Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Which Predator--Remington or Savage?

I got a flyer from Cabela's and the Remington 7 is on sale at $599. Seems like it's meant to compete with the Savage model, it's even the same camo pattern.

I'm not really in the market, but one .243 could be nice. .308 or 7-08 would be nicer.

Remington Predator

Savage Predator

Here's what my Savage does Blue...





The top target is the 40 Vmax over TAC...

The Savage is probably more accurate, but it feels like a fence post to me. It is heavy and stubby and for me doesn't feel good for a calling rifle. I much prefer the feel and handling qualities of the Remington. I do hear the Remington can be touchy about grouping and that wouldn't surprise me if a guy had to work some at getting it to shoot.

Hmmm, I think the Remington might be a better choice. I wouldn't want a lemon like yours...lol.

While I can understand the "fencepost" reference from MOGC, the rifle, IMHO is not too heavy to take calling. Much lighter than lots of AR that folks lug around.

The rifle, IMO, handles well and points well. It goes very, very well with shooting sticks and is accurate as heck, or at least mine is.

Probably can't go wrong with either. Get the one that fits you best...

I agree with greg on which one fits best for you is the one you want, remmies fit me much better than the savages and more can be done with a remington action too therefore no savages will ever make it in my safe, that said out of the box accuracy of a savage is stellar.

As far as the argument of "fixing" either of these rifles up, in these specific rifle's cases this point is null. Both of these rifles are very specific in application.

If you want to buy a Savage or Remmy to "fix up" these models are not for you.

That said, of course the Remmies have more cool options.

I own 2 bolt Remmies and the Savage Predator Hunter is the only Savage I own FWIW.

My hunting pal got the Savage in 22-250 a short time ago. He traded in his Ruger Target same for it which was a tank to lug around and needed a bed job to boot. I recommended the Savage Predator to him in that caliber and would opt for the same in .243 because when you shoot the barrels out its a easy swap and they are accurate.

That said, I have looked over and like the Remmy's very much. They balance better with the flutes as the Savage is just bit barrel heavy even with that contour because the stock is so light.

I also really like the Remmy VTR ??? I think its called with the triangular barrel. That one really ballances handles ideal between the hands IMO. Some mock the gizmos on that one...........who cares?????? If you pick it up and shoulder it you will see what I mean. It has a really nice feel for a calling/varmint rifle........."really nice". IMO- they need to make that one in .243 soon.

Best of luck on your journey.......they are all nice for "calling" and varminting IMO.

Better heft and shoulder 'em both and see which one feels better. They're both gonna do everything you want them to. The Remington is a bit lighter, but like was pointed out-many AR's are heavier than the Savage-and predator hunters love 'em!

So much depends on WHERE you're calling. If you're hiking all day on gov't land, the extra weight of the Savage might be an issue. If you drive to various ranches and stomp down a few hundred acres at a time, maybe it's not an issue. A little barrel heavy can also mean the Savage would be great on sticks.

You won't go wrong with either one. Me personally, I like the Remington, but that's just because I've only ever owned Remingtons! Either way you go you won't have any trouble getting rid of whichever rifle you pick if it doesn't work out!

Savage of course.....

I've sold several Savage Predator's to friends of mine, most were .204's and one was a 22-250. None of them will shoot less than 1" group at 100yds with factory ammo. I was a little let down when I shot mine the first time. Having said that, I've workded up some handloads for my .204 that will put all three shots in the same hole at 100yds. I don't know much about the Remington, but you can't hardly go wrong buying Remington.

Personally I would opt for rifles in this order:

Tikka
Savage
Remington

I wouldn't even begin to try to tell you which one to get. However here is a short description of what I chose and why.
I love small calibers and have been shooting the seventeens for years. Back when virgin valley firearms was in business I had them make barrels for my contenders in 17 ackley hornet, and 17 mach IV. Both had 22� barrels that were light, fast and accurate. Two drawbacks,--single shot and with the original contender you have to open the action if you let the hammer down on an unfired round before you could re-cock the trigger.

For the last couple of years I�ve had the craving for a repeater in 17 mach IV. I have my share of heavy barreled varmint rifles and recently, I have been doing much more game calling and �walking varminting�. Most of my shots are 100 yds and under. I wanted a light rifle that would have a 22 � barrel and a synthetic stock and a repeater. I would mount a 2 x 7 up to a 3 x 9 scope. To my mind the mach IV with a 20 gr. bullet at 3800 to 4000 fps is a great varmint round.
Remington must have been reading my mind because they came out with their model 7 predator in 17 fireball. I couldn�t resist.
After reloading, shooting and bloodying this rifle I can say that I won't tell you that this is the perfect rifle. However, its hard to come up with the perfect rifle for $600+/-. The x-mark pro trigger is an improvement over the old triggers. It is plenty accurate for the type of hunting I do (low volume at 100 yds or less. Biggest negative is the feeding of shells from magazine to chamber. Mine has a tendency to jam on super fast cycling. At the bench when load testing with slow deliberate chambering it was no problem. In the field cycling for quick follow ups it can be a problem.
GWB

One thing I noticed about the Savage recently that I had previously overlooked. The medium contour barrel is stuffed into the milk jug stock ment for sporter contour rifles on at least some guns. Because of this it is not free floated and I am not sure one could remove enough material to make it free float. Its really stuffed tight on the end in particular.

This I did not appreciate at all. I read that they basically picked parts from here and there to make this gun...........well they picked the wrong stock and apparently were to cheap to have the right one injection molded.

I have both Remingtons and Savages. I perfer the Remingtons over the Savages both use factory rounds very well. The Remingtons just feel a little better in my hands. As far as fit and finish and shoot ablity I find very little diffrence between the them. In this case it is more to what feels better and fits better than anything else.