Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Savage Owners - A Little Help Here!

OK, I can't take it anymore! I'm going to break down & get a 7mm-08, and I've been looking at the Savages for so long that I'm fairly determined to go in that direction.

My question, however, is which way to go. I am awfully enamored of slim stocks with tight grips and skinny fore ends (Like my 700 CDL , or a 700 Mountain Rifle), and I'm not sure which Savage model would best fit that description: 10, 11, 14, 16? I've held a 14 American Classic, & that stock felt far thicker than I'd like. Is the 14 Classic any slimmer?

I guess the other option would be to buy the cheapest one, dump the stock, & get a McMillan, Boyds, etc., etc. Can anyone make a recommendation on an aftermarket stock with a good performance/price ratio?

Ideas? Suggestions? Sympathy? Pity? Disdain? Disgust? Lemme Know!

Many Thanks,

FC

i havent held a 14 but the 10's and 12's all feel chunky to me around the action, especially after using a Rem 7, Rem 700 and Kimber 84M. best bang for the buck is prolly a McMillian from Rick cause IIRC its about 20 weeks from the day you order it to delivery which gives yah a few months to make payments on the stock before it arrives. makes the bigger price tag of the McMillian much easier to handle. if a Mountain Rifle pattern will fit a savage thats a nice trim stock. i had one on my 375WSM....wasnt great for that application cause ive got bigger hands and they tended to slip under the recoil due to the thin wrist but for a 308 based cartridge it would be fine and prolly the direction i would go if it would work. Boyd's stocks are going to be chunky aswell though with a lil work you could slim them down.

I aggre with you that the Savage American classic are heavy and bulky. Your option might me to get the cheap Savage plastic stock and just dump it for a quality replacement.

Hammer1 is "quite" the Savage guy he may have a better answer for you.

Doc

You could get one of their laminates and thin it down to your taste. A rasp, sandpaper, finish, time, and courage are all it would take.

It might be cheaper to re-barrel a Remington.

BP...

btt

My suggestion is get the Stevens in 7-08. If you have to, get a fancy stock later, but the factory is light and shoots great.
Mine has a new pad and "custom" camo paint job.

stumpy

I agree with Stumpy about the Stevens, but the triggers suck. An aftermarket trigger or a good smith will fix the problem. My smith charges $45 to work the Savage trigger down to 2.5# -3#.

Leon

Well, now I'm even more confused. I went to the local branch of a chain store to talk to their poorly staffed & distinterested gun dept. They had five 111FCXP3's, in various calibers. 4 of them had clunky, boxlike stocks with a horrible seam down the underside. The fifth was much more svelte, with a far slimmer and more rounded fore end, and with the box sleekly tucked into the stock, rather than looking like it was jammed-in as an afterthought. Also, that specimen had a wonderfully smooth cycling bolt, whereas the others seemed as if they had sand, or glue, in the action. As expected, the guy couldn't explain the difference for the life of him. I would guess "new stock" vs. old stock. What do you guys think?

Naturally, there wasn't a single wood-stocked specimen to examine, much less anything in a short action. At $369 for the package, however, I might have bitten on the good-looking one, had it been in 7mm-08.

FC

I would buy a Stevens, tune the trigger, and throw it into a good aftermarket stock.

Hey FC,

I know exactly how you feel....

I bought two Savage Rifles just 2 months ago...

They aren't pretty at all compared to my Remingtons, CZ's, etc.

But I didn't buy them for their looks, but rather their excellent accuracy, reliability, and inexpensiveness.

I purchased(2) 30-06's for my 18 yr old son & myself.

Right out of the box accuracy, great trigger, and tupperware stock (111FHNS) got me some fine 5shots/5KILLS/5TROPHIES just two weeks ago.







I got over their looks real easy after we took these game with all one shot/one kill/DRT useing WW150GR PP.

Good Luck & Happy Hunting...

Nice "savage " success pictures. Who is the brunette with the fangs??

Nice lookin' critters, there, LateBloomer! And looking at the fore end of your stock, I can tell that your rifle is more like the svelte cutie that I was able to handle yesterday, than its asthetically-lacking brethren.

I planning to sojourn about 2 hours South on Monday to a gun store of milk & honey, where the Savage Distributor for this region told me I might be able to touch, hold, caress, fondle, and get reasonably intimate with, nearly each & every centerfire model they make.

Guess I'd better bring my checkbook.

Many Thanks,

FC

Hey FC,

Don't get me wrong, I love my pretty rifles as stated before....
i.e., Remingtons, CZ's, Mausers, and my semi-customs!

But, for an accurate, reliable, & quite inexpensive rifle you just can't beat the Savage in my opinion!

If it were to get banged up in the field, I got no problem with that!

Tupperware-stock is pillar-bedded & button-rifled barrel is free-floated, and the Accu-Trigger can be easily adjusted to your liking without having to take it to a 'smith.

The action is smooth as butter, and it feeds real smooth.....

I slapped a scope on it & its a big-game hunter right out of the box....

Both rifles shoot sub-MOA @ 100 yards using factory ammo (Winchester 150GR Power-Points).....

Like you, I hesitated at first....

All my rifles up to these were good-looking...

But, then, I was looking for a rifle to take into the field, a true workhorse......

I took the plunge & gave it a try......

I have nothing but rave reviews about my new Savages.....

Every single shot was dead center!

The rifles held up very well....

In fact, I'm going to dress them up, you know, giv'em a little face-lift!!!

I'm spraying them with Camo-Paint....

PM me if you would like more info on the paint process, I learned it right here on this great forum!!!

Many here have spray-painted their rifles with true professional results. Do a "search" on this Forum; I think you'll be impressed, I know I was..... Everyone on the topic is sincerely helpful, they'll help to see you through the spraying process...
It's very inexpensive to do yourself, heck its just two or three cans of spray paint, a clear-coat, and you're in business...

Good Luck!!!


L-B

Get the stevens unless you want the accutrigger,,,

The lowest price should not be the only criteria when selecting a rifle, value is a better reference point. Since you are buying a rifle to use for years to come, a few dollars more spent in the direction of quality won't make that much difference over the long term.

While you are out looking at rifles, you might compare the Remington SPS and the Weatherby Vanguard series rifles. I think the Weatherby is a good value on a solid out-of-the-box rifle, but you can handle them all and do some comparison shopping.

As to caliber choice, whether or not you plan to reload is a factor to consider as well. For the non-reloader, it's hard to beat a 308, 30-06, or 270 for good ammo selection, availability and cost/round.

TC

Savage rifles are the Morgan horse of rifles. They may not look the best or be the most sleek,,, but they work really really well. I prefer the old savage style trigger simply because there is almost nothing that can go wrong with it,,,,all the parts can be cleaned and observed, the accutrigger is a nice feeling trigger and I have one on a rimfire,,, very nice

The new tupperware stocks are not bad. Replace the recoil pad as bricks are softer. And if you wish, at a later date, get a good fiberglass stock for it, and spread out your cash flow.

I did that with mine, and am quite pleased with it. 7.5 lbs of 300 WSM, ready for elk.

Hello,The new savage stocks are on the accutrigger models.most of
them are set up for a center feed mag.the first accutrigger
models had the staggered mag.very hard to find!not many stocks for the center feed in the aftermarket.ALL the factory wood savage stocks have to much wood on them in the grip.I have the mcMillan mountain rife stock on my 7-08 mod 16 very nice but
Give Kevin Rayhill a call he makes a very nice stock for the savage rifles staggered or center feed Vic

I have a Stevens in a .243 and love it. My son has one in a .223 and it is a shooting son of a gun. Soon, I hope to have a 7mm-08 for my older daughter as an Elk rifle......

One of the things that is just awesome about these Stevens is that they are truly no-nonsense, functional guns that you don't mind getting down and dirty with.

I will say this....with both our Stevens, factory stocks....we sanded....steel wool'd.....and lacquered.... They are really nice now.