A few comments:
While Savage factory rifles do shoot, I would say this is despite their barrels, rather than because of them. I have seen several Savage barrels that were incredibly rough and really fouled. This certainly isn't the instance with all of them, but it happens more than occasionally. In fact, I shot a brand new Savage .243 last year that had reamer marks all the way down the bore. I had to applu Ultra Bore Coat before it would group more than 10 shots before getting so fouled that it the groups opened up to 1-1/2 to 2".
I have also owned a heavy-barreled Savage .22-250 that shifted point of impact over an inch at 100 yards after the barrel heated up. This is not good when shooting prairie dogs.
All the E.R. Shaw barrels I have seen since they retooled a few years ago have been pretty darn smooth, with little tendency to foul. By the way, when I'm talking about the roughness of bores, I;m not just talked from the experience of cleaning, but looking througha bore-scope.
The Savage actions on the Shaw rifles have all been blueprinted at the E.R. Shaw factory.
Savages are good rifles, but the E.R. Shaw rifle is a step up, especially if you want a rifle for a cartridge Savage doesn't chamber.
