Remington 700 VS. Savage Guns

[superdave24]

So I am all ready to purchase a new Remington 700 and a wrench gets thrown into the mix. A friend of mine who was an Army Ranger says that Savage Rifles have come a long way in the past couple of years. He recommend getting a good hunting rifle and then get a good precision rifle but can you get both in one?
NOTE: I am a total beginner.
I want to have some fun with the gun and not just take it out of the closet come hunting season. I'd like to learn to shoot well working my way up to long distances at some point. I recognize that will take some time. I just spent about $1600.00 on some other firearms and can't break the bank on this next gun just yet. I see that Savage has a bit more frills than Remington. What am I missing? Is it truly a better gun these days? Thoughts / Opinions?

Thanks, Dave

 

[wbm]

Your friend is correct about Savage. However, the overall question is sorta one of those "which is better Ford or Chevy"?. You have strong opinions both ways. If you go with Remington, I would just go with the tried-and-true Model 700 and stay away from some of the newer entry's like the 770 and 783. I shoot nothing but Savages now mainly because I really like switch barrel rifles and Savage's "out of the box" accuracy. But Remington also has a reputation for some great "out of the box" accuracy. Also might just come down to economics....which gives you the most for the least money.

 

[C Harrison]

Great question. I have both, a Remington 700 and a Savage 110. The Savage is more accurate but the Remington was much easier to find parts for. They have both been redone to the point only the actions are the original parts. Savages tend to be easier to work on, as you can change barrels yourself with little effort. I agree that Savage has come a long way and if I were to start over, I would go with a Savage in .308. Save your brass, get a reloading book and insure you understand it so when you budget for reloading, you will be ready. When your shooting skills outgrow the .308, a mere barrel change will get you to .260 Remington and since you will be ready to load you own rounds, accuracy will greatly improve. Also, I tend to believe the Savage action is a little more robust that the Remington 700 action. Good luck on deciding and keep us informed.

 

[FEENIX]

So I am all ready to purchase a new Remington 700 and a wrench gets thrown into the mix. A friend of mine who was an Army Ranger says that Savage Rifles have come a long way in the past couple of years. He recommend getting a good hunting rifle and then get a good precision rifle but can you get both in one?
NOTE: I am a total beginner.
I want to have some fun with the gun and not just take it out of the closet come hunting season. I'd like to learn to shoot well working my way up to long distances at some point. I recognize that will take some time. I just spent about $1600.00 on some other firearms and can't break the bank on this next gun just yet. I see that Savage has a bit more frills than Remington. What am I missing? Is it truly a better gun these days? Thoughts / Opinions?

Thanks, Dave

You have yourself a smart friend!

 

[gohring3006]

I agree with all of the above post. Since your a beginner I would get the 308 if you want a short action and a 30-06 if you want a long action. My reasons for this is barrel life, because to get to the point of shooting accurately at long range you need to shoot ALOT. And those two choices have very good barrel life and they will teach you a lot about trajectory and wind adjustments. It won't be your only rifle purchase so when you get proficient and get a hot rod cartridge you will have a lot of experience in wind and drop so it will seem a lot easier.
Good luck...

 

[superdave24]

Thank you for spending time to explain. I will stay in touch.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Why is this in the optics sub-forum?


In all honesty, you can't get hurt with either. The aftermarket world used to be somewhat of an issue for the Savage club. Not so much anymore, you can get almost anything for a Savage that is offered for the Rem, almost.

Your decision should be based on what feels right to you when you have it in your hands. The one piece of advice I will offer is stay away from the garbage plastics stocks some models come with in order to save $$. They will create issues you didn't know you wanted or had It makes it hard for a beginner to learn proper fundamentals when the stock is adding problems a newbie can't diagnose.



t

 

[bruce_ventura]

From an optics mounting perspective, I prefer Savage receivers because they have a cylindrical mounting surface with a single radius of curvature for front and rear. Bases tend to fit well all the time. The result is minimal stress imparted through the mounts to the scope.

Remington 700 actions have different radii for front and rear, and there is some variation in the receiver dimensions that can make bases fit poorly. To make certain there is no stress in the scope mount, bases should be bedded.

 

[sbjones]

I am also kind of in the same boat here. I have done a bunch of research. have been leaning towards the Remington 700 sps varmit in either 308 or 270. but have heard so many good things about the savage guns at a lot of gun stores and web sites.