The 110 (here in Model 12 F Class guise) can be built into anything from a light hunting rifle to a high-tech, long-range target gun.

The initial approach of adding letters after the numbers (110C, 110F) was expanded to include variations on the numbers themselves. Today we have the 112 (called the 12 when chambered to short-action cartridges), 114/14, 116/16 and so on. All are variations on the 110.

With the exception of the largest magnum calibers, such as the .375 H&H and .458 Lott, there is not a single category of rifle that Savage does not supply with a variation on the 110.

Having hung its hat on the concept of excellent accuracy at a low price, every modification to the 110 has furthered that strategy. This dedication paid off in 2007, when Darrell Buell walked onto the line at the Fullbore National Championships with a stock Savage Model 12 F-T/R rifle to win the match against custom rifles costing thousands of dollars more.

To celebrate the 110’s golden anniversary, Savage has brought out a special limited-edition rifle. This rifle, marked Savage Model 10, is in the American “1 of 1,000” tradition. Stocked in pretty walnut--with the short action and barrel discreetly inlaid in gold and chambered for Savage’s own .300 Savage--the rifle is a throwback to the days of fine craftsmanship and elegance.

But every rifleman’s question is the same: How does it shoot?

To find out, I installed a Zeiss Conquest 4X scope appropriate to both rifle and caliber, set it in a Conetrol’s Gunnur rings and bases, acquired a supply of factory ammunition and headed for the range. Out of the box, it delivered a four-shot group with Federal Power-Shok 150-grain that measured .86 inch--including the first shot out of a cold, clean bore.

At a list price of $1,724, the Savage anniversary rifle is out of range of most of us, and most of us wouldn’t even shoot a limited-edition gun, but it is a rifle that is both attractive and extremely accurate.

From technical advances such as the Model 99’s solid receiver to ground-breaking cartridges such as the .250-3000, Savage is a company that was always looking ahead. With the 50-year-old Model 110, that policy has resulted in a line of rifles that span every mainstream shooting discipline, are competitive in all of them and beat other people’s prices in most of them.

A guy today could be a serious rifle shooter and hunter, own a dozen different rifles to accommodate each pursuit, and have every one of them a Savage 110. No other rifle company in the world can make that claim.