Rifle! Which one?

STIHL

Well-Known Member
I’m wanting a 243 just for kicks and the local wal mart has a Remington 700 and a savage model 11 the savage has a Nikon 3x9-40 and the Remington has a no name scope on it. The rem is 389, and the savage is 499. I’m thinking the savage will be more accurate and it has a little better scope. It’s worth the 500, but it’s hard to break away from a Remington 700. What do you guys think?
 

Dimner

Named Man
Savage 11... all the way.

I wouldn't touch a newer remington. But that's just me.

As for the savage, a model 11 in 243 would give you a platform to swap barrels as easy as anything with a wrench and headspace guages. PreFit barrels are very common and you can use your savage 11 243 receiver/action to swap to any short action or 308 family cartridge that uses the same bolt face.

The savage 1x family of rifles are very well known for accuracy and the accutrigger is excellent. I had a savage 12 in 308 and it was all bullet holes touching at 100 yards with factory ammo. I sold it, because I'm a dummy.

My 0.02$
 

STIHL

Well-Known Member
Thanks @Dimner that was the way I was leaning anyway. I mean it’s a pretty solid little rifle for the price. And I forgot you could swap barrels on them easily. The 700 is a good platform that became so poorly executed it’s a shame. If Remington wouldn’t have relied on their name and relied on making a solid product. The 700 would still be the most popular bolt gun ever made. I love a 700 but it’s pointless if it won’t shoot, and odds are it won’t.
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
I like the Savage myself . I don't care for the plastic stocks and the center feed blind mag but those are more than offset in the boring out of the box shooting success . For whatever it's worth I have/had Savage's from 65' , 78' , 99' , and 17' 10/110 based models I don't know that I'd put any of them shot for shot against Dad's 72' 700 BDL or my buddy Jorge's 82' LH BDL but the more recent stuff .
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I have not been at all impressed with anything Remington in at least 20 years. Right now the used market is ridiculous, but it might be worth looking for an older 700 if you really like them. Otherwise, I'd lean towards the Savage if I had to buy new. They aren't real pretty, but the dang things seem to want to shoot. Get the one with the good trigger if you can. The standard Savage trigger is a dog compared to the Accu-trigger. And make SURE it's got the trigger you want. My oldest bought a 22-250 labeled as having the Accu-trigger on the box and on the gun and it was standard. He shot it before seeing the difference. A Timney is a good trigger for them but that another $100 + in $$$.
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Both the neighbor kid and I must have gotten dumb lucky. We both bought Remington 700 .308 Varmints in that dreadful plastic stock with the slots in the forearm. I put mine in a police take off stock and his is still in the Tupperware. They both shoot splendidly. We paid $399.00 for them at Cabela's. The neighbor kid is an excellent shot. We both did a jacketed shoot and clean regimen for about 30 rounds if I recall correctly at the urging of our friend the gun builder.

My only other 700 I got from a buddy in a 40-X stock, bedded and re-triggered, but it was a less than 10 year old .308 heavy barrel and that's the one I am knocking 6" discs down at 440 yards with, using the XCB bullet.

Not bad for tomato stakes.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
$389 for the Remington with a no name scope means you're buying a $385 rifle with a $4 scope stuck on it. So in reality that's just a $385 rifle.

$499 (let's be real and call that $500) for a Savage and a Nikon 3 x 9 is essentially a $385 rifle with a $115 scope on it.
Nikon made decent scopes for the money but Nikon is out of the scope business.

The Savage utilizes a barrel nut to attach the barrel to the receiver and set the headspace. That design allows for a significant reduction in assembly cost. The Savage also uses a bolt that is far less expensive to produce. As a result of the design, Savage can produce high quality rifles for less cost than their competitors.

The Remington 700 is an iconic American rifle but there's that entire bankruptcy thing. There was a time when you could buy a Remington 700 and be reasonably certain you were getting a quality rifle. Remington produced some good firearms in the last 20 years and I've seen several. However, that didn't mean they always produced good firearms. If you get a bad one, the only remedy will be to spend YOUR money to fix it.

SO, you could take a chance on the Remington and maybe get a good rifle for less than $400. If the rifle turns out to be decent, take the no-name scope off and toss it in the trash because it is just trash. Buy good rings, bases, a quality scope and call it a day. HOWEVER, that is contingent on the rifle being a good Remington 700 and there's NO guarantee that it will be a good rifle and NO remedy if it turns out to be a bad one. If you're adverse to taking risks, this will not be the path for you.

OR - you could spend a little more money up front and buy the Savage with a Nikon scope on it.
Nikon wasn't the top of the line when it came to rifle scopes but they were far better than the bottom of the barrel scopes. I had a 2 x 7 Nikon on a hunting rifle because I couldn't afford a lower power Leupold at the time. It was a perfectly serviceable scope that held a zero and never failed.

I stand by this statement - WHEN IT COMES TO OPTICS, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
 

STIHL

Well-Known Member
@Petrol & Powder i agree with glass is a get what you pay for. And I agree with you statements. Money isnt an object here. I just have a bunch of 243 components and my old 243 is in the list to be redone with a new barrel and it will most likely be rechambered. My first deer rifle so I still trying to figure out what I want to do with it. So in the meantime Ive got work ups done and I need a rifle to shoot them out of. They are in my way. So excuse to buy a new rifle.

and agree if the rifle is a shooter then upgrade glass. If not, punt it and y another one. I’ve never tried a savage so this is the time I guess.
 

STIHL

Well-Known Member
Well we will see how the little savage does. It is in the truck. 243 isn’t the best cartridge in the world, but should be a fun little rifle to shoot. Considering I’ve got a several hundred brass, projectiles and plenty of LR primers. It will be a good little rifle to play with, and see what it can do. If it will bang steel out to my 425 berm it will be just fine. If I can bang that steel with that little 3x9 duplex it will be even more fun.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Dick was banging steel at 1000+ yards with his 243, burned up his first barrel in 1500 rounds using Retumbo as a grand experiment if memory serves. Very capable and versatile cartridge.

I don't care much for the .243 because it kicks worse than a .308 and doesn't do much that a 7x57 won't do better. But that's just my feeling.
 

STIHL

Well-Known Member
@Ian i agree they are hard on barrels. But just for knocking around and the price it’s sort of a moot point for me. As for a deer rifle. I’ll pass too many runners when I was a kid partly due to shot placement, but a bigger heavier projectile is more forgiving than a small light one. But for anything Varmit related hang on. I’m nit planning on burning this side down shooting 3000plus. I will find the best load with a 100 grain interlock and a 95 sst seeing as I have several hundred projectiles I accumulated years ago and later found my model 70s barrel was gone. That’s why I have load developments already loaded. Found it was done and it was no point in wasting time chasing something that would never come. That rifle does good to shoot a 3 inch group at 100 now.
I will be happy if I find best accuracy around 2800. Easier on my shoulder and more fun to shoot and easier on barrels.
 
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Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
I have great admiration for the 308 Winchester and all of its offspring (7mm-08, 243 Win, etc.)
The 243 is fine cartridge and perfectly adequate for deer when the shooter does his part. As a varmint cartridge it excels. That 6mm bullet is a little better in the wind than the 22 caliber stuff and the extra weight helps it retain energy at long ranges.

I favor the 7mm-08 or the 7x57 over the 6mm rounds for "all-around" versatility but that's a topic for another day.
 

STIHL

Well-Known Member
The 7mm-08 is a great cartridge. We’re fixin to find out what she will do. Dug around and found a few factory loads of several varieties so going to test a few 3 shot groups, Here in a few. Stay tuned I’ll post a picture of what she does fresh out of the box.
 

STIHL

Well-Known Member
Well I am extremely happy. Grand total of 18 rounds down the tube. 7 to get 0 and verified.
Shot 3 round Hornady custom 95 gr, 4 rounds 95sst custom of an older lot snd 4 Winchester 100 gr power points. I was pleasantly surprised at the groups. See what you guys think, can’t wait to get a hand load on this thing. First two were the 95 grain and the last the 100 grain.
 

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fiver

Well-Known Member
nuthin wrong with that at all.
when I got to the point that my 243's throat was pretty much smoked I backed the bullet weights down to the 58gr area and let them jump.
I have to keep the barrel clean, but it will still easily take down rock chucks to 250yds with no problems.
I think I got maybe another couple hundred rounds let in the old girl, then it'll be time to find a decent smith and a good 6.5 creedmore barrel.