Savage M110 Path Hunter Lite: Examined and Reviewed

The Savage M110 Path Hunter Lite embodies what hunters have all the time valued within the enduring Mannequin 110 sequence: accuracy, utility, and worth. There have been many variations of the M110 by means of the many years however for the on a regular basis hunter they don’t get a lot better than the Path Hunter Lite. It’s probably the most reasonably priced variant of the M110, has good ergonomics, comes suppressor prepared, and fills the function of an all-purpose searching rifle effectively. I examined my very own Savage M110 Path Hunter Lite, chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO, in frigid inside Alaska and whereas searching whitetail bucks and hogs within the cedar-choked caprock nation of West Texas. 

See It

• Motion: Two-lug bolt motion, with floating bolt head
• Inventory: Hogue overmolded, black
• Cartridge: 5.56mm NATO (examined), .243 Win., 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08 Rem., .308 Win., .350 Legend, .400 Legend, .270 Win., .30/06 Springfield, 7mm Rem. Magazine., 7mm PRC, .300 WSM, .300 Win. Magazine., and .450 Bushmaster
• Capability: 5+1 (in 5.56mm NATO)
• Weight: 7 kilos, 4 ounces (measured)
• Set off: Savage Accutrigger (adjustable), 3 kilos 11 ounces (measured)
• Barrel: 1:7 twist, 20-inch metal, heavy sporter, fluted, threaded ½-inch x 28
• Size: 41 inches
• Value: $644
• Optic Used: Vortex Razor HD LHT 3-15x42mm

Key Options

• Hogue overmolded inventory
• Shorter barrel than common Path Hunter fashions, with fluting to chop weight
• Tungsten-colored Cerakote end on receiver and barrel
• Consumer-adjustable Savage Accutrigger
• Flush-fitting removable journal
• Consists of pre-installed Weaver-style bases

Evaluate Highlights

• Stable all-around searching rifle
• Good accuracy
• Good stability of efficiency and affordability
• Twenty-inch barrel pairs effectively with a suppressor
• Fore-end has an excessive amount of flex

The Mannequin 110 Path Hunter Lite is Correct and Inexpensive

I’ve usually discovered Savage Mannequin 110s to be reliably correct, irrespective of the grade. Of their premium variants, Savage has incessantly used Proof Analysis carbon-wrapped barrels. Fashions just like the M110 Ultralite Elite and the M110 Carbon Predator have been impressively exact in our testing, however what are you able to anticipate from a run-of-the-mill, steel-barreled mannequin just like the Path Hunter Lite, which retails for less than a bit over $600? 

We take our accuracy testing severely at OL as a result of we wish to give you practical expectations of how a rifle will carry out, somewhat than lead you on with just a few of our best teams. To try this, we shoot a sequence of five-shot teams, then mixture these right into a 20-shot composite group for every ammunition pattern. We nonetheless get to see what five-shot group sizes appear like, but in addition have a legit image of the rifle’s true cone of fireplace with a given ammunition. This additionally supplies us sufficient information to calculate a legitimate imply radius, which is a median distance that every shot lands from the middle of the group.

Total Common 100-Yard, 5-Shot Group Dimension: .866 inches (29 teams with 7 varieties of ammunition)

Total Common 20-Shot Group Dimension: 1.319 inches (9 complete 20-shot composites)

Common Imply Radius: .377 inches

I did all accuracy testing between minus 5 levels and about 25 levels fahrenheit, with a suppressor. Contemplating that this rifle is chambered in 5.56mm NATO with a 1:7-twist barrel, I made positive to check all kinds of bullet weights. Ideally, this gun ought to be capable to shoot precisely with each heavier deer-appropriate bullets and lightweight, frangible varmint slugs — and it did simply that. I recognize that throughout a large swath of ammunition and bullet weights, the rifle was persistently correct. 

Somebody who’s used to studying about half-MOA searching rifles, primarily based on just a few cherry-picked teams, may balk at a large-sample dispersion of 1.2 to 1.5 inches, however solely out of ignorance. That’s actually good accuracy for a budget-friendly rifle — and it’s completely appropriate for an all-around coyote-to-deer crossover gun. I’ve discovered medium-priced searching rifles that print 20-shot teams beneath one MOA to be primarily non-existent. 

Accuracy Knowledge 

Observe that the imply radius, which accounts for each shot within the group, varies by solely slightly greater than a tenth of an inch throughout all the hundreds. In each case, the common of those 140 photographs misses the middle of the group by lower than half an inch at 100 yards. Outcomes are ordered by bullet weight from lightest to heaviest.

The Savage M110 Path Hunter Lite: Easy and Efficient

The Savage M110 Path Hunter Lite isn’t fancy however, in an age of tricked-out customized rigs and unprecedented modularity, its simplicity appeals to me. Essentially the most outstanding function of the Path Hunter Gentle is its Hogue overmolded inventory, which is beefy, has good ergonomics, and a cheesy rubberized coating that gives a safe grip in moist climate, however isn’t too chilly in opposition to your cheek in sub-zero temperatures. Second to that, the Path Hunter Lite fashions all use fluted 18- to 20-inch barrels, that are shorter than the 20- to 24-inch heavy-contour barrels on the usual Path Hunter. The Path Hunter Gentle isn’t a very mild rifle, however it’s a lightened, shortened model of the unique. The Path Hunter Gentle contains different good options like an all-weather Cerakote end, adjustable Accutrigger, and a dependable flush-fitting removable five-round journal. 

After getting my pattern in preparation for a whitetail hunt in Texas, I mounted an optic, fitted the threaded muzzle with a suppressor — a B&T SRBS Ti 5.56mm 3D-printed can — and hit the reloading bench. As a part of this overview, I needed to discover the effectiveness of among the newer heavy-for-caliber .224 searching bullets like Hornady’s 80-grain ELD-X. They’re greatest in cartridges just like the 22 Creedmoor and 22 ARC, but in addition affordable for  the 1:7-twist barrel of the 5.56mm Path Hunter Gentle. These heavy and environment friendly bullets have elevated among the capabilities of centerfire 22s as big-game rifles, and fired at .223 Rem. or larger 5.56mm NATO pressures, it ought to replicate the consequences of an ARC or 22 CM at barely longer distances. Most significantly, and in contrast to a normal AR15 journal, the removable journal that the Path Hunter Lite makes use of is lengthy sufficient to accommodate these heavier, sleeker bullets.

I settled on a load utilizing Hodgdon Benchmark powder, pushing the 80-grain bullet at 2,685 toes per second. That retains velocity at about 2,200 toes per second at 300 yards. I neither anticipated nor needed to shoot a buck farther than that. 

Sensible Use and Perform

With ammunition loaded, I shortly shifted to field-position capturing with the Path Hunter Lite. I practiced standing, kneeling, and sitting positions utilizing a tripod, tac desk, and light-weight capturing bag for assist. The rifle balances effectively when rested on the flush journal, and the big, textured grip on the Hogue inventory facilitates a gentle, constant grip, even within the chilly. I attempted a pair completely different bipods on the M110 Path Hunter Lite, a Spartan Precision Springbok and a Harris-styled bipod with carbon-fiber legs. In the end, I deserted these as a result of the fore-end of the inventory is kind of versatile and, when making use of any strain to the bipod, the fore-end can bend and and speak to the barrel. It’s my solely actual grievance in regards to the rifle. The tac desk negated the necessity for a bipod, so I caught with that. I persistently hit middle mass on a six-inch metal plate out to 350 yards from all positions throughout my snowy follow classes.

Mannequin 110 rifles, on the whole, have a comparatively stiff bolt raise in comparison with many actions, however this one ran fairly easily, particularly when securely rested atop a capturing bag. That is probably helped alongside by lowered cocking drive within the 5.56 mannequin, but in addition the heft of the rifle and the grippy texture of the inventory mating with the waxy canvas of the capturing bag. With lighter mannequin 110s in bigger chamberings, I discovered I have to purposefully squeeze the rifle onto the bag to stop it from shifting whereas lifting the bolt. Extra importantly, the Path Hunter Lite functioned easily and fed reliably in sub-zero temperatures, a situation that can amplify any stickiness or hesitancy in an motion.

The Savage M110 Path Hunter Lite within the Area

Frigid chilly was the very last thing on my thoughts after I caught the glimpse of a gray-backed deer working its approach towards us by means of the cedars. “I’m fairly positive he’s a ten,” my information Miller Valentine whispered, watching by means of his tripod-mounted binoculars. Because the buck emerged from the thicket, he turned his head towards us, displaying the mass of his major beams. There was little question that he was a shooter.

Sitting in a floor blind atop a hill overlooking the deer, I already had the rifle arrange on my sport changer bag. I eased onto the gun because the buck gingerly stepped from behind a small mesquite, quartering in the direction of me at 115 yards. I broke the shot because the reticle settled on the buck’s left shoulder. The minimal recoil of the 5.56 rifle didn’t push me out of my sight image, and I noticed the bullet hit the deer simply earlier than listening to the reassuring plop of the affect. His rear finish hit the bottom as he spun whereas I shortly chambered one other spherical. It was pointless. The shot handed by means of his scapula, each lungs, and exited the center of the offside rib, after about 16 inches of penetration — leaving a gentle 55-yard blood path.

Truck Gun

After taking my buck the primary night of the journey, I spent the rest tagging together with Miller, who runs Miller Brothers Outfitters. We checked feeders for hogs and spent hours glassing up roaming bucks that have been staging for the upcoming rut. I’d by no means had the possibility to shoot a wild pig, however that modified abruptly once we rounded the nook of a two-track in a thick mesquite-filled backside. We noticed a dark-colored hog gobbling up bits of corn beneath a feeder 225 yards away. I shortly deployed my tripod at standing top, maneuvering left and proper because the hog wandered out and in of sight. After just a few seconds, I settled atop my tac desk, and held the half-MIL hash on the pigs neck. With a whop, the swine flopped to the bottom. 

The Path Hunter mild carries effectively on a sling utilizing normal swivel studs, and is nimble sufficient to deal with shortly. However it is usually hefty sufficient to make a secure predator rifle. We did slightly calling for coyotes, however my likelihood at one got here earlier than we even began squalling. We had dropped over the sting of some caprock, overlooking a rolling valley that was thick with cedars. I used to be setting my tripod when a coyote spooked, not 100 yards away from us. I shortly acquired the legs locked out and when the coyote stopped to look again from a far-off opening, I guessed the vary to be about 300 yards, I held a MIL excessive, and sailed the spherical proper over his again. It was solely 200 yards. A few minute later, I doubled down by lacking one other at 375 yards. That one was all me.

Remaining Ideas

By way of all of the testing and working towards within the chilly, shifting out and in of the truck, strolling, establishing in blinds, sitting all the way down to name coyotes, loading, capturing, and unloading, I discovered the Savage M110 Path Hunter Lite to be a lovely all-purpose rifle. It’s easy, correct, simple to shoot, and it simply works effectively. Does it have its flaws? Positive, it does. But when what you want is an reasonably priced, sturdy, do-all rifle, you’ll have a tough time beating this one for the worth.

 

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