Savage Model 110 Ultralite

A New Rifle with a PROOF Barrel

- John Haviland

Savage has gained a lot of mileage out of its Model 110 rifle since it was first chambered in .30-06 and .270 Winchester, and introduced in 1958. In the years since, Savage has expanded the line to include Hunter, Tactical, Target, Long Range, Trophy and Varmint versions among other models chambered in a wide variety of cartridges. Moreover, the rifles have evolved over the years with improvements in the barrels, triggers, receiver bedding and wood and synthetic stocks.

The Ultralite is one of Savage’s newest Model 110s and includes many of those enhancements. The Ultralite I’ve been shooting is chambered in .270 Winchester. Its PROOF Research carbon-wrapped barrel is its most distinguishing feature and largely why the rifle weighs slightly lighter than 6 pounds out of the box.

To make the barrels, PROOF’s firearms division starts with heat-treated 416R stainless steel barrel blanks and turns them down, except at the breach and muzzle, to significantly reduce their contour and weight. The barrel is wrapped with a “high-strength, aerospace-grade carbon fiber impregnated with a proprietary matrix resin developed by our advanced composites division,” according to PROOF. Once a barrel is finished to its final profile, rifling is cut in the bore.

PROOF states its carbon fibers diffuse heat relatively quickly through the wall of a barrel and also along its length, resulting in a barrel that cools faster, maintains accuracy longer over a shooting session and provides longer barrel life.