Comparing rifles. Savage to Remington.

[pharaoh2]

Years back, I owned a God awful ugly looking model 70 Winchester Varmint. It was a push feed, 26 inch heavy barreled monster in .243 Winchester. But boy would that thing shoot. Recently, I've been giving thought about another rig similar to this. I have gotten to like the Remington rifle, and if you tell anyone, I'll deny it. I've looked at and handled most 700's. The VLS is nice looking. The V/S was probably a better rifle. But I admit I haven't touched the SPS Varmint yet.

Now we all know Savage rifles are a diamond in the rough. They too offer a 26 inch, heavy barrelled model with a synthetic stock. In my mind, that may just be a better platform for building a truely accurate rifle. Plus an easily adjustable trigger is a bonus, even though usually most cases it's a set it and forget it thing.

Now this rifle I had saw alot of range time. But it did come out on the occasional walk with me. It certainly wasn't a pleasure to lug around, but once the bi-pod came out, things were good. So I should put it this way;

I'm looking for a heavy barreled rifle in .243 that will see mostly range time, but the occasional hunt. Out of the two choices, what can owners tell me about accuracy expectations between these two rifles? What are they capable of, really? It's a big task to live up to. My Winchester put 10, 55 grain Nosler bullets into a hole that could be covered with a dime at 100 yards. Can I expect similar accuracy with one of these?

 

[skhunter]

This is what my old sendero does for me.

 

[mylesrom]

My Winchester Super shadow in 223 WSSM with light barrel was shooting under 1/2" groupings on its first try with factory ammo, so its not necessary to have a heavy barrel to obtain accuracy, nor is a heavy barrel going to guarantee you 1/2" groupings...

For the heavy barrel rifles you are looking at, Savages makes some very accurate ones in the 12 Varminter series, range from 600 to 1000 bucks. Their long range low profile varminter is nice, but I don't think it comes in 243. Along remington lines, I would look at the serendo. Though the Remingtons are probably a little more expensive than the Savages.

 

[pharaoh2]

This is what my old sendero does for me.

Nice shooting.

 

[superd222]

Let's hear from guys who own or have owned these rifles in 243

I have a similar project on the go - to avoid asking the same question, I'll poach off this thread and hopefully we can draw out some information-rich testimonials.

I shoot left and have narrowed it down to three: Savage (16FLHSS), Rem. 700 (BDL), AND Tikka (T-3 Hunter/Lite) - all in 243. The Sav and Rem have about 1:9 twist. Tikka is 1:10 (may not stabilize/shoot the heaviest 100gr 243 bullets quite as well?).

The only difference in my search is I'm looking at sporter weight barrels - for a walk-around-all-day varmint/hunting rifle.

So, let's hear from the guys who own of have a good working knowledge of these rifles in 243!!!

Please let us know details about accuracy, fit/finish, etc.

Thank you -SD