the Savage Arms brand. Not a featherweight, the Hog Hunter did a good job of absorbing recoil and keeping the residual away from my face. Suppressed, the Savage was truly easy on the ears, but even not suppressed it wasn’t bad for a short barrel firearm. The metallic sights are useful, something too often missed on other manufacturers firearms. In states like Maine, I could see this rifle never being scoped. Solid rifle. I am sure Savage will sell them like jelly beans.
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