Savage 12 VLP or vs Remington 700 VLS

[gregp74]

I'm looking for another rifle that'll mostly be used for punching paper, but possibly the occasional coyote when they start getting too close to my buddy's place. Haven't decided on a caliber yet (leaning towards 223) Having a hard time deciding between rifles though.

I really like the VLSes. I had one in 308 at one time and it was a great rifle. Over the years I shot it less and less though and ended up selling it. I don't know much about Savages. The only one I've ever owned was a fun little tack driver of a little .22.

I guess I'm seeing pros and cons to both guns.

The Remington's gonna be about $100 cheaper. I like the hinged floorplate rather than a box magazine. That's just one more thing for me to forget or lose. The 700 is also infinitely customizable. I'm a tinkerer and whenever I get a new gun I'm always putzing around changing this or that or installing something new to make it just how I want it.

If I end up going the 223 route, the Savage does have more rifling options. With the Remington I'd be stuck with the 1:12 twist but the Savage has options of 1:9 or 1:7. I keep thinking It'd probably work better with ammo I use in my 1:7 AR, but I'm not sure how big of a deal that really is. Most of the time I'm just using 55gr bulk stuff in there anyway, and I'm sure if I'm shooting at anything other than paper 100 yards away I'd be using better ammo than that in the bolt gun. I guess with either gun I could use the cheap stuff in a pinch.

Anyway, just wondering peoples opinions of either gun, or any other suggestions.

 

[LoonWulf]

If you like to tinker get savage. You can pretty much change every part of the savage on your dining room table, including the barrel once u get the nut off the first time. The savage allows you to go to the .308 fam of cartridges with a mag, bolt head, and Barrel change which is kinda a nice thing if you ever decide the .223 dosent have enough oomph.

I think the remington is nice gun, and were you not inclined to mess with the gun it has some things i prefer over the savage, like the hinged floor plate. Savages magazines both internal and external have always kinda annoyed me.

 

[farmerboy78]

I have a savage vlp dBm that started out a 22-250 with the 1-9" twist. Bought it to use deer hunting, but didn't perform like I wanted with the 75gr bergers. Had it rechambered to 22 middlestead and now it's a deer nightmare. Very accurate rifle and is easy to shoot. The new cartridge is pushing the 75gr vld @ 3400fps! Get the savage, amazing rifle!

 

[gregp74]

To throw a little more into the mix I also noticed Savage has the 12 BVSS model with the internal magazine. That one appears to have a slightly smaller barrel diameter however.

 

[243winxb]

You have an AR. Did have a 308.

Time to go middle of the road. 243 Winchester. Shoot 68 to 90 gr bullets. Many match grade bullets available.

Action wise, i like Remingtons.

This solves the twist issue in 223 .

 

[gregp74]

You have an AR. Did have a 308.

Time to go middle of the road. 243 Winchester. Shoot 68 to 90 gr bullets. Many match grade bullets available.

Action wise, i like Remingtons.

This solves the twist issue in 223 .

That's an option too. I had also considered the 22-250. One of the main reasons I was looking at 223 was just that they're more plentiful and cheaper (sharing with the AR was secondary)

 

[horsey300]

That's an option too. I had also considered the 22-250. One of the main reasons I was looking at 223 was just that they're more plentiful and cheaper (sharing with the AR was secondary)

What distances are we talking? Personally, I rock a .223 on prairie dogs and yotes out to around 300-350, but that is about the end of MY comfort zone with it and my handloads, mostly because I'm running lightweights in the wind. However I also have the -.250 and .243. The .243 is my go to every day that I think I want to either REACH or buck the wind. With either model listed you can run a QUALITY 55 gr bullet FAST clear up through the copper and heavier hunting weights. If I were in your shoes, I'd take the savage, run it in .243 and when you run out of barrel life, barrel swapping is easy like @LoonWulf said. You can play between the -.250 and the .243 if you want. If you stay with the .223 I'd still take the savage to run the 9 twist with about every killing bullet you'll need, and then you can still swap to the 7 twist if you really want to push the LONG pills.
ETA I can handload quality ammo for the same price of your cheap stuff, if you absolutely do NOT want to handload that's understandable, but it might be something worth looking into.

 

[gregp74]

Most of my shooting is done on a friend's land. My distance shooting at paper will be 100-200 yards with a bipod or bags on a picnic table. We have the room to go twice as far, but rarely do. There's a county forest preserve across the street from the edge of the property and occasionally we get coyotes on their way to or from. About the furthest I've tried to get one of them was around 250 yards with my 220 Swift.

I haven't gotten into handloading. I've always thought about it. Maybe someday when I have more free time.

 

[Nature Boy]

I bought my son a a Savage BVSS Model 12 in .223 that stacks one shot on top of the next, over and over, with my hand loads. Hard for me not to recommend a Savage