Savage vs. Remington ... .308 vs. other calibers

[EYESOFTEXAS]

Need help deciding between two rifles.

1. New Savage 10FP or LNIB Remington 700P/PSS?

2a. What caliber (.308 vs. others)? The 10FP is .308 but Savage also makes a long action 110FP, and one of the Remingtons I'm considering is chambered in 300 Ultra Mag.

2b. Why is .308 seemingly the standard for tactical rifles anyway? I understand why it might be a better choice than, say, .300 RUM, mostly because the 300 RUM loses on availability and affordability. But .308 isn't that differently available or affordable than, say, .30/06.

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[dakotasin]

savage vs remington, or anything for that matter is a personal choice. neither one is better than the other out of the box. i prefer remington by a wide margin. remingtons are easy for the non-gunsmith to tweak. the rem trigger adjusts very nicely, and is easy to tune to whatever your preference. the bolt and firing pin can be modified w/o needing tools or expertise, the lock time is faster, and they don't have the barrel nut.

308 vs. all comers: it really has little to do w/ affordability or availability. as you noted, there are many other 30 cals that are widely available and inexpensive. the 308 is so popular because of its inherent accuracy, ample power, and relatively light recoil. the 300 win mag has a similiar reputation for accuracy, btw, but the 300 kicks hard. however, if you are shooting factory ammo, it doesn't matter a whole lot, unless you are going to shoot black hills ammo. part of the 308's popularity is also explained by the amount of match grade ammo put out by the factories (black hills, especially). for the non-handloader, availability of decent ammo is a must, and the 308 is one of the few that has decent ammo available from the factories. the 300 rum hasn't been out long enough to develop a consensus on accuracy potential w/ factory ammo. the wsm's have a sterling rep for accuracy - but it comes back to the recoil thing. a surprising many number of shooters can't tolerate recoil very well - and the 300 rum, 300 win mag, 300 wsm really do have some kick.

if it were my choice, it would be remington 700 series chambered to 308.

 

[P0832177]

You could get a very nice Savage in 308 with a McMillan stock and Accu Trigger for about as much as a 700P. Then you would still have tweak the trigger of the 700P, although not hard to do still a hurdle to cross.

Of course most aftermarket accessories are geared at the 700 and it derivatives.

The 308 bar none is the caliber to get:
Accuracy
Affordability
Availability of off the shelve ammo
Adaptability towards reloading!

If you are looking for a shooting stick get in it 308, if want to have a mine is bigger then your's contest with your neighbor well skip the to the head of the class get a 300 RUM or 30/378 Wby! Or one of the Lazzeroni 30 calibers 308 Warbird! The 30-06 can be adaptable to a heavy barrel setup but only on a custom basis in the Remington, but as pointed out the Savage can be had in 30-06.

Another thing to consider is the glass you put on your rifle and the expectations of you the shooter! You want Tonka Tough! Run of the mill rings and bases will not do it! Look at Warne rings, or Loopy PRW and get the same in bases as a base line!

Glass well! SWFA Super Sniper seems to be a good basic scope!



The min scope would be SWFA Super Sniper

 

[brentwal]

Also the Savage is much easier to rebarrel.

 

[Gunrunner]

Nothing wrong with Savage. I prefer Remingtons. As to which cartridge, if the rifle will be fired a lot I'd go with a 308. Lot easier on the shoulder after 20 to 40 rounds shot from a bench than with a magnum.

The 308 is a heck of a fun round too. If you're shooting at metal gongs waaaaay out there, the bullets smack 'em plenty hard enough to see and hear. And on paper the 30 caliber holes are easy to see.

 

[Detritus]

The 30-06 can be adaptable to a heavy barrel setup but only on a custom basis. None of the Savages or 700 P's are in that calibier!

actually a 110FP (long action variant) is readily available in 30-06, 25-06, 300 mag, and 7mm Rem mag.

if you're looking at a standard 10FP with the factory stock (Not McMillan, or choate) then i'd suggest getting a 12FV in .308 instead. the 12FV and 10 FP, differ only in metal finish and the FP adds an extra swivel stud, oh and the 12fv usually adds an additional 2" of barrel and costs less. same action, barrel made to teh same specs, etc.