Are savage rifles generally picky?

[EchoM70]

Hi all,

I just got a new to me savage 16 in 300 WSM. This is the second center fire savage rifle I have owned and just like the first one it's proving to be a challenge to find a factory offering it likes. The other one I had would only shoot winchester silvertips under an inch and this one so far after a couple of the cheaper offerings has given me around 2 Moa accuracy... I have yet to try the silvertips in the 300 WSM but I plan on given them a try.


So how's everybody's savages? Do they just plain shoot everything? Or are you guys like me and having a hard time finding a good factory offering.


(I do hand load, I however like to find some accurate factory fodder just in case I may need to purchase some ammo for whatever reason.)

 

[hipoint]

hmmm, never owned a magnum anything in a rifle, but for my .30-06's (and there have been a few savages over the years) I bought absolutely the cheapes ammo I could find, every time, and always the rifle was better than me... I usually went with the 180 grain offerings in .30-06, no real reason other than it was heavier.

Federal blue box ammo has worked out great for me, can't recall owning any centerfire rifles that ever shot much over an inch, and rarely that. Maybe give some cheap stuff a try, you might get a win-win situation there.

 

[PJSprog]

The only Savage rifles I've ever owned are two rimfires; .22LR & .22WMR. Not unlike the centerfires, though, different ammo performs differently in both of them. As far as I've ever known, most rifles are like this.
Isn't that part of the fun of a new (to you) rifle? Finding the best ammo (be it factory or handloads)?

 

[Grizzdude]

If you can, pick up a reloading book and roll your own. Ammo cost is cheaper and you will be able to develop a load that is very accurate in your rifle.

 

[EchoM70]

Yeah finding/working up a good load is part of the fun, just sometimes you hear about picky rifles and such and I believe savages fall into this category. When you find the right load they shoot little bug holes but until you do you can't find a satisfactory loading, at least that seems to be my experience.

Btw I do hand load and I did post that in the op, When I get a new gun I always find a good factory load before I start working anything up for a bench test and just to know in case something happens I can get some good ammo for my rifle.

 

[TNBilly]

You should be getting groups in the area of 1 1/2" with most any factory stuff. You may have had the bad luck of trying some it just plain doesn't like. A lot of the Savage mags are a little long throated as well in my experience and will like the heaver rather than lighter bullet weights. When I did handload for them setting the bullet out made substantial improvement in the groups.

 

[allaroundhunter]

How quickly are you shooting the groups. The WSMs heat up barrels quite quickly. I have a Savage 16 in .270 WSM and I have learned to be patient with it when shooting groups.

 

[dagger dog]

I have had the exact opposite experience, 2 Savage center fire rifles 223 Rem 12 FV,
22 Hornet Model 40, but hand load for both and did since new have shot 50 rounds factory Hornet, and maybe 2-3 hundred factory 223 and both shot factory ammo well, and are very accurate with hand loads.

 

[Bio-Chem]

My savage in the .325WSM will shoot factory stuff into about an inch and a half, my hand loads into about an inch. There aren't a lot of factory offerings in the .325wsm, just a couple that i've shot, but i'd be pretty disappointed if couldn't find factory stuff that wouldn't go under 2"

 

[smwhiteid]

Hi all,

I just got a new to me savage 16 in 300 WSM. This is the second center fire savage rifle I have owned and just like the first one it's proving to be a challenge to find a factory offering it likes. The other one I had would only shoot winchester silvertips under an inch and this one so far after a couple of the cheaper offerings has given me around 2 Moa accuracy... I have yet to try the silvertips in the 300 WSM but I plan on given them a try.


So how's everybody's savages? Do they just plain shoot everything? Or are you guys like me and having a hard time finding a good factory offering.


(I do hand load, I however like to find some accurate factory fodder just in case I may need to purchase some ammo for whatever reason.)

i have a savage 300wsm and yes it is picky try the fedral 180gr or the win silver tip 150gr they both shoot great out of my rifle. if you hand load 180 gr use flat base not boat tails it will get you a tighter group

 

[Captcurt]

I have 2 Model 10 Sierras. One is in 243 and the other in 300WSM. The 243 is picky even with handloads. The 300 shoots anything that I put thru it well. Guns are like women. Every one of them is different.

 

[BudgetBucks1]

The only time I have had grouping issues with a Savage is due to scopes and scope mounts. Most Savages will shoot moa. Did you use the same scope mount on both rifles? Did you double check to make sure the mount is tight? What is your setup?

 

[herrwalther]

My Savage is pretty picky but it probably has more to do with the cheap scope on it than the ammo. Ammo wise and with irons it has been accurate with most ammo that I have shot through it from the cheaper PP ammo to Hornady SF stuff. The only loads that haven't been very accurate so far have been handloads, just haven't found the right recipe for it yet.

 

[Sav .250]

The only true way to find out is test as many different makes as possible. A winner(s) will surface .
Getting the best out of your weapon some time takes some effort. The end game is what your looking for.

 

[Still Shooting]

Another "Picky" Savage

I have a Savage 11 in 7mm WSM, and I found it was pretty particular as to what it liked. Since I reload, I set up a bunch of ladder loads, and finally settled on a 140gr. Nosler Ballstic Tip. With the right powder charge behind it, it prints 5 shots in 5/8" at 100 yds.

One day I was going to the range and had exhausted my reloads, so bought (as was said earlier) some 140 gr. Federal blue box - same group size!

I have yet to find a "sweet" load for Hornady 162gr. SST's, so next I plan to try out 175gr. Nosler Partitions and see what I can do with them... I'll fuss with the 162gr. SST's later!

 

[joed]

I owned 2 Savage rifles, a 10fp in .223 and a model 12 stainless with choate stock and fluted barrel in .22-250.

The 10fp was my favorite, it would shoot under 1/2" with no changes other than a timney trigger. It would only shoot the 59 gr match bullets that well though. And, there was a 30% chance the next round wasn't going to chamber. This was a rifle designed for LEO's sadly.

The model 12 would string shots vertically sort of like the left side of a V. After 6 months I sold it, nothing I did made it better. It was an expensive rifle that was not worth the price in my opinion.

I'm no longer a Savage fan and would sooner have something else. But I wouldn't pass on a Savage if I had the chance to buy one that I liked. Hate to say it but the 2 I owned did not measure up to any Remington or Winchester I owned.

 

[dvdcrr]

I think the hbar fp's and such are pretty accurate but the blued finish sporters can be picky. Ifyou want a nice 300wsm look at kimber, win, sako/tikka.

 

[tuj]

Savage makes good rifles, but inconsistently. My experience has largely been on the rimfire side with them, but I got a MKII that will not shoot no matter what. Not better than 6" at 50 yards with match ammo. I even re-crowned the barrel in an attempt to get it to shoot. Bedded it, etc. Not much improvements; I think I got a lemon because I have shot other MKII's that are great and my 93R17 is an excellent and accurate rifle.

 

[ms6852]

My Savage is 30 yrs old and likes Remington Corelokt. Bought Winchester supreme for a hunt and could not get 1 moa groups. best group was 1.75. Switched back to remington core-lokt which shoots sub moa at 300 yds. Five shot group at 1.90.

 

[Uncle Mike]

Which 'stock' does your Savage have. An 'Accustock' or .....
Did you remove the action from the stock at anytime?
How is the fouling in the barrel?
Are all the scope attachments good...is the scope sick?
2" out of that rifle....something's amiss!

Most of the time, it is a simple issue of action torque, meaning the action screws are not torqued to the proper specs. and/or the action screws may have not been torqued in the correct sequence.

 

[EchoM70]

Which 'stock' does your Savage have. An 'Accustock' or .....

It has a custom OEM stock... The stock has been fiberglass reinforced and cerakoted..fully free floated.

Did you remove the action from the stock at anytime?

It has been removed, is the correct sequence the front screw/back screw or vise versa?

How is the fouling in the barrel?

I have just cleaned it up real good with some hoppes and kg 12 to remove carbon/copper.

Are all the scope attachments good...is the scope sick?

Everything is fine, luepold rings and bases with a trusty prostaff sitting on top

2" out of that rifle....something's amiss!

I think I finally found the factory load it likes, but I am getting a heavy bolt lift with markings on the casing, I'll start another thread about that one.

But the factory load is Barnes Vor-Tx 165 grain TTSX, just shot a quick 3 shot group and it came in right at an inch... which is what i was exactly looking for.