Why are factory savage rifles accurate?
- Thread starter Phys86
- Start date
Infrequent Shooter
Gold $$ Contributor
older flat top receiver, pre accutrigger is the ticket
Old Navy
Gold $$ Contributor
Ticket for what?
Infrequent Shooter
Gold $$ Contributor
describing the HB savage rifles that are darned accurate.
DShortt
Gold $$ Contributor
I'd say it's accurate to say that no factory rifle straight out of the box is going to impress a top competitor in any discipline.
Accurate compared to what?
No one is winning wood with an out-of-the-box mass produced rifle.
Putting game animals down? Sure.
Edit to add - I have 5 Savage rifles. 3 centerfire and 2 - 22lr. They shoot well but when I get behind my Borden or CZ, ......
The difference is readily apparent.
Accurate compared to what?
No one is winning wood with an out-of-the-box mass produced rifle.
Putting game animals down? Sure.
Edit to add - I have 5 Savage rifles. 3 centerfire and 2 - 22lr. They shoot well but when I get behind my Borden or CZ, ......
The difference is readily apparent.
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This post is 100% spot on and my thoughts to a T for years!….. My first 1000 yard Br rifle was a model 12 br in 6.5-284 I still own it and it got me started and hooked in the sport but 3/4 moa at 1000 was the best it ever did and 1 moa + was its normal and that was after I tweaked every factory part to get all I could outta it. The custom Dasher boys targets were less than half the size of mine consistently and sometimes more that was in 2010. It was a nice shooting rifle for what it was and I never DQ’d with it but as you stated,… accurate compared to what?…
Wayne
Multiracer
Gold $$ Contributor
This rifle today is still produced for the new guys getting interested in the sport just as it it did for you and many others.
I’ve never owned a Savage; likely never will. From what I’ve seen they have a floating bolt head and that is likely what makes some of them shoot good. Sorry, but floating bolt head smells to me like a company doing a fudge job for lack of low tolerance. It’s a whore approach and total lack of quality. Besides, any rifles with cheap plastic parts you couldn’t even give me for free. I’d give it away for free in turn. Would I use a Savage ? Sure I would, for a fence post. I wouldn’t even decorate my shed with it. It’s not worthy of even that. LMAO.
All kidding and mocking aside. If you really can’t wait to save and buy better than it’s okay for a starter rifle I suppose. Better to shoot with one, than not shoot at all. Personally, I prefer firearms with quality durable parts. I wouldn’t touch a low grade Remington either. Save and buy Deluxe at a minimum if you can. Even they can have an issue that require work to get them to be consistently good and reliable rifles.
All kidding and mocking aside. If you really can’t wait to save and buy better than it’s okay for a starter rifle I suppose. Better to shoot with one, than not shoot at all. Personally, I prefer firearms with quality durable parts. I wouldn’t touch a low grade Remington either. Save and buy Deluxe at a minimum if you can. Even they can have an issue that require work to get them to be consistently good and reliable rifles.
Downeast
Gold $$ Contributor
I have a couple of Savage rifles, mostly their Competition offerings. What is sad is as far as I know no other company supports the competitive sports like Savage. Interested in BR? Great! Just run down to your local gun shop and pick up an over the counter rifle. Winchester, Remington, Tikka, Bergara, CZ, nope...nothing. Savage, bingo, there you go. Why spend thousands of dollars purchasing a custom rifle when you realize that BR sucks! Same goes with F Class. Savage supports both with introductory rifles that have, and still do, bring new folks into the sports.
I think it's their floating bolt head. I have an old Savage .308 with a 26" barrel and a heavy laminate stock from the factory that shoots extremely accurate with nothing done to it.
NF1E
Gold $$ Contributor
4 older flat top Savages with none of them in original chassis. All have had multiple barrels over the years and I enjoy them all. Traveled with plenty of the 40x crowd over the years and always have kept them guessing. Still say it's the entire system rilfe/ammo/shooter and gear that make the difference. Not a bench rester. Most of my shooting is prone with a bipod and rear bag or monopod sometimes. Love it all. I may occasionally fall asleep in the prone, but sure enjoy every minute with my old Savage rifles. Whatta Hobby!
JEFFPPC
Gold $$ Contributor
Some of you I bet have a grudge from one day getting your custom bench guns rear end beat by a lowly crappy Savage. Lol. I have 2 retired range records that are with a cheap skinny plastic stocked Savge with a fat ugly barrel that shot lights out. I shot it until it keyhole. I had a single shot M12 I won factory class at a 500 yard ground hog match and only the winning custom gun beat my score. A lot of very good shooters were at that match. They helped lots of folks ease into the game. Sad so many are derogatory towards them. Another causality of bore scopes that never ever made anyone shoot better. They are still here, where is Remington and Winchester.
GetReal
Silver $$ Contributor
Not going to win many PRS competitions but my 10fp was 3/4 MOA with Factory ammo. I know with handloads I could have gotten it under half Moa which is more than good enough for a thousand yard steel plate competition.
You don't have to win the trophy in order to be shooting a very accurate rifle. And a lot of guys that don't place in the top three are shooting very accurate rifles.
That said I moved on from the 10fp a long time ago and so you make some valid points
DeadWoodDan
Silver $$ Contributor
Another Savage Fan. Checks all the boxes needed for my discipline(s). Don't compete, may some day and If I get there, then a custom will come into the picture. I think for the local (very small) clubs we shoot at all are just having fun and learning, not trying to get invited to the nationals. As others said Savage supports the shooting community. Still learning on my PTA 6mmBR.
CF Junkie
Gold $$ Contributor
I have 7 Savage rifles.
The first two were Law Enforcement models in .308. 10FP and 10 FCP-K.
I thought both were accurate until I really learned how to shoot. Then I realized that they were really accurate and was averaging in the low .4s.
Then, I bought a 12 LRP in 5.6mm CM with a HS Precision stock from the factory. It shot even better.
Suddenly I was able to shoot in the high .2s and low .3s.
I'm tall and have long arms. Factory stocks are generally made for "average" sized shooters. I was creeping up on the action with recoil with the shorter stocks.
You can't shoot accurately unless you are in the same shooting position for every shot.
The factory actions and barrels were accurate, just not for a larger shooter.
All of my Savages now have stocks with enough length to allow me to remain stable.
My Savage's can shoot better than I can.
The first two were Law Enforcement models in .308. 10FP and 10 FCP-K.
I thought both were accurate until I really learned how to shoot. Then I realized that they were really accurate and was averaging in the low .4s.
Then, I bought a 12 LRP in 5.6mm CM with a HS Precision stock from the factory. It shot even better.
Suddenly I was able to shoot in the high .2s and low .3s.
I'm tall and have long arms. Factory stocks are generally made for "average" sized shooters. I was creeping up on the action with recoil with the shorter stocks.
You can't shoot accurately unless you are in the same shooting position for every shot.
The factory actions and barrels were accurate, just not for a larger shooter.
All of my Savages now have stocks with enough length to allow me to remain stable.
My Savage's can shoot better than I can.
PhilC
Silver $$ Contributor
My late 80s 700BDL is pretty but has the worst factory trigger and accuracy of all my centerfire rifles.
Every one of my 5 Savage long/short action rifles shoot better than the BDL, by a wide margin, but they don't have fancy gloss finished stocks, cut checkering, and notchy/gritty 6.5lb factory triggers. All of my Savage rifles were half the price, or less, than the BDL and I can rebarrel any of them with common hand tools.
Every one of my 5 Savage long/short action rifles shoot better than the BDL, by a wide margin, but they don't have fancy gloss finished stocks, cut checkering, and notchy/gritty 6.5lb factory triggers. All of my Savage rifles were half the price, or less, than the BDL and I can rebarrel any of them with common hand tools.
That’s what all those folks want to know with a fortune in custom actions etc., when the Savage team shows up at a meet.
NF1E
Gold $$ Contributor
Try this 10 dot challenge and see how all those fancy rifles performs against the lowly Savage. This target with an 8-9 score means 9 out of 10 1/4" dots were hit within a 5 minute time. Shot prone off bipod and rear bag. Haven't seen any others that come close, but then I only compete against myself. Whatta Hobby!
charlie b
Gold $$ Contributor
Old thread.
A lot of us like Savages, despite the lack of quality in some designs, especially their plastic stocks. I got my first one because it was an Axis with a varmint weight barrel in .223 and was cheap (at a Walmart). I wanted to determine if rifle shooting could become a hobby to me in retirement. Well, it worked I was also happy that I could change a barrel at home and that the bolt head could be swapped for different cartridges. Until I upped my game it shot better than I could.
Despite really rough bores many of them shoot better than the guy behind the gun. And there are quite a few who do compete with them using custom barrels.
If I were a serious competitor I'd certainly go to a custom action. But, I am not, so the Savage serves me well. It is not a Tika or Bergara but it cost MUCH less and shoots as well or better than the other factory guns.
Why do they seem to shoot well? I've only had two. That cheap .223 spoiled me. I later got a 12BVSS in .308 that was not so accurate. It was really sensitive to barrel temp and load. To maintain group size I had to monitor barrel temp closely. So, why the difference? I suspect it has to do with their steel supplier. As others do, Savage has a guy(s) who straightens the barrels before assembly. The more it needs to be bent the more stresses induced, which leads to temperature affects.
And I do like that they are still the same company. Not bankrupt or scooped up by some investment company.
A lot of us like Savages, despite the lack of quality in some designs, especially their plastic stocks. I got my first one because it was an Axis with a varmint weight barrel in .223 and was cheap (at a Walmart). I wanted to determine if rifle shooting could become a hobby to me in retirement. Well, it worked
I was also happy that I could change a barrel at home and that the bolt head could be swapped for different cartridges. Until I upped my game it shot better than I could.Despite really rough bores many of them shoot better than the guy behind the gun. And there are quite a few who do compete with them using custom barrels.
If I were a serious competitor I'd certainly go to a custom action. But, I am not, so the Savage serves me well. It is not a Tika or Bergara but it cost MUCH less and shoots as well or better than the other factory guns.
Why do they seem to shoot well? I've only had two. That cheap .223 spoiled me. I later got a 12BVSS in .308 that was not so accurate. It was really sensitive to barrel temp and load. To maintain group size I had to monitor barrel temp closely. So, why the difference? I suspect it has to do with their steel supplier. As others do, Savage has a guy(s) who straightens the barrels before assembly. The more it needs to be bent the more stresses induced, which leads to temperature affects.
And I do like that they are still the same company. Not bankrupt or scooped up by some investment company.
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