By: Warren Gray
Copyright © 2023
“110 Timberline: Low temperatures. Dry air. Low pressures. Long shots.
With the new Savage 110 Timberline, they’re all attainable. The rifle is
built to maximize accuracy…the user-adjustable AccuTrigger offers a
crisp, clean pull, critical for making precise shots at any distance…
(in) harsh terrain, for closing out the perfect hunt.”
— Savage Arms web site, 2023.
Savage Arms of Westfield, Massachusetts, introduced their impressive, new, Savage 110 Timberline model in November 2020, with the following announcement: “Savage Arms is proud to introduce the new 110 Timberline. This dynamic tack-driver is the newest member of Savage’s new Backcountry Xtreme Series—a line of rifles built to the preferred specifications of the most demanding hunters…for high climbs, long shots, and a lifetime of performance…‘We can test new limits in hunting and grow our product line…This is a versatile hunting rifle that delivers outstanding long-range accuracy, and it can stand up to anything’…well suited for high-elevation hunts…The 110 Timberline’s user-adjustable AccuTrigger can be dialed-in as low as 1.5-pounds, or as high as four pounds.”
Savage 110 Timberline rifle in 6.5mm Creedmoor. Photo credit: Rifle Shooter Magazine.
The Savage 110 Timberline is specifically designed for rugged durability during extreme, wilderness hunting conditions, and it’s produced in 13 different calibers, in either right-hand or left-hand configuration, for a total of 26 specific models. My favorite hunting caliber is .30-06 Springfield because it’s powerful enough to take almost any North American game without excessive recoil, but the 6.5mm Creedmoor round is becoming increasingly popular these days. The current, retail price is $1,239 for all variants, but the Timberline comes fully loaded with almost any feature that a veteran hunter would want.
The innovative, synthetic AccuStock, with AccuFit technology, comes in Realtree Excape camouflage, which includes five interchangeable cheek-comb inserts and four different length-of-pull spacers for multiple adjustments, to achieve a perfect, custom fit. The medium-contour, 22-inch (24-inch on some models), carbon-steel, fluted barrel is finished with protective, corrosion-resistant, olive-drab, Cerakote coating, with a target crown, threaded muzzle, and factory-fitted, Omni-Port muzzle brake to reduce felt recoil. The barrel is a stout, sturdy, .765 inches in diameter for improved accuracy and durability.
Savage 110 Timberline AccuStock configuration options. Photo credit: Rifle Shooter Magazine.
The Savage AccuTrigger feature allows the shooter to adjust the trigger pull weight with complete safety, from 1.5 pounds to four pounds of pressure. The factory pull weight on new rifles is about 1.75 to two pounds, and the detachable, box magazine holds either two, three, or four rounds, depending upon the model, with four rounds being the most common size.
Brad Fitzpatrick tested the 110 Timberline for Rifle Shooter Magazine on December 16, 2021, writing, “Last year, I hunted with Savage’s 110 Ultralite and 110 Bear Hunter rifles in Alaska, and both were accurate. The Timberline outshot them both…Overall accuracy ranged from 0.61 to 0.93 inches, which is on par with guns costing much more than the Timberline…And, boy, is it a shooter!
“The Timberline is eye-catching…(It) isn’t particularly light, weighing in at eight pounds unscoped, and almost 10 pounds when loaded. That’s a full two pounds heavier than the 110 Ultralite I reviewed last year, but added weight isn’t always a bad thing. Between the rifle’s weight and the Omni-Port brake, the recoil generated by the 6.5mm Creedmoor Timberline was trivial…(even) mild-mannered.”
Adam Scepaniak added for AllOutdoor magazine, “It is an impressive-looking rifle…the generously padded butt pad makes this gun incredibly light-recoiling when coupled with the muzzle brake…(but) the magazine needs to be rocked into place to be seated properly. When running the bolt, the action is buttery smooth. pushing rounds into the chamber. The AccuTrigger has an incredibly soft, smooth break…(with) lights-out accuracy…shooting sub-one-inch groups all day long. I have never sighted in a gun so quickly and achieved sub-MOA accuracy so easily.
Savage 110 Timberline in 6.5mm Creedmoor. Photo credit: AllOutdoor magazine.
“The Omni-Port Muzzle Brake is pretty thunderous, but is worth its weight in gold for the recoil reduction….Overall, an incredibly enjoyable rifle to shoot…the accuracy with boxed ammunition is superb for this rifle…I would absolutely recommend this rifle for anyone who is looking for an accurate, feature-rich, hunting rifle.”
More recently, Steve Gash wrote for Shooting Times on March 8, 2022 that, “The Timberline has the AccuTrigger, and get this: The trigger on my rifle broke at a delightful one pound, 11.6 ounces! Remember, this is an out-of-the-box, factory rifle. You can bet I left the trigger alone…. And (drum roll, please) the recoil pad is nice and squishy, and really soaks up recoil … (The Timberline) seems to be intended for hunters who need sufficient power and range to anchor big game like mule deer and elk…(and) by some long-distance, target shooters.
Savage 110 Timberline’s Omni-Port muzzle brake. Photo credit: Shooting Times.
“Modern, high-tech bullets make the Timberline in 6.5mm Creedmoor suitable for big-game hunting and long-range, target shooting…it is really difficult to find a 6.5mm Creedmoor that isn’t a tack-driver, and the Timberline was no exception. To say the Timberline shot well is a real understatement. The largest group average was 1.08 inches, and overall, the Timberline averaged 0.84 inch for all loads. The factory loads averaged 0.82 inch. All of the factory loads shot well…Overall, the new Savage Model 110 Timberline performed superbly. There were no malfunctions of any kind…It is very attractive, (and) extremely accurate.”
The Savage 110 Timberline is an ideal wilderness rifle – tough, extremely accurate, camouflaged, and weather-resistant with an adjustable stock and trigger and a mild, manageable recoil. For hunting in remote, extreme environments, there’s nothing else quite like it – so strong, versatile, and supremely capable.
* * *
Warren Gray is a retired, U.S. Air Force intelligence officer with experience in joint special operations and counterterrorism and is an NRA member. He served in Europe and the Middle East, earned Air Force and Navy parachutist wings, four college degrees, and was a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Intelligence Operations Specialist Course, and the USAF Combat Targeting School. He is currently a published author, historian, and deer hunter. You may visit his website at: warrengray54.vistaprintdigital.com.