What’s the real deal with Savage?

[fatelvis]

I always hear that for the money it’s hard to beat Savage’s rifles for accuracy. But then I continually hear people commenting on Savage’s very rough bores, with a ton of tool marks/ chatter marks. Do they foul like crazy but shoot accurately regardless? I’m thinking of buying one, but wonder if just buying a donor rifle and rebarreling, or buying just an action might be a better idea. Thanks for any input guys!

 

[dminn1]

My experience with new Savage rifles has been good. I bought a new model 10fp in .308 several years ago and have long ago shot the barrel out. It was a consistent .5 moa rifle and got me started in the early days of F class competition when the same target was used that the sling shooters use. That rifle held its own against many custom rigs but when the scoring rings shrank on the new target It didn't fair so well. It copper fouled moderately its whole 5000 round life but didn't seem to affect its accuracy in long strings of fire without cleaning.

My other Savage that I have experience with is a recent purchase of a BA Stealth in 6.5 Creedmoor. I bought this rifle at a good price to use the left hand action and chassis as the basis of a semi-custom steel shooting rifle. The fatory barrel was a decent shooter never going over .625 moa for 5 shot strings but also never going much under that. Shot this barrel for about 1000 rounds and replaced it with a 30" Criterion in the same chamber. It is a 8 twist barrel and it shoots extremely well with the 156g Berger bullet which performs great on our long range steel targets. One issue I have had with this left hand Savage is unreliable feeding and ejection that was caused by the length of the ejector that came with the rifle. The ejector was not letting the rounds feed from the magazine without pulling the bolt back slightly after the initial attempt to feed the round. Shortening the ejector slightly fixed the feeding issue but has caused the occasional round to not exit the action when ejecting. Not a huge deal for me as I mostly single feed but could be for some.

All in all I like Savage rifles. I like the accu trigger that comes with the rifle and have been happy with the accuracy of the two new ones I have experience with.

 

[7887mm08]

I have bought 3 different used savage model 11's. All were bought for the actions to rebarrel.
I shot all of them before I unscrewed the barrels. They all shot under an inch at 100 with factory ammo
that I had on hand. I had a hard time unscrewing the barrels knowing how well they shot. I just wanted different calibers.

 

[jpx2rk]

I've got 3 Savage FV12's, all shoot sub MOA with handloads, sometimes in the 3's, but always around .5 or .6 when I do my part. Sunday I was testing a new load combo in the 223, all 4 test loads (different powder charges) shot in the 3's at 100yds for 3 round test groups. All still have the factory barrels.
I hope to go back today for round 2 of testing. Just don't use a borescope on the bores, you'll truly wonder how that rifle does what it does at times.

 

[uashooter]

I have had two Savage center fires and one rim fire. I do believe that they are very good value for factory rifles, but it is important to have perspective on them. The factory barrels will shoot sub MoA a bit, but there is a world difference between 0.8 and 0.3. They factory barrels in my experience are real copper mines, they yield blue patches and fluid like crazy. Doesn’t keep them from shooting ok, it is just the way they are. My experience with Savage centefire factory barrels is that They frequently will shoot 0.7-0.8 with good loads, I would suggest that they rarely will shoot honest multi 5 shot groups in the .2-.3 areas. I have put PacNor barrels on them, and and have a Krieger to install next. With the PacNors, good loads can move to the 0.3-0.6 possibility space, the combination is probably never a 0.15-0.35 rig. The trigger type is a substantial limiting factor. I have gone thru stock, Apachee, Timney, RfleBasix and the 3 lever Jard. The new Jard is IMO the best, but it has some “personality” that I am still working to dial in. Given that I am a F-Class shooter, I would like to be at 0.25-0.35 fairly consistently at 100 yards in calm wind, if I had it to do over, I would have gone REMAGE and had the better triggers.

 

[gman47564]

I shoot several savages.. tuned up right and a good load put together for them and they will shoot half moa or better.. and yes the barrels look like a train wreck in there but that doesn't keep them from shooting well if you can shoot well.. some dont eject a spent round as good as they should but that can be helped a little.. shoot the crap out of the factory barrel and learn the gun. Then screw a new pipe on it and see how good they can really be..

 

[243winxb]

Over all good accuracy.
But seen a short chamber, where factory ammo would not allow the bolt to close.

Another had misfires, came back fron Savage still producing misfire. Reloader went to neck sizing, cured problem. Seemed a reload problem to me?

Guy at range shooting a Savage 338 Lapua mag. Said bore scope showed rough bore. Firing Tubb Final Finish as a test before fitting with custom barrel. The process was improving accuracy, his claim.

My experence 1980, 30-06 , average accuracy.
Early model Axis 223 , very accurate for a entry level rifle & heavy trigger & $50 Bushnell scope package. Followed Savage break in instructions. Thats a first for me.


The Savage "Custon" Shop" uses standard production parts, nothing special.

A high pressure event may be more dangerous in a Savage action then a Rem 700? The Savage extractor seems to go flying online?

Would buy more Savages to play with if i had a use for one.

 

[Adam in WI]

I see five pages easy...

 

[F Class John]

I’m like a lot of people above. My first real f-class gun was a savage target and it shot better than I could at the time and was a great starter wife for me but it also had a Brux barrel on it. I have a number of guys who use a Savage in my group (including my old one that’s still getting sold from one new shooter to the next as they progress) and in my opinion they’ll almost always shoot better when you get rid of their factory barrel. I feel that’s their only real weak spot ‘for the money’.

 

[bluealtered]

I'm an old fart who has been shooting savage's since 1964 and never quit even when they went bad for a few years. The first rule of buying a savage is "Never look down the barrel of a savage", yes they look like someone took a rasp to them but they will shoot anyway.
The never look down the barrel statement came from one of savages factory shooters over on savage shooters many years ago. I have included a pic of the latest savage i bought from a three gun shooter (6.5cm) in upstate new york, he was honest about the round count, which was at that time 798rds.

It was dirt cheap because everybody thought it was shot out. I'm not a competitive shooter, just a hunter. This was the first time out from the bench at 100yds without a rear bag and using a $29 MTM pistol front rest. It's not bad for a shot out barrel, the dot is 1" and it was with factory ammo.

 

[STOMP442]

My only real complaint with Savage is their constant changing of action screw spacing, bolt release and the like which causes a lack of aftermarket support and some confusion to the average person when not familiar with them. As far a function goes they work fine and I even like the accu-trigger for a factory trigger. I own a handful of Savage rifles some from back when they were all a long action and even had a barrel recess like the Remingtons to others that are just a couple of years old. They all shoot great and work very well for what they are intended for. The positive side to a Savage is that they are very easy to re-barrel and upgrade. I have a couple set up for match use that shoot extremely well and was put together in a matter of minutes.

 

[JFrank]

Mine won’t eject spent BR cases at all, I’ve considered maybe carving out a drop port but here lies the problem with Savage, the cost of improving outweighs the value.

 

[Dgd6mm]

The Savage Haters will be all over this thread!

 

[gme]

Savage beginning to end factory tour video

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=221855082275079

 

[300_whisper]

The Savage Haters will be all over this thread!

yeah! Savage sux!

 

[rsmithsr50]

welll they are GOOD rifles for the money( talking their middle, not the cheap nor the expensive). average to poor quality, some shoot well some soot average, occasionally one shoots great. probably more than adequate for hunting. I had about nine current production rifles in the last 5 years or so. only one is excellent, a heavy bbl 308 that holds the f class 600 yd x-ring with 185's. I have sold off 6 of them (223 thru 300 wsm) and trying to decide on the other 2 308's. I have gone back to making my rifles. action design is poor for bedding, requires too much stock cutout. too little support.

 

[300_whisper]

Pretty awesome for do it yourself home brews. My two beefs are one, action sizing as already mentioned and they are ugly.

 

[Evan]

here lies the problem with Savage, the cost of improving outweighs the value.

I agree.

OP, your requirements and budget may be different, but I learned the hard way that my money was better spent going custom from the start. You'll be shocked how quickly that fixer upper factory "good deal" turns into an expensive pig with lipstick that you can't sell for anything.

If you leave well enough alone and shoot the 300 dollar rifle as is, you'll do fine. But it always starts with a stock or a trigger and goes downhill from there. Next thing you know, you're a stone's throw from a custom that would have made you happy from day one. At least that's been my experience. I regret every single factory gun I've bought and it's not because they didn't shoot. They've all shot very well.

 

[Richard Jones]

I have quite a few Savages that I've 'built'. All shoot very well, but they won't win much if anything against a custom. I like them because I can fiddle with them myself AND they shoot decent. All of mine have Pac-Nors, Shilens, Douglas, McGowan, etc. No factory barrels, altho' I have one old factory 223 varmint barrel that shot really, really well with N133 and Barts 52's............Just can't bring myself to get rid of it.

They're fine for what they are, but they're not what they're not.

 

[Rsadams]

I have only one , but have no problems with it... It shoots just fine.... These days you take your chances with any rifle ie Remington , Savage , Ruger etc... Mines a 10T-sr in .308 24inch barrel and it will hold 3/4 and under all day with Federal Gold Medal Match or reloads , good enough for me.... Did the factory barrel break in on it and it and haven't regretted it....