Savage, someone tell me about them

[DeanoBeanCounter]

I've been looking on Cabela's, and Sportman's Warehouse web sights. I've been looking for a 30-06. The problem is that I always thought Savage was top of the line, most accurate out of the box ect. The prices is what surprised me is the prices. Seemingly lower than just about any other brand. Is that just the way it's always been or have they slipped in their quality?
Bottom line here is I want as much rifle as I can get without breaking the bank. I mean function, not looks. Any comments?
Thanks
Dean

[lefty o]

while i wouldn't consider a savage top of the line, they tend to be fairly accurate and reliable. savage's have always been an affordable brand. now if you want something pretty, with an accuracy guarantee, and some sticker shock to go with it, then look at a Cooper or similiar.

[richhodg66]

The 110/111 series rifles I've had have been accurate. Good rifles. A lot of what Savage is selling now is the Axis or Edge, not sure what they call it now, that is a different action and much more cheaply made, but I still hear they shoot well.

[MaryB]

My Savage Axis(first generation) in 223 was sub MOA out of the box. Scope came bore sighted and I was zeroed in 3 shots. Very accurate to 300 yards, longest range I have access to.

[jmort]

I have 4 model 11s
They are as accurate as any gun under $1k
I think I paid around $550
Stocks are cheap and an embarrassment in my opinion
I probably would have gone with Howa or CZ if I did it again
Regardless, they are accurate
Eventually they will all have new stocks so that make the price less of a bargin

[Jniedbalski]

I have a savage axis in 308. It is nicely accurate with cast and fmj's. The stock is cheep but it does shoot really good. Do u want it to hunt with and bang around in the truck or the woods then the stock is fine. Or do u really want a nice looking range gun with a nice looking stock get a Boyd's or other stock. To me the axis is just a tool. A tool for me and my son to shoot deer. It does that fine. It's cheep shoots my light cast loads really good for target practice when I don't want to shoot full power leval loads. Yes I want a nice looking stock one day so I can have a nice looking range gun but for now the cheep ugly stock is working fine.

[Jniedbalski]

The most accurate gun I ever had was a savage single shot bolt action 220 swift I got 20 years ago. They did a special run of very few 220 swifts. I Thank it was the 112 model Varmint bull barrel.bolt gun single shot target action. It had the ugliest cheepest looking stock on it but the gun would shoot. I rember taking it out to the range at 300 yards walking up to my target ,ten shot groups and covering it with a quarter. I had to move and sold the gun.probably will never have another gun that good ever again.

[VinceG]

I love my Savage American Classic in .308. Great shooting rifle. function and looks compare to anything on the market.

[Harter66]

I have 6 .
The 1949 325 30-30 is sub MOA with just about everything I've fed it .
The 1965 110LH 06' doesn't like any of the dozen factory loads I fed it , LC 43 M2 was 3" within lots , but several handloads would shoot 5 touching .
The 84' 110E short action 308 shoots everything so long as the bullet is under 175 gr and lead core .
The 86' 340 in 222 is under an inch with 5 different factory loads and most cast under 2600 fps .
I just snagged 2 new 223 Axis lefties , I expect no less of them .

[Blanket]

the last 2 rifles I have bought this year are Savage rimfires in 17hmr and 22 and both of them are pieces of ****. Magazines wont feed, cases stick in chambers, ect

[CraigOK]

They're reasonably priced and the accutrigger is decent. They do sell some with a better stock, not sure what that puts the price point at. Mine in 243 will shoot better than I can.

[marlin39a]

I have a long history with the Savage 110, 10, and 12 series. Never saw a bad one. Plenty out there in gun racks of gun shops.

[NyFirefighter357]

My buddy bought a couple Axis in 17hmr, 22lr & 22mag. He also had a feeding issue. I know it's a common problem in the rimfired cals. I had to modify the mag. latch for a tight lockup and all feed issues went away. I don't know if the cf rifles have the same problem but I will tell you these guns are very accurate. Fit and finish isn't perfect but we get them at dealer cost so it was worth the little trouble.

[Taylor]

I currently have 2,a M12BVSS and a M99.Of the Savages I have owned,no issues,inexpensive,and shot good.

[jonp]

My Savage Axis(first generation) in 223 was sub MOA out of the box. Scope came bore sighted and I was zeroed in 3 shots. Very accurate to 300 yards, longest range I have access to.

I have 2 of them. .243 and .308. With the first handloads in my wives .243 using 4064 I got a .85 or so group using an old Tasco 4x scope so who knows how small the groups will be when I get a chance to really work with it and put on a Nikon I have. From what I have read this isn't unusual with these rifles. I wouldn't call Savage "top of the line" by a long shot but you will have to work hard to convince me they are not among the best value out of the box. For a hunting rifle that is plenty accurate enough.

I agree the stocks are not the best but they work and are appropriate for a sub $250 rifle I think. Boyd's and a few others make a drop in replacement if you want to dress it up with a laminate. Some go on clearance and are not that expensive.

There is a youtube channel of a guy that shoots and its pretty good. He took an Axis in 7-08 and did a homemade trigger job on it, put a new Boyds on it and is seeing how his sub $500 "Target Rifle" is going to work as an experiment. Promising enough that I'm waiting for Black Friday to roll around again and pick one up to duplicate what he did and give it a shot

[mold maker]

My only experience with Savage was a model 110 in 300 Win Mag, that followed my son home. Way too much power for that weight rifle.
It was very accurate, but after the first shot, you were gritting your teeth too hard to sight correctly. I tried down loading for it but the flinch factor remained.
Nothing against the Savage name, but in my opinion, my Son made a bad choice in caliber.
In 2002, he only gave $300. for it with a scope, box of ammo, and hard case.

[bbs70]

I bought a Savage Hog Hunter in 308 several years ago.
Accurate with about anything I feed it and especially with cast.
I've had no problems with it.

[Rick Hodges]

I own two Savage bolt action rifles...left hand 110 and another short action lh bolt...both in .223 Remington. They are very accurate rifles but they are certainly not top tier. The fit finish and smoothness are crude compared with my late 70's Remington 700 more comparable to my two 788's. They are economy priced rifles that scrimped everywhere except in accuracy. Mine are pre accu-trigger rifles but both triggers adjust nicely to 3-3 1/4 lb. and very crisp.

[Artful]

When I took a precision rifle class the instructor told us that
Savage put their resources into their barrels, hence the good accuracy
out of the box rifles. Remington put their resources into the action
hence why you could find a lot of factory new barrels available as
owners would buy the rifle and order a custom barrel.

When he brought out this Dept. issue rifle it was a Remington
And yes it was modified from standard issue.
when he openned up his personal rifle case it was a Savage.

I would have no fear of a .30'06 in 10/110, 11/111, 14/114 or 16/116 action
No experiance with the new AXIS or AXIS II

[tazman]

I have purchased several Savage centerfire rifles in the last couple of years. All but one have been really excellent shooters. The one that wasn't would hold good enough hunting groups, but needed better accuracy for what I wanted it for.
I have 2-223 varminters, 1-243 standard barrel, 1-308 police style, and 1 30-06 with a factory heavy barrel. All these shoot moa or better(mostly better). Still working up loads for the 30-06 since I haven't had it that long but it already does sub MOA at 200 yards.
These are all 10-11-12 models with one model 25 in 223. The 30-06 is a 110.