Deciding between a few rifles....Pros/Cons?

[Mitch Rapp]

Trying to make a somewhat informed decision, I really like two specific options. A Remington SPS with sporter barrel, or a Savage Trophy Hunter. Both are in the 4-600 dollar range, and are available in 300 win mag, or 300 WSM. Not completely ruling out other calibers, but that is sort of where I have settled. I am trying to get a rifle that every year I spend another $3-500 on to upgrade it, all while being able to start shooting and learning right away.

I like the Savage because of the crazy reputation they have for accuracy, and the fact that I could swap the barrel out for a better one myself at some point. I have owned several Savages in the past, and really like the accutrigger. With the price of the Trophy hunter, and the Nikon Scope it comes with, I could likely sell the scope and replace the stock immediately. Not sure about bedding the action, I am fairly handy and would like to do it myself, but to be honest it scares me a bit to try it.

Remington 700 SPS in 300 WSM, I like for all the aftermarket support it has, plus I really like the Magpul stock available for them. Remington's reputation has been a bit sullied the last few years, not sure if there has been an improvement in that area of late or not, most threads about QC issues I have seen while searching are from 2012 give or take a year. I have never owned a Remington 700, I would sort of like to give them a try. This rifle would have to stay stock for a while, except again maybe a bed job by me, eventually I would want the Magpul stock, and a new barrel. Whats a ballpark figure on what it would cost to re barrel a 700?

The other options in that price range that I have looked at are:

TC Venture, very inexpensive, could pick up a new stock and bed it myself and still be in budget. After that, not sure what all I could do with the gun as a continuing project.

Tikka T3 lite, I love the rifle, but it would have to stay stock for a while. I imagine having barrels swapped or other things would be fairly spendy. This rifle worries me a bit as well, I am not recoil shy, but that is a very light gun.

There is also the chance I will run across a great deal on a used gun. I have plenty of time, and plan to browse for a while, learning as much as I can before I buy.

Oh, and I already have a scope.

 

[FEENIX]

I'd go with Savage.

Pros: Out of the box accuracy, most DIY friendly, accutrigger ...
Cons: Not as much aftermarket support as R700 but is catching up close.

Tikka shooters/followers along with aftermarket support is growing fast ...

 

[Mitch Rapp]

I'd go with Savage.

Pros: Out of the box accuracy, most DIY friendly, accutrigger ...
Cons: Not as much aftermarket support as R700 but is catching up close.

Tikka shooters/followers along with aftermarket support is growing fast ...

Yeah, and man those Tikka rifles are sweet. I really want one in something like 7mm 08, but don't know if I want to start there. Maybe someone can chime in on what the recoil is like on a non braked 7 pound 300 win mag is.

 

[Engineering101]

I have recent experience with 3 new Savages in 300 WSM. They all shoot 0.5 MOA with worked up loads. I also recently tweaked a super cheap plastic stocked Rem 700 in 300 WSM. My brother got if for $350 new after rebate! I reamed the heck out of the stock to float the barrel even though the stock was plastic. Did not bother to bed it since there are plans to upgrade to wood. To my surprise it shot 1 MOA and took 4 deer and a pronghorn this past season. All of those were DRT with 180 Accubonds. I did put a small brake on the gun. Most people would find recoil a bit on the stiff side with a 7 pound 300 Win Mag or 300 WSM. Let me put it another way - it will kick the crap out of you - put a brake on it. The Tikkas I've seen also shoot as good as any of these. I think you take a bigger chance on getting a lemon with the Rem than with the others but as my brother's rig proved you can get 1 MOA for next to nothing - with a little luck.

 

[fatski]

I own a Tikka T3 lite in 300 wsm and it does have a pretty healthy kick. I would put a brake on it, but 20-30 percent of my shots hunting are taken quickly with no time to put in hearing protection. A buddy shot his braked 300 win mag at muley this october at 70 yards without hearing protection and his ears were ringing for a week! The Tikka does, however, shoot terrific groupings. I was thinking of putting a better stock on it with the hope that maybe that would help with the recoil.

 

[Mitch Rapp]

I have recent experience with 3 new Savages in 300 WSM. They all shoot 0.5 MOA with worked up loads. I also recently tweaked a super cheap plastic stocked Rem 700 in 300 WSM. My brother got if for $350 new after rebate! I reamed the heck out of the stock to float the barrel even though the stock was plastic. Did not bother to bed it since there are plans to upgrade to wood. To my surprise it shot 1 MOA and took 4 deer and a pronghorn this past season. All of those were DRT with 180 Accubonds. I did put a small brake on the gun. Most people would find recoil a bit on the stiff side with a 7 pound 300 Win Mag or 300 WSM. Let me put it another way - it will kick the crap out of you - put a brake on it. The Tikkas I've seen also shoot as good as any of these. I think you take a bigger chance on getting a lemon with the Rem than with the others but as my brother's rig proved you can get 1 MOA for next to nothing - with a little luck.

What model where the Savages? Sporter barrels or heavy? Accustocks?

 

[the jigger]

I would go with Savage. In fact I have eight times. Five of my Savages are "poor-boy" customs built on Savage actions.
220 Swift
250/3000
257 Roberts
243 Heavy barrel
250 Ackley
The other three are a 12fv in 22-250, a110 fv in 25-06 and a 10 in 308.
All of these rifles shoot sub-moa at 100yds and four have shot minute of prairie dog
out past 400yds.
The Savage platform is so flexible it's hard to build one that won't shoot.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!

 

[Engineering101]

Mitch - all three Savages I mentioned are the model 12 VLP (26" varmit contour barrel).

I forgot to mention that the trigger on my brother's cheap Rem 700 is horrible so you probably should price in a trigger upgrade if you go with the Rem.

 

[el matador]

Recoil from a .300 will depend largely on which bullets you shoot. I have a 10 lb .300 Win that kicks hard with 208 grain bullets but is rather pleasant with the 168s.

I like the Remington 700s personally but in my experience the factory sporter barrels are a crap shoot. If you go with the SPS I would plan on having a 1.5 moa rifle until you are able to re barrel. You may get a good shooter or you may not, but setting your expectations low is a good idea. Some of the heavy barreled 700s can shoot very well out of the box, such as the Sendero and 5R Milspec. They're a bit heavier than a sporter but usually will shoot around 1/2-3/4 moa with handloads.

 

[StrutNut]

Tikka, - smooth action, very good accuracy, light rifle that will have recoil. For magnums you will want to put a brake on it.

Remington, junk trigger from the start so need to upgrade that, good action, good accurate platform to build from.

Savage - out of the box it is solid. Very good bolt, trigger, accuracy. There are a few that need some tweaking but most are shooters. I have the Bear Hunter in 300 win mag that comes with an adjustable brake. With 180gr there is not much recoil. My 14 yr old son shoots it all day long. We ran 80 rounds through it the day I picked it up and would have ran more but I needed to save some rounds for hunting. Very good groups with cheap factory stuff. I can wait to reload for it and really get the most out of it. At 7.5 pounds with a 30 ox scope I still cant spot the hits though. I was looking for an overall hunting rifle so I am fine with it but for dedicated long range I would not hesitate at going heavier if you plan on shooting magnums. Savage LRH would be perfect. I do plan on replacing the brake with a suppressor when I can afford it. I would look long and hard at the Savage line but in the end, whatever one fits you best as they are all 3 very good.

 

[Mitch Rapp]

Thanks for all the input. My Savages have all been great shooters so far, looks like my next gun may be another Savage.

 

[Deleted member 25294]

Personally I think the rem 700 has a smoother feeling action than the savages.I have two savages and I am not at all impressed with the accutrigger, the same goes for a 700, but the difference is that you can get a good trigger for the rem such as a timney for just over $100.

I have two factory barreled 700 SPS rifles, one started off as a .300 wm, and the other is the .338 RUM. I can speak for their accuracy right out of the box, my .338 rum with a light sporter contour shoots 1/2 MOA, and so did the .300 wm.

You mentioned wanting to have a gun that you could re barrel yourself. you can get a barrel nut for a rem 700 from PacNor, and buy a 700 pre fit barrel from Mcgowen in Kallispell MT. I did this myself for the .300 wm and it was the same process as re barreling a savage.

 

[Mitch Rapp]

Personally I think the rem 700 has a smoother feeling action than the savages.I have two savages and I am not at all impressed with the accutrigger, the same goes for a 700, but the difference is that you can get a good trigger for the rem such as a timney for just over $100.

I have two factory barreled 700 SPS rifles, one started off as a .300 wm, and the other is the .338 RUM. I can speak for their accuracy right out of the box, my .338 rum with a light sporter contour shoots 1/2 MOA, and so did the .300 wm.

You mentioned wanting to have a gun that you could re barrel yourself. you can get a barrel nut for a rem 700 from PacNor, and buy a 700 pre fit barrel from Mcgowen in Kallispell MT. I did this myself for the .300 wm and it was the same process as re barreling a savage.

Very good to know! Thank you.

 

[FEENIX]

You mentioned wanting to have a gun that you could re barrel yourself. you can get a barrel nut for a rem 700 from PacNor, and buy a 700 pre fit barrel from Mcgowen in Kallispell MT. I did this myself for the .300 wm and it was the same process as re barreling a savage.

Thanks to Savage's innovation, Remington can now also rake that same benefit. However, if end-user is going to re-barrel it, one might as well have the action trued/blueprinted (~$200).

Another advantage that Savage has over the 700 is the floating bolt head (Remington did this Savage innovation on their 783 model, along with the barrel nut and a trigger system similar to accutrigger ) ...

[ame]https://youtu.be/x51SwCZCHCA?t=8[/ame]