Finally Savageless

[topwater225]

Interesting topic to me as I have the opposite view.....

First of all, my game is tactical long range stuff.....paper stages at 100 but mostly steel out to 1000 yards. 95% of the stages are shot prone off of a bi-pod and rear bag.

I have had some very nice custom rifles built off of Bat Tactical Action (BTA), Defiance, and Stiller. All were very nice and smooth and sweet and lovely, and beautiful.........AND EXPENSIVE

I noticed several guys shooting factory Savages doing very well in the comps. It finally got to me to the point that I just had to prove myself wrong in that I could do just as well with a sub $1k rifle as my $3.5k rifles. I sold my custom and recently purchased an LRP in 6.5 Creedmoor.

I have just over 100 rounds through it now, and I am telling you that it is just as accurate and consistent as most of the customs I have owned and more so than the others. It's been a complete pleasure to just load and shoot without much development work. It has blown my mind on some of the 100 yard groups this thing has shot....still need to test longer distances (group wise).

Yeah, the accutrigger is not the Jewell that I am used to, but it isn't all that bad either. It's setup at about 1.25 lbs and never has locked up once.

This story is a big deal to me because I was the "Custom only" guy. Not too long ago I would have been the last person in the world to be telling you this story!!

 

[waterfwlr]

Has there ever been a test? Like two identical setups in a machine rest. One with a Savage action and the other a custom action?

 

[broncman]

Personally I REALLY like my savages PTA accutriggers!
I basically use them like a two stage and everytime I shoot a Jewell of someone elses, it sneaks up on me or I fire "early".

On a BR gun sure....but FTR it does me good!

I have sleeved and reworked both PTA actions though to get them as smooth as I want...but I like them much better than my R700's...

 

[gaboon]

I don't care what everybody else is shooting. As long as i am having a good time and so everybody else is too.

 

[chuckbuster243]

I don't care what everybody else is shooting. As long as i am having a good time and so everybody else is too.

I could not agree more. When I quit enjoying it I will quit.

 

[Waskawood]

It's going to be a looooong winter.

 

[BigDMT]

All 3 of the Savage rifles I put together were very accurate and would give my other custom rigs a run for their money. All were sub 1/2 moa rifles. One was a 20 VarTarg on a model 10 with a McGowen barrel. Another was a 6.5 Rem Mag on a 116 action also with a McGowen barrel. The third a 6.5x47L on a model 12 Benchrest action with a Krieger barrel.

All were very accurate, but all had triggers that were mediocre, and all had that "cheap" feel to them.

When you can cycle a very nicely timed Rem 700 with one finger and thumb using a PTG custom bolt and Jewell trigger set at a very crisp and SAFE 4 oz......... Man, oh man... It just makes you want to get rid of all your Savage rifles.... And that's exactly what I did ;D

 

[BoydAllen]

I think that there is a little apples and oranges going on here. When the SAV II trigger first came out, I wrote it up in an article for PS, after installing it on one of my rifles. I set it as low as it would go, which frankly was lower than I would ordinarily set one except for benchrest competition. This is not to say that special handling was required, but that I do not shoot triggers that are set that light, no matter who made them, in the field. The pull weight was 4 oz. Now I admit that a Jewel will go lower, but for the application that I was using it for the aftermarket Savage trigger was just fine. Now if you want to make an apples to apples, Remington to Savage comparison, I think that you would be comparing the factory triggers, and in that race, the Savage wins, particularly when considering their target models. These days, rather than invest in upgrading an action, I would go for a Remington clone, and just put a barrel on it. and if that clone happened to be Savage drop in barrel compatible, so much the better. That feature would give me a lot of barrels to choose from. A while back, a friend shipped his reamer off to Shilen, and they used it to chamber a drop in barrel for his model 10 that was based on their very top match grade barrel. I mention this because some may not know that this is an option. What he ended up with is a perfect match between brass, chamber, and FL die. The rifle shoots very well, and cleanup is a breeze, thanks to the barrel being lapped.

 

[Jeff Von Rosenberg]

I find this amusing I have ,Bat , stolle, Speedy built Remingtonsand a few others and I just built a couple of Savages!! Live them , they shoot with anything I have thanks in Part to Fred Moreo (SSS) They are not as good loOking as the Bat or Stolle but are both .250 rifles.

 

[NateHaler]

I find this amusing I have ,Bat , stolle, Speedy built Remingtonsand a few others and I just built a couple of Savages!! Live them , they shoot with anything I have thanks in Part to Fred Moreo (SSS) They are not as good loOking as the Bat or Stolle but are both .250 rifles.

Fred Moreo did a lot to popularize the Savage. He got so popular himself that his shop gets an "F" from the Better Business Bureau due to customer complaints. The advantage of a Salvage is that you don't need to send it to a guy like Fred, whose response time in recent years has been glacial.

 

[gotcha]

I don't care what everybody else is shooting. As long as i am having a good time and so everybody else is too.
[/quote]

I could not agree more. When I quit enjoying it I will quit.
[/quote] Please add me to this list So I can ignore the "LIBERAL" insult.

 

[BigDMT]

I basically just started this thread to get some conversation going since I'm stranded at work camp in a blizzard Really good to hear all the opinions.

Boyd,
I would have to disagree with you on the Rem and Sav factory triggers to a certain point. Meaning that with the "current" Rem X mark trigger VS Savage accutrigger... Accutrigger probably wins there.

But old style Rem factory trigger VS accutrigger... I have to go with old style factory Rem trigger. With the proper work over, the pull weight of the original Rem triggers can be made VERY light and still remain consistent, reliable, and safe.

The accutrigger can also be made VERY light, but safety and reliability are badly compromised. Especially if the safety has been engaged, then disengaged. I understand that the trigger blade adds an extra measure of safety, that's why I added reliability to the pot.

 

[jonbearman]

No offense taken as I just wanted to state my position and the thought of doing most of my own smiting is a blast.I will say that the savage safety is touchy for sure.It has to be adjusted with great care.I bought a stainless sav model 116 in .270. I put the safety on and pulled lightly on the trigger,it went off.Sooo back to adjustments and found that savage didnt even attempt to adjust it.After 15 minutes of careful adjustment and now you can not make it fire until you take it off safe.I love all guns but some say that factory guns cant be super accurate is wrong.The trigger,barrel,and stock are the keys to building a good accurate gun.Now the jingle word is time and true,I have yet to have primary extraction problems so heavily claimed by some fella's.I took an f-class and added a pacnor chambered in a 20 caliber cartridge and it shoots in the low one's.I bought a ptg bolt and lift kit.Did my magic with the BAS and it cycle's as smooth as a tricked out remmy which I love too.I love my panda,it took me 2 years to afford one in 6ppc,I also have a sleeve gun which shoots outstanding at this time.So you see I love them all and I am a staunch conservative who believe's the constitution should be followed as it is based on God's word.Eric ,I think you were kidding and I am sticking to it.

 

[BigDMT]

Good post Jon

 

[ShootDots]

I have been watching and observing, since I have been on this site, all the writings about Savage.. Well I have had exactly 1 Savage in my life. I bought it for my son on his 10th birthday some 20+years ago. Well he liked it but some time later wanted a Remington. So I bought the Savage from him so he could buy the Remington. Well once I had the Savage, I immediately took it over to Jim Myers from "One Hole Gunsmithing".. He recrowned the muzzle, set the trigger (wonderfully crisp at 1pound) put a laminated stock on it and handed it back to me. I believe I had all of $500.00 in it. It was in 22-250 with a 1-12twist. I was using it for prairie dogs and it shot those old 52gr Berger M.E.F.'s.. At 200 yards it would shoot 10 of them into a nickle! I shot that thing for so long and killed so many 'dogs I can't count 'em all.. I know I had well over 4000 rounds on that rifle. I had to begin shooting Sierra 55gr Blitzkings so I could reach the rifling or at least get close to it. It still shot pretty dang good. I wanted to see just how well it WOULD shoot. Well at P.S.C. on the 4th Sunday of every month we hold a "fun shoot".. It is at 200 yards with modified 300 yard F-Open targets. Well I knew I needed a barrel but I wanted to send it off with a good salute for all the years of service. Well the fun-shoot is a "no pull" 60 shot for score competition. Once the dust settled on that fateful day, the score was 600-55X's! I beat everyone quite handily! Not bad for a 20 year old, 4000+ round "stock" SAVAGE 22-250! So people can snicker at a good old Savage, however, I have very fond memories of a rifle that, when it was new"er">> I would have stacked that baby up at 300 yards against just about anything!

Yes, I have more than my fair share of "customs" and love them all>> But I really can't, nor will I try, to take anything away from someone who owns a Savage..

 

[6xcshooter]

should of stuck with savage ,ruger isnt much and the remingtons either. and a T C you never really graduated up to anything

 

[ShootDots]

Well, I have B.A.T.s, Panda's, Pierce's etc.... I think they are a step up!

 

[Phil3]

As I am in the midst of building a 6mmBR rifle and not having decided on an action, this thread is interesting. Everyone has specific needs and biases and those will guide what action is selected. I for one, like a fair price, good build quality, features, a trigger that hopefully will not have to be replaced, an inexpensive mag system, nor require too many upgrades to get it where I am satisfied with it. I am not into mega-buck guns, so I have to stick with factory actions. For me, and my needs, the Howa action best satisfies that. For others, it maybe the Remington, Savage, BigHorn, etc. I've yet to handle and operate a Savage and hope to do that this week. It may change my mind about the Howa, or it may reaffirm my choice of that action.

Phil

 

[BigDMT]

should of stuck with savage ,ruger isnt much and the remingtons either. and a T C you never really graduated up to anything

I have had nearly as much experience with Savage rifles as anyone in here. I know exactly what they are and they just aren't for me.

I've had Rugers along with Savages for many years. A Ruger has never failed me in the field hunting in ANY weather condition. Savages have given me feeding issues and, as always, trigger and safety issues in extreme weather.

The last custom rifle I built was on the TC Venture action. You obviously have never inspected one closely to see the masterful machine work that goes into the action. The factory stocks leave something to be desired as there are no other options beyond the factory stock to date. But the actions are a masterpiece in their price range with a nice crisp adjustable trigger that is reliable and safe. Plus with the addition of innovative technologies like a Fat bolt design, 3 locking lugs with 60 degree bolt throw,titanium nitride recoil lug bearing surface, center feed magazines, and triple pinned recoil lugs... They just leave Savage completely in the dust.
When I asked my gunsmith how much it took to true up the Venture action, he said it was already perfectly squared on the receiver face and recoil surface so he barely even touched them. Said he didn't even really have to lap the lugs to get excellent contact on all 3. How many Savage actions straight from the factory can make that claim???

 

[nra-for-life]

Pffff. I only shoot customs! LOL yeah don't I wish. I love savage for what they are... but yes if I could afford it then every one of my guns would be a custom of course. Anyways the important thing is to shoot and enjoy. Hopefully you got a lot of enjoyment and learned a lot on your savages and you will keep that knowledge with you, share and help others, and keep learning as you continue to shoot on many different rifle platforms. - Justin