Here is the long and short of Savage, for those who haven't lived with them for a very long time.
They have always had the capacity to make very nice shooting barrels, They just don't always come out that way. Their QC ALWAYS has been, and continues to be, abysmal. At this point in time, generally they are nice enough; but have some REAL turds slip out the door. All in all, probably not terribly different than some others. The real difference comes down to fit & finish. Savage has always been poor in this department. They are generally "Tin-y" and almost always require some amount of tinkering. Nice if you like to tinker, not nice if you do not.
I've owned and shot many Savages for over 50 years and never had a quality control issue or had to "tinker" with them. I just buy 'em, shoot 'em, and enjoy 'em. Maybe I'm just darn lucky!
