All weather kill-all gun?

Thanks for all the input.

There seem to be two attitudes to savages: #1: great deal, and #2 better off with a remington 700 sps.

While my experience is very limited, I've never heard anyone say their savage gave them trouble, and it seems they have at least the reputation for out of the box accuracy that remington 700s have. So where does attitude #2 come from? Is it that with replacement barrels, the remington action would end up performing better? Are there reliability problems with savages (real ones, not problems on paper) about which I have not heard? Am I wrong to think that there is a pretty healthy supply of aftermarket stuff for savages (though of course less so than remington 700s)?

Can someone please fill me in on why so many feel that the less expensive rifle with equal or better accuracy and reliability is not the best bet in so many opinions?

RG

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i have a savage and several remingtons, there are upsides and downsides to both.
the remington trigger, even the new x-mark pro, is vastly superior to the savage - and aftermarket triggers are better as well, since the savage trigger is a weak design. i much prefer the unobtrusive remington bolt release as well.

the savage will have a bit better finish than the remington, i didnt say 'fit & finish' since neither of these guns have fit worth a damn.

both come with entry level stocks.

the savage barrel is user-replaceable with a barrel nut wrench, a vise and some headspace gauges.
savage barrels, however, are hard to come by. rembo here on the forums will replace your remington barrel for a very reasonable price, and remington take-offs come up on the EE all the time.

some of the savage parts are not stainless - such as the bolt release and some trigger parts. the savage bolt is smoother because of the floating bolt head. things like swapping in aftermarket bolt handles take minutes on a Savage but require gunsmithing on the remington. if you like to work on your own guns, and have some experience, then the savage might be a better idea -- have a look at what mysticplayer does with his savage actions. youll be hard pressed to find someone complaining about savage or stevens accuracy, its pretty much a given that they are at least an MOA rifle. the savage safety is also much better. snagproof, in a very intuitive position on the tang, and is a 3-position safety.

dont just limit yourself to a savage or a remington - look at the ruger M77 mark IIs like the one i posted as well, IMO the ruger fit/finish blows either the savage or remington away - especially the target grey models.
 
My goto everything hunting rifle is:

Winchester Model 70 SS Classic in 338 wm
Action trued
Pacnor SS supermatch grade #4 sporter contour barrel
Williams, Obendorf style one peice bottom metal
MacMillan, Winchester Hunter fiberglass stock
Nightforce NXS 3.5 - 15 x50 scope

Picturessummerof2006on008a.jpg

good lord, how long is that barrel? 30"? :D
 
I shopping for a similar set up as well.
I've shot a couple of rifles that come really close but still leave something to be desired lately. One a Savage and the other a Remington 700.
The Savage (300wm) was an impulse buy and is a great gun but isn't really in this catagory (112bvss), a bit heavy for anything other than the bench. the only thing I didn't like about it was the tang safety- I much prefer the Remingtons. Personal choice I guess.
The Remington wasn't an SPS, ss/syn in 300WSM with a hinged floor plate. Personally I didn't like it overall but it does have some really nice features. I liked the stock, It fit me really nice ( don't think it fit the barrel worth a damn- are they supposed to be freefloated ?) and balanced well . I liked the safety and the trigger.
But it was also fairly light and kicked like a mule ( IMO) , whether a couple of pounds more or a better recoil pad would help I don't know but I got a 7rm and two other 300WM's and none of them are near this punishing.
The other thing I wasn't a fan of was how short the opening was, the cartidge is at least a 1/2" longer than the opening so you kinda gotta back the cartridge into the action, a real PITA IMO.
 
And the Remington can be upgraded, the Savage cannot, unless it is the blind magazine model, and blind magazines suck...
theyre finally starting to inlet for the new style DM savages, so thats only partly true.
but yes, finding a stock for a new DM savage is more dfficult.

good lord, how long is that barrel? 30"?

26"

wierd, i have a couple 26" guns and that looks a lot longer. might just be the camera angle :)
 
do you ever get to leave that room with your guns? :D if you ever get a chance to go hunting, take your camera and get some pics of your guns in the field, maybe leaning on the side of a dead moose or deer! :dancingbanana:

TB - While I do enjoy your firearm/game pics and regaling tales of outdoorsmanship I should like to point out I was probably hunting when you were languishing as single cell DNA.... ;) :p
 
My all weather 'go to' gun is a wood/blued Remmy 742 in .30-06 that after 40 years of life and about 20 cleanings has shot enough moose in 15A to fill a semi truck - and all without any rust or undue damage.
Not that I don't covet a nice stainless and synthetic rifle like these guys are posting, but do you REALLY need one?? Yours seemed to work pretty fine this year!! :D
ps. If you are a true gunnut and dont need reasons to need guns my vote is the Tikka T3 lite in .270. Light, durable, corrosion resistant and Jeff Cooper would approve.
 
I think I already posted on this thread, but too lazy to go back and look. Tikka T3 Lite Stainless - 7lbs scope n' all (could go 6.8 if I went to a Leupy ultra-light). Last trip to the range - 5 shots, 0.90 inches (had I stopped at 4, it would have been a 0.2 inch group). Less than $1,000 all-in - works for me.

stainless_tikka.jpg
 
I think I already posted on this thread, but too lazy to go back and look. Tikka T3 Lite Stainless - 7lbs scope n' all (could go 6.8 if I went to a Leupy ultra-light). Last trip to the range - 5 shots, 0.90 inches (had I stopped at 4, it would have been a 0.2 inch group). Less than $1,000 all-in - works for me.

stainless_tikka.jpg

If I didn`t pay under $1200 for my package, this is likely what I would have bought. It is a .270 from the look of the cartridge, right?
My friend just bought one with a Burris 3-9 all new for a shade over $900. I took it out with some old loads I had (140 AB' s and 58gr of H4831sc). It made perfect little triangles from 3/4-1". Sounds like a freakin' bargain to me!
These rifles are also really easy to maintain.
 
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