BENCHREST VS. F CLASS
I have been looking at both the Savage 12 Bench Rest and the F Class in 6.5 x 284 Norma. I would like to shoot long range with great accuracy, and either of these rifles are affordable. I see from the specifications that the F Class barrel is an inch longer at 30 inches, and is heavier at the muzzle being a full inch versus 0.900". Other than that, they look quite a bit like they are the same rifle except for the dual port on the Bench Rest. What is the purpose of the dual port? Would this be of any advantage to me? I do not intend to compete. I live on a ranch, and just enjoy relaxing by shooting at distant targets.
Either rifle would doBen, Wyoming
well for you. A third difference of the Bench Rest from the F Class is that the forend of the Bench Rest stock is contoured, which makes it a little lighter as well as provides somewhat of a ridge on the bottom that makes it easier to grip when picking it up to move it from one location to another. The butt end of the Bench Rest is also more conventional in its shape around the grip and along the bottom of the stock. The lighter and shorter barrel shaves off additional ounces, as does the second port.
The purpose of the dual-port setup on the Savage 12 Bench Rest is for rapid loading and firing. Here's the normal reason why that would be of interest to some shooters, me included, in competition with others or individually when attempting to improve on past personal performance. Some bench rest shooters prefer to fire all five of their shots that count (sighter shots excluded) within a very brief time span, perhaps half a minute or less, to avoid changes in wind direction and/or intensity. Some refer to this as a "run", or as a technique described as "running". Others, who are especially confident in their ability to "dope" (read and adjust for) the wind or other changing conditions, including cloud movement making for sun or shade, may not see the need for a dual-port action; a relatively recent innovation in the history of modern bench rest shooting. Incidentally, the very term "bench rest" is not necessarily agreed upon, as it is two words to some people and entities, while to others it is the single word "benchrest".
When using a dual-port rifle, the round is fed into one side and ejected from the other. The Savage 12 is meant to be loaded into the left side of the action, end ejects out the right port. Shots can often be fired within about five seconds of each other. To avoid the distraction of the fired brass being ejected, it's a smart move to develop a method to contain the brass. This can be as simple as a folded towel lying on the bench at the ejection side, or as fussy as having to rig up some kind of a little bank-board to block the flight of the brass if ejection is particularly strong.
Your choice of the 6.5 x 284 Norma over the 6mm BR Norma makes sense to me, as most areas of Wyoming I've been in tend to be fairly breezy from time to time; especially those where long shots are possible. The 140-grain class of match bullets available in 6.5mm (0.264"), at a muzzle velocity approaching 3000 fps, will do quite a bit better than 107-grain 6mm (0.243') bullets at probably a little under 2800 fps. There are several bullet choices available in 6.5mm at around 140 grains, and they have an advantage over the 6mms in the 105- to 108-grain range insofar as ballistics are concerned. But that's not the end of this story...
Warm loads for the 6.5 x 284 are known to take a toll on barrel life. Backing off just a little, and not caring so much about that last 50 or 75 fps of muzzle velocity, will certainly help. The other aid in extending barrel life is avoiding overheating through somewhat rapid fire. For the hunter sighting in his magnum rifle with a skinny barrel, there's no doubt when it becomes hot; sometimes too hot to touch. This doesn't happen to anything like that degree with a fat barrel and a smaller cartridge case like the 6.5 x 284, yet the throat of the chamber can be roasting. No sense in torching it to death, and the hand test for temperature on the outside surface of the barrel isn't going to mean much. That's where common sense comes into play. Having said that, it might be worthwhile to think through the need to fire toasty 6.5 x 284 Norma rounds at a rapid pace, and therefore the need for the dual-port 12 Bench Rest rifle over the F Class. On the plus side, when you have the hefty F Class rifle sitting in place on a good pair of front and rear rests, it's a real slug that is a delight to shoot.
JDC