Savage Striker

[Super38]

I am looking at a used Savage Striker, anoyone know anything about these handguns? It's a .243 Win (never shot one) is this a good caliber for long distance?

Thanks

Super38

[S.R.Custom]

The .243 is a WONDERFUL long distance cartridge. Unfortunately for you, it makes a MISERABLE pistol cartridge. To be useful, the .243 needs a barrel of at least 22" long. A much better 6mm pistol cartridge would be a 6mm TCU or 6x45.

As for the Striker itself, it's essentially a Savage 110 with the bolt handle rolled over to the other side of the action. A pretty neat way to go about it, if you ask me. One in .35 Remington is on my bucket list...

[ebner glocken]

I have one chambered in .308 winchester w/o porting. This thing shoots in at under an inch with factory federal 150s. The optic is a leupold VX3 2-8x. Felt recoil is about the same as a 6" model 29 with full power loads. I have yet to have a chance to do much expermentation but all looks promising with the limited experience that I have had with it. The trigger is quite easily adjustable but if you get it much under 2# it may fire when closing the bolt. It was hard to pass a stainless .308 for 200 bucks at the time.

Ebner

[JSH]

The .243 is a WONDERFUL long distance cartridge. Unfortunately for you, it makes a MISERABLE pistol cartridge. To be useful, the .243 needs a barrel of at least 22" long.


I am curious as to how you came about the above?
Actually it is about as far from the truth as anything.
I have a good friend that has one that was rebarrelled to 243AI. This was after he wore out the original 243 factory throat. Many coyotes and P-dogs fell to these. The original factory 243 barrel has been set back and rechambered for 6-284 to take the place of the 243AI when it starts to fade.
Are there better calibers ? Maybe, depends on what you are wanting to use it for.
The Striker is a fine platform for LR handgunning, though it does not have a big following. Thus there are not as many pieces to enhance it as there was when these first came out..

My suggestion, buy it and try it. It can be rebarreled to about anything just as easy as the rifles. BTW,FYI, they will and can shoot as good as their rifles.
jeff

[Potsy]

My brother in law had one about 10 years ago in 7mm-08.
If I remember correctly it had a brake that could be turned off and on. I don't even remember what kind of scope it had on it, but we could all hit what we were aiming at with it, at leat to 100 yards and none of us really had a clue as to the proper technique for such a gun.
He traded it off as it was bulky and heavy for his taste (mine too), but if that were the kind of thing that dinged my bell, I would think it would be a great place to start.

[S.R.Custom]

The .243 is a WONDERFUL long distance cartridge. Unfortunately for you, it makes a MISERABLE pistol cartridge. To be useful, the .243 needs a barrel of at least 22" long.


I am curious as to how you came about the above?
Actually it is about as far from the truth as anything...

Well, if lots of boom, flash & recoil is your thing, then I can see your point. Personally, I find that a bit of a distraction from what's really going on, namely, sending a bullet downrange accurately.

There are several calibers in the 6/6.5 mm class that make much more efficient use of powder in a handgun than the .243, and as a result, make for a much more pleasant shooting experience. If I were to buy a Striker in .243, it would be with the idea of getting it cheap and setting the barrel back to shoot the 6mm BR.

[Super38]

If it came with a bushnell scope under $400, would it be worth it? Re-barreling it would be an excellent idea, or just having it with several barrels.



Super38

[jh45gun]

I think thats kinda high for a used one as they did not cost a lot when they were new.

[S.R.Custom]

Used .308 specimens w/o scopes are selling for 425-485 on GunBroker. (You can pretty much ignore the effect a Bushnell scope has on a gun's value.)

[Bucks Owin]

The .243 is a WONDERFUL long distance cartridge. Unfortunately for you, it makes a MISERABLE pistol cartridge. To be useful, the .243 needs a barrel of at least 22" long.


I am curious as to how you came about the above?
Actually it is about as far from the truth as anything.
I have a good friend that has one that was rebarrelled to 243AI. This was after he wore out the original 243 factory throat. Many coyotes and P-dogs fell to these. The original factory 243 barrel has been set back and rechambered for 6-284 to take the place of the 243AI when it starts to fade.
Are there better calibers ? Maybe, depends on what you are wanting to use it for.
The Striker is a fine platform for LR handgunning, though it does not have a big following. Thus there are not as many pieces to enhance it as there was when these first came out..

My suggestion, buy it and try it. It can be rebarreled to about anything just as easy as the rifles. BTW,FYI, they will and can shoot as good as their rifles.
jeff

Hmmm, this is pretty interesting to me. I have a P-64 M70 Featherweight with many thousands of rounds through it. It's gilt edge accuracy (1/2 moa 20 yrs ago!) has faded somewhat due to erosion and I've always had a hankerin' for a 6mm/284. I can't see it working to full advantage in only 22" of barrel though and figured a 26-28" heavy barrel would be about right to wring out every last fps for varmit/target use. I certainly can't see the .243 Win being used in much less than 22" of barrel without giving up a LOT of velocity. What barrel length has your friend got on his 6/284 and has he chrono'ed his loads? (I'm speaking J-word bullets exclusively of course) How many rds of extended accuracy did the A.I. rechambered .243 give BTW? TIA, and sorry to get "off course" a little, Dennis (who's .243 has swatted many ground squirrels WAAAAYYYY out there!)

[JSH]

Man, this is some what of a tough crowd.
I am not going to get in any kind of contest here. I know what I know, have seen what I have seen.
If you want talk efficent, you have no business even speaking of a "rifle" type caliber in a handgun platform. We threw "efficent" out the door when we took the butt off of it. Flash, yes some powders are worse than others. KABOOM, yup some of that too. End result, with some practice and a lot of interest. You could out shoot 97+% off all the rifle shooters at the average club/ranges across the country.
$400+ a 2-6 bushnell scope, preferably a 3200 Elite, but the trophy is a good one to start with. You get that rig OTD tax included it is a deal. AND if it is the comped SS version you are even further ahead.
Truthfully on the 243. It would make a very very good starter for some one wanting to try theri hand at true LR SP's, 200 m++. Ammo and componenets are easy enough to find. I do doubt it will have a twist to handle anything over the 95-100 grain bullets. If I wanst XP poor I would ask a lot more about it for myself.
Barrels will swap just as easy as a rifle. FYI bushnells have a liftime warranty. All of my scopes are either Bushnells, or Burris and one lone 4x Leupold monted on a 15"45-70 at the moment.
I have had 0 problems with any of my Bushnells or B&L scopes. Been on everything from 22's through 454's.
I won't quote what others have done when I don't have the info right here in front of me or them for a reference. I know of a very reliable source that has documented a P-dog kill with an XP100 with a 6.5-284 (17") at a measured mile. I know of a bus load of fellows that have killed dogs at a true 500yards with a pistola, yours truely included.
Full advantage of said caliber.....................maybe go to a 28-30" barrel.
This is a frugal bunch here, don't forget where yer at,lol.
I see where this is going or could go.
Feel free to PM me if you want.

[jh45gun]

Lets face it JSH as a owner of an Encore I feel that the Contender, Encore, Savage Striker, XP100, Freedom Arms or any of the other single shot pistols of that type are more what I would consider a SHORT RIFLE then a pistola. JMO.

[James C. Snodgrass]

I sold my 308 because I needed the money . I got my trigger from i think it was Rifle Basics and could get it down to 14 oz . As far as velocity I got 2640 fps at 10 ft from the muzzle with a 150 J-words over 44 grs of Benchmark . Off the bags pop cans at 200 m was easy . From creedmore it ain't that easy though . As far as recoil and blast goes they are noticeable . But it the 243 oughta be a ***** cat up side the 308 I would think . Good luck I wish I still had mine . James:holysheep

[Farmall 1066]

I have one in 22-250, with the now discontiued Rifle Basix trigger, and a Leatherwood 2-8 Pistol Scope. One of the most accurate guns I own, and have won a few $$ from guys who think you cant hit quart oil bottles at 200+ yds with a handgun!

Kinda wish I'd got it in 223, as the 22-250 is overkill in this short of a barrel. Blast and concussion are rather brisk also.

Andy