Remington/ Savage

[mdpilot]

I'm in the market for a Rifle with a synthetic stock, 26" Stainless heavy fluted barrel, in 308. And it has to be left handed. Any suggestions? I've looked at the Remington VS SF and a Savage 12..... Is the remington worth the extra $$? Or do I save $$ on the rifle and spend it on the optics?
cm...

 

[dakotasin]

go w/ top-end glass first, get the best rifle w/ what you have left. if you can afford the rem, get it. if not, get the savage. both will work, and since you are asking this question, you don't have enough bias to care (yet), so either will make you happy...

if it were me, i'd go rem 700, badger max-50 rings, farrel or badger 1-piece base, and a leupold 6.5-20 lrt... but that's just what i would do.

 

[Ash]

And if it were me, I would go the Savage route with that first rate accutrigger. Good glass is good advice though.

Ash

 

[Master Blaster]

Hold them side by side work the bolt, try the trigger. The savage may be a tiny bit more accurate out of the box or not. Depending on which stock is on the rifle and your preference synthetic vs laminated you may prefer one stock over the other. If the remington has the McMillan stock on it it will cost almost 2x what the Savage will with the factory laminated stock. You can buy a stock for the savage (the same synthetic or another) and sell the old one The laminated stock will be pillar bedded, and may be better for benchrest, see which fits you best. The Savage will not need a trigger replacement since the accutrigger can be set to 1.5 lbs, and will be 100% safe even to carry. If you get the remington trigger down to that weight, it will not be 100% safe and if jared can fire when you take the safety off, something to consider if you will carry the rifle in the field. The remington can be fixed with an extra 150-300 spent on an aftermarket trigger and gunsmithing.

I have the savage and I also have a remington 700, I shoot the savage alot more, but the remington is an ADL which is lighter for field carry.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=119349&highlight=savage+range

 

[Prof]

I have both and to me it's a toss-up. The Accu-trigger is great. Mine came 2.0 lbs from the factory and crisp. I adjusted my Rem 700 factory trigger to 3.0 lbs and it passed all the safety tests. Remington has the name and more aftermarket options; Savage is a bit more accurate in my experience. Sorry, that's not probably going to help you decide. However, take it this way: either way you will be getting a good rifle. Oh, and I agree 1000% with Dakotasin: get the best scope you can afford. I like Leupold but Nikon and even the Bushnell 4200 line are both slightly less expensive but good glass. Lots of options!

 

[mdpilot]

decisions, decisions

Thanks for all the advise, I'll probably try the Savage.
Hows that for comitted?

cm...

 

[gump691]

i am in the same situation. i cant make up my mind between the savage or rem. everybody tells me the savage shoots better than the remington out of the box but its got a cheap feeling to it. the remington feels better but needs a trigger job on it. i was looking at the Model 10FP-LE2 savage. is there that much difference between the two?

 

[Prof]

Gump: The main difference is in the stock. The Savage comes with a flimsy, cheapo synthetic stock whereas the 700 VS has a McMillan (I believe; anyway, it's a much nicer stock). My Savage is a 12 LP Varmint with the really nice laminated stock that Savage does. I've had a Savage 12 FV and the first thing I did was replace the stock.

 

[gump691]

so if i go with the savage just loose the stock. as far as accuracy is there much difference between the two?

 

[Prof]

Not much. As stated above, the Savage has a reputation for being a tack-driver but the Remington is no slouch either. They both shoot better than I can. YMMV Good luck!

 

[Mike Hull]

i am in the same situation. i cant make up my mind between the savage or rem. everybody tells me the savage shoots better than the remington out of the box but its got a cheap feeling to it. the remington feels better but needs a trigger job on it. i was looking at the Model 10FP-LE2 savage. is there that much difference between the two?

Here you go. BTW, if you're not handy with this sort of thing, don't attempt it.
http://quarterbore.com/library/articles/rem700trigger.html

http://www.snipercountry.com/Articles/RemingtonTriggers.asp

Gump: The main difference is in the stock. The Savage comes with a flimsy, cheapo synthetic stock whereas the 700 VS has a McMillan (I believe; anyway, it's a much nicer stock). ..............

Remington uses HS Precision stocks.
http://www.hsprecision.com/index.html

 

[gump691]

adjusting that trigger doesnt look to difficult. if you were going to buy one today which would you get money really not being an issue?

 

[Prof]

"Remington uses HS Precision stocks.
http://www.hsprecision.com/index.htm"

Thanks, Mike, for correcting that. I knew it was a premium stock.

 

[Mike Hull]

adjusting that trigger doesnt look to difficult. if you were going to buy one today which would you get money really not being an issue?

Well, as the owner of a couple of Remington 700P's, I'd probably tend to be a bit biased.
Another thing is, I really don't like the "accu trigger" that Savage features.
I'm also from a time that you learned to adjust your regular trigger right, or replaced it with a custom. The accu trigger is not an answer, IMO, just a way to side step liability laws, while providing what they should be doing with normal triggers, ie; a good trigger pull. It's clumsy feeling compared to a proper trigger with a good pull. No flame wars please, I've heard all the arguments, and this is JMO.

Remington, on the other hand sets their triggers at 9-12 pounds for the same liability reasons.

 

[dakotasin]

adjusting that trigger doesnt look to difficult. if you were going to buy one today which would you get money really not being an issue?

remington.

http://www.baitshopboyz.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5433&PN=1

 

[Ash]

Understandable, regarding experience.

Just as I, in my own opinion and experience, find the Accutrigger to be wonderful (reminding me of a good military two-stage). JMO, of course, but I don't see any advantage in paying an extra $100 for the Remington that has an out-of-the-box trigger that is that bad. Even so, I will allow for those who like them. The 700 is a good rifle and certainly worth owning. And, while I have no respect for some other Remington products (the 700 not counted in that list), their shotguns are my favorite.

Ash

 

[Prof]

Not to start a flame war, either, but simply to present an opposite point of view for you to consider. I truly like the Accutrigger. It is, I think, a good solution to a real problem. It is easily adjustable although most, like mine, come from the factory with an excellent weight of pull. I adjusted my Rem 700 trigger using the instructions referred to above and it was not difficult. So, from my perspective, the trigger is not an issue in deciding between the two rifles (unless you really don't want to try your hand at a trigger job --- in that case, get the Savage).

 

[hps1]

Having owned 5 Win. Mod 70's, only one 40XC (match grade rifle based on the 700 action) and two Savages, choosing between the Savage and the Remington is an easy choice for me. YMMV, of course.

Three of the 70's were pre-64's and were all wonderful rifles. One of the post 64's, a 300 WM has been a bit of a problem accuracy wise, producing only 1.75 moa groups on the average, and that only after considerable "tweaking". The other, a 375 h&h, shoots 3/4 moa if I do my part. The number one feature on all of these rifles, IMHO, is their easily adjustable trigger and especially the safety which blocks the firing pin, and is in the right place .

The Savage rifles, one a 338 WM prior to accutrigger shoots 5/8" five shot 100 yd groups all day long, was glass bedded in the original, rather flimsy, plastic stock and a trigger job done by the previous owner. Being a hunting rifle, the stock is adequate and the trigger breaks crisply at 3.5#. Had a bit of a problem getting used to the safety location, but that's just me.

The other Savage, an FP10 in .223 is the accutrigger model bought new. It came from factory w/1.5# trigger, which is a bit light for me, but breaks great so I may just learn to shoot it as is. As someone stated, it feels somewhat like a military two stage, which I cut my teeth on many years ago, so do not find that objectionable. This rifle shoots sub moa with everything I have put thru it, including Win. white box. Have not yet worked up a handload for it, but would hope to get it down in the .5's.

The only Rem. I owned shot superbly, but since it was a custom shop match rifle, one would expect it to. Trigger was great out of the box, but the first round through the rifle was a "fire on release of safety". That is to say the gun went off when safety was released. Not a desireable feature on a hunting rifle, but not an issue in shooting NM competition as the rifle is never put on safety. (Well, guess I shouldn't say never, since I did once! )

Based on my personal experiences, if choosing between the Remington and the Savage, I would choose the Savage, but, as I said, JMHO.

Regards,
hps

 

[cslinger]

Count me as a Savage guy and I have a PRE Accutrigger police model. I have gotten under an inch groups with surplus 7.62x51 (South African and Port) and it does really well with 168 grain Black Hills Match stuff.

I only shoot at 100 yards and I am not exactly what you would call the great white hunter or marksman but for those times when I have managed to do my part the rifle has proved extremely accurate.

Mine is not stock per say. It has a Choate Varmint stock and Harris Bi-Pod. It shot very well with the original synthetic stock but you had to be very careful how you held the stock as it flexed easy as others had said.

Chris

 

[308win]

If you ask around at the Remmy dealers you can find one willing to try to get you a 700 with the 5R barrel. Get it and you won't look back.