Remington or Savage?

[Fixer 0]

So I've NEVER owned a bolt action rifle. I've recently been bitten by the hunting bug. I may have the opportunity to go do some big game (Mule Deer and maybe even American Elk) hunting with some of my friends and I want to buy a bolt action rifle.

Ideally I would have an M24 SWS but these two rifles seem fit the bill for my personality, price and needs although I'm open to suggestions of guns similar to these that you may have had experience with.

I will be mounting high dollar glass on the rifle I do end up buying so there is no doubt there, and I'm a strong shooter, I just need some insight on these "tactical" bolt action guns in the $500-$800 range.

 

Thanks in advance...

 

EDIT:

 

I'll be shooting Federal GMM 175gr ammo

Edited September 28, 2008 by Fixer

[patriot 7,197]

I have a Savage Tactical in 308. 0.5 MOA gun when I do my job. I got it when the model first came out, and Savage have made some improvements since then to the trigger. Nice gun. The Savage is in use by quite a few police departments also. It's a quality gun.

[kresk 10,063]

An ex-sniper acquaintance of mine favors the Remington.

[Bayoupiper 738]

Tough call.

 

The Savage Accutrigger was good to begin with and has been improved.

The Remington enjoys being in more police departments I believe in part because it was first on the scene and was adopted by the military.

The Savage is priced slightly less and there are a lot of aftermarket stocks and such available for it.

 

If I were buying a .308 bolt action, I'd look very closely at the Savage.

[VanKiller 322]

The Savage with the Accu trigger will nearly always outshoot the 700 out of the box, using Winchester Ammunition. But , you are chosing the ammunition before the rifle. You will need some feedback from some people using your selected ammo. You put severe limits on the rifles preformance by selecting the ammo first. I do know the Savage bolt guns favor the 168/169 gr loads by Win and Federal. Just my 2 cents to add to Wills comments.

[jay21 0]

I prefer the Remmy if $ was not in play. I own a savage because monet is usually an issue. Depending on you cash flow savage has some decent "packages" that include a basic scope and sling.

[Vultite 57]

My vote went to savage, great trigger, you can always get the model with the cheap stock and get a nice aftermarket bedded stock and your GTG,plus they are normally cheaper then remington

Edited September 29, 2008 by Vultite

[Fixer 0]

The Savage with the Accu trigger will nearly always outshoot the 700 out of the box, using Winchester Ammunition. But , you are chosing the ammunition before the rifle. You will need some feedback from some people using your selected ammo. You put severe limits on the rifles preformance by selecting the ammo first. I do know the Savage bolt guns favor the 168/169 gr loads by Win and Federal. Just my 2 cents to add to Wills comments.

 

Excelent point. I just sort of threw that ammo aout there as a messure of what I would normaly use, that is to say that I would not be trying to get .5 moa out of chitty ammo, and obviously I would not use that round to take down an elk as there are far better rounds that are designed for that task.

 

I guess the real question for me is which of the two would be more accurate out of the box (if I do my job)?

Edited September 29, 2008 by Fixer

[mstranglr 9]

I do an extensive amount of hunting. Elk, Deer, Pronghorn, Bear, Boar, yotes, and even a couple of successfully moose hunts. My vote wholeheartedly goes to the Remington 700.

 

The savage is a great value for someone on a budget. Its quality is good enough if you occasionally do short hunts. The accutrigger is great if you like to go to the range and shoot paper allot too.

 

I do some long hunts in Alaska every 5 years, and some long elk hunts (often 4+ days) on an annual basis. I hunt in Rain, Snow, freezing temps, and 100+ degree deserts. I have seen and heard of Savage rifles not holding up well in these environments. The Remington 700s are like the AKs of hunting rifles (only accurate). I see more North American Guides using the 700s than any other rifle. I own six of them, my wife two, and my boys each have one. The military and most major LE agencies use the 700 because it meets their rigorous requirements and can be had at a reasonable price - not because it has been around.

 

There is more aftermarket items for the 700s than the savage. All of my 700s shoot about MOA with good ammo and glass, I hit what I shoot and it dies.

 

The SPS is the bottom level 700 rifle (mainly due to the cheap stock). Don't bother spending extra for the bull barrel, you don't need one for hunting - and you don't want the extra weight. If you get the SPS, get the stainless SPS model for a little bit more, then spend $190 later for a Hougue fully bedded over-molded stock. With good glass and mounts, you will have an EXCELLENT and highly accurate hunting rifle.

[Saigaczech 9]

I own both. Love both but the Savage has a better and stronger action. The locking bolts on the Remington have been reported to be soft and prone to locking issues over time. Your call, but I prefer my Savage, though I do not go dragging it about in the woods.

[Bayoupiper 738]

If you get the SPS, get the stainless SPS model for a little bit more, then spend $190 later for a Hougue fully bedded over-molded stock. With good glass and mounts, you will have an EXCELLENT and highly accurate hunting rifle.

 

 

Both rifles will benefit from any quality aftermarket stock.

I just want to reiterate what DD said here, a good scope and rings are a must.

Shop around, you will be amazed at the price difference for the same scopes between different vendors.

[Fixer 0]

If you get the SPS, get the stainless SPS model for a little bit more, then spend $190 later for a Hougue fully bedded over-molded stock. With good glass and mounts, you will have an EXCELLENT and highly accurate hunting rifle.

 

 

Both rifles will benefit from any quality aftermarket stock.

I just want to reiterate what DD said here, a good scope and rings are a must.

Shop around, you will be amazed at the price difference for the same scopes between different vendors.

 

desert dog you have been quoted......

 

And to Will, Like I said in the original post, this is assuming the end user puts high end glass on thier rifle. That means different things to different people. For me, a "target/hunting" rifle should use a glass/rings/base combination that is effectively 2x the cost of the rifle. That translates to $1000 or so for the rifle in question.

 

Leupold VX-L and $200 woth of rings and base. That is wat I will be useing most likely.

[mstranglr 9]

Excellent, Will knows, its good to see that someone understands the importance of optics / rings / mounts for anything but a range / prinking gun.

 

When I put together my youngest son's first hunting rifle a couple of years ago, I was in a hurry and bought one of the $200 Nikon scopes because they had a good reputation. He used it on a hunt in northern NV. It was below freezing with a light rain. When he got his opportunity to take a shot, he brought the rifle up only to look through fogged glass! He had to use my 30-06 with Ziess optics to take his shot (clean kill too). I learned my lesson about the difference between $800 optics and $200 optics.

 

Zero the rifle with the barrel cold (this is the biggest mistake I see with new hunters; they keep adjusting for POI at the range as it changes due to heat). Always re-torque your ring/mount screws and verify your zero on paper before every hunt. I shoot about 5-10 rounds through my gun to verify zero - then DO NOT clean the barrel (only the chamber and bolt) till after my hunting trip; cleaning it at this point will slightly change zero again. Clean the barrel after the hunt is over and repeat the process before your next hunt. Been to plenty of hunting camps with the guys that just grab from the safe and go straight to the hunt only to find that the gun doesnt shoot where you think you are pointing it.

 

Like I said, no need for fancy match triggers, sniper stocks, and bull barrels. If you only shoot 1 round, thats a sucessfull hunt.

 

Find a good comfortable carry strap. I have a nice broken-in leather one that I use on all of my hunts. I bought about 10 straps before I settled on that one.

 

Oh, and if you are getting the Leupy glass, get the B&C recticle. This recticle is amazingly accurate for rapid bullet holdover. Its an easy system to learn (no math or funky size estimations to remember).

[VanKiller 322]

+1 .....No matter which rifle you choose, this is the formula for a successful hunt.............

 

Excellent, Will knows, its good to see that someone understands the importance of optics / rings / mounts for anything but a range / prinking gun.

 

When I put together my youngest son's first hunting rifle a couple of years ago, I was in a hurry and bought one of the $200 Nikon scopes because they had a good reputation. He used it on a hunt in northern NV. It was below freezing with a light rain. When he got his opportunity to take a shot, he brought the rifle up only to look through fogged glass! He had to use my 30-06 with Ziess optics to take his shot (clean kill too). I learned my lesson about the difference between $800 optics and $200 optics.

 

Zero the rifle with the barrel cold (this is the biggest mistake I see with new hunters; they keep adjusting for POI at the range as it changes due to heat). Always re-torque your ring/mount screws and verify your zero on paper before every hunt. I shoot about 5-10 rounds through my gun to verify zero - then DO NOT clean the barrel (only the chamber and bolt) till after my hunting trip; cleaning it at this point will slightly change zero again. Clean the barrel after the hunt is over and repeat the process before your next hunt. Been to plenty of hunting camps with the guys that just grab from the safe and go straight to the hunt only to find that the gun doesnt shoot where you think you are pointing it.

 

Like I said, no need for fancy match triggers, sniper stocks, and bull barrels. If you only shoot 1 round, thats a sucessfull hunt.

 

Find a good comfortable carry strap. I have a nice broken-in leather one that I use on all of my hunts. I bought about 10 straps before I settled on that one.

 

Oh, and if you are getting the Leupy glass, get the B&C recticle. This recticle is amazingly accurate for rapid bullet holdover. Its an easy system to learn (no math or funky size estimations to remember).

[buckandaquarterquarterstaff 5]

My savage 10fp with a factory HS precision stock shoots 200 yard groups of hunting ammo that can be covered with a quarter, target loads that you can cover with a nickel. I have yet to see a factory remington 700 that can do that. Though I'm sure some 700's can match that feat, I routinely see 10fp's do amazing things.

 

The only gun I own that's more accurate than my savage 10fp is my sako 75 varmint (and that was about a grand more, and it's picky about ammo). The savage shoots better than most $2000 guns (I know as I've owned some of them that can't hang with the savage).

 

Both the remington and savage have an available supply of top quality replacement barrels (when the time comes), then the second advantage of the savage will be clear when you can rebarrel yourself and save a couple hundred bucks.

 

A third advantage is in the design of the bolt face.

 

Then, there's the accutrigger, and did I mention that you can get one with either a mcmillan or hs precision stock from the factory (no need to source one on your own, and get stuck with the factory original).

[vujade 0]

Great topic. Thanks Fixer.. I was starting to think the same question. I on the other hand will be more economically sensative... (i hope i'm not moving this thread to a tangent too much ... but i think it's related enough)

 

With that... Are American bolt action rifles OK with cheap russian ammo? Like the 308 Brown Bears and Monarchs? I don't want to break a firing pin, etc. when I get one of these. Are one more robust than the other?

 

Thanks.

[buckandaquarterquarterstaff 5]

Great topic. Thanks Fixer.. I was starting to think the same question. I on the other hand will be more economically sensative... (i hope i'm not moving this thread to a tangent too much ... but i think it's related enough)

 

With that... Are American bolt action rifles OK with cheap russian ammo? Like the 308 Brown Bears and Monarchs? I don't want to break a firing pin, etc. when I get one of these. Are one more robust than the other?

 

Thanks.

 

I've not had a problem with any of the ammo, I've shot (milsurp, etc), but I mainly shot that ammo just to see if it would function. Once you get a nice bolt gun you will not want to use cheap ammo. That would be sort of like buying a ferrari and driving it with snowtires.

[GPalmer 1]

I haven't tried the Savage but I have tried a number of the 700's. Great gun, cheap, accurate, reliable. From what I have heard they are both great guns, but the 700 will have more after market support than the Savage. Either way I think you'll get a winner.

[gunnysmith 4]

I have this one, but it's a toss up anymore between the two.

[SuAside 2]

a late comment, but the Rem 700 SPS Tac does not free float with the Hogue grip. if you put it down on a bipod, the stock will touch the barrel. the trigger and action however are very nice.

 

don't know if this is the case for the Savage or not. heard good things about the Accutrigger though.

[SaigaNoobie 66]

I chose the savage, but have yet to pick it up