Worth hanging onto?

[LabRat2k3]

Have you tried a different bullet, or powder? Just because a load is lights out on one rifle does not mean it will be in another. You may just have to work to find a load it likes.
As for bedding the factory stock, you can if you want too, but it seems abit like trying to polish a turd to me; those old tupperware stocks leave a lot to be desired.

[BobT]

I know a lot of guys like them but I have never had a lot of luck getting the Barnes X bullets to shoot tiny little groups, I've had far better luck with Sierra and Nosler. You could try trimming the barrel as BA suggested, it has worked wonders for me on occasion and a new crown usually won't hurt either.

[jglover_81]

I have no reason to believe there is any lead or copper in the barrel. I clean this thing until the patches are coming out nearly spotless every time I take it shooting and its kept in a climate controlled safe.





Try letting your barrel get a little dirty. All of my savage barrels like to be dirty before they really shoot good. The barrel will tell you when it needs cleaned

[skoger]

I have some tack driver savages, some I built, and a couple of factory, none, I mean none will shoot the Barnes TSX bullets under 2" or so. Definitley try some Varget, 150-155 Sierra sp or spbt bullets, and winchester primers, WLR's. Tighten and loctite all action screw and scope mount screws with blue loctite. Float the tang, bed the action. I have seen 6 factory rifles, that I could turn the action screws with my fingers, lightly on an allen wrench, were not tight at all from the factory.

[nsaqam]

I pull my rifles apart far too much to use Loctite anywhere on them and I've never had a problem getting any Barnes bullet to shoot MOA or better.

Seat to the lands, find pressure and shoot the heck out of it.

[jimbo88mm]

My question, when it comes down to the end is: Is it worth it keeping this rifle and modding it up or just buy a new Savage with the better stock and trigger? Its already set up with no issues and selling this one to buy a newer Savage I almost feel I could spend less that route than rebuilding mine.

First you have to decide what you plan on doing with the rifle in question. Is this for range fun, hunting rig, competition, etc?

After you answer that question for yourself then you have a couple of things to think about.

From my perspective there are really only two reason why one would consider rebuilding a sub performing rifle:

1) Super tight budget
2) Project gun for fun


Reasons for not making a project out it:

1) Available budget is large enough to buy what you want retail.
2) Not interested in making a project out of it or lack the time and patience to do it right.


If you are willing to put the time in and look for the right deals you can collect all the major parts (Barrel, stock, trigger) and build up a very nice rifle for less then buying a retail gun. If you are not interested in making a project out of it then I would sell the rifle and use the proceeds to get the rifle you want.

[bottlerocket]

I pull my rifles apart far too much to use Loctite anywhere on them and I've never had a problem getting any Barnes bullet to shoot MOA or better.

Seat to the lands, find pressure and shoot the heck out of it.

I've been seating .010 OTL. I'll try right up against them next.

[bottlerocket]

First you have to decide what you plan on doing with the rifle in question. Is this for range fun, hunting rig, competition, etc?

After you answer that question for yourself then you have a couple of things to think about.

From my perspective there are really only two reason why one would consider rebuilding a sub performing rifle:

1) Super tight budget
2) Project gun for fun


Reasons for not making a project out it:

1) Available budget is large enough to buy what you want retail.
2) Not interested in making a project out of it or lack the time and patience to do it right.


If you are willing to put the time in and look for the right deals you can collect all the major parts (Barrel, stock, trigger) and build up a very nice rifle for less then buying a retail gun. If you are not interested in making a project out of it then I would sell the rifle and use the proceeds to get the rifle you want.

I want it for hunting and range time. Obviously more hunting than range, basically a hunting rig I can trust out to 250-300 yards and have fun at the range with. I'm not on a SUPER tight budget but not exactly looking to spend a couple thousand on a new rig. I enjoy tinkering on guns and learning about them as well. I'm going to look into getting some materials to bed the rifle. Do I need a special tool for the recoil lug? I am planning to just bed the stock/float the tang, replace the recoil lug and check the action screws. I also either want to have some work done to the factory trigger or just replace it with an SSS unit. Last case I will replace the stock and barrel. Scope has been verified on my buddy's .270 so it keeps POI. I will look into a few other cartridges instead of the barnes as well.

Thanks again guys!

[bottlerocket]

Started looking into bedding the rifle today, turns out the stock has the built in pillars. Apparently this is an older rifle than I thought. Not sure which stock to go with at this point since pillar bedding is kinda out of the question

[stangfish]

I will venture to say that many people suffering accuracy issues with a Savage are suffering from a short list of problems. A scope that they are sure is in perfect working order. Bad scope mounting. A trigger that has a heavy pull. Poor shooting mechanics. A damaged barrel. Barrel not floating. Poor action bedding.

[bottlerocket]

I took the time to do some tuning on the trigger to make it break with less creep and be a lighter pull. I have it just below 4 lbs now and thoroughly safety tested it before taking it to the range.

Went out today finally and shot some junk reloads (seriously junk) which were Remington generic bagged 150gr SP bullets in Winchester brass with CCI primers and 44.5gr H4895. I put 4 rounds down without even letting the barrel cool (maybe 10 sec between shots) and was right at a 1" group. With how junky the stock is and how terrible those loads were compared to what they could have been I am very excited to see how it will handle when I put a new Boyd's stock on and bed it and put some nice loads together for it.

Thanks for all the help so far!!