just how good are savage barrels

[lal357]

been told alot when i shoot f t/r that my savage is not a savage since i shoot a shilen ssm barrel and its got me thinking just how good are the barrels that are put on the savage f t/r rifles?. i'm thinking when i shoot out this shilen barrel rechambering it with a 30" stock bull barrel in 308 win .i know that every barrel will shoot differently some better than others but the statements/comments got me thinking about shooting bone stock (other than the barrel its like it came from the factory trigger and all) then see what they have to say.

[tinkerer]

I don't know about the FTR, but my 308 tactical will do 1/4 of lollipop all day.

Is it better than a Shilin or McGowan (my favorite), doubtful. Am I good enough to find it today, doubtful. Aftermarket barrels are easier to clean though.

Larry
Tinkerer

[darkker]

So, why do you care what anyone other than you thinks???
Changing what you are happy doing, simply to appease others is where these things come from:
1)Bad comb-overs
2)Jersey Shore viewers
3)mid-life crisis'

My 10FP in 308 will hold MOA @1K with my handloads.... Then again so will my 22" sporter barreled Marlin X7 in 25-06.

[DanS]

Savage barrels can be very accurate, but there are reasons so many shooters buy premium barrels.

[lal357]

Reason why I'm asking is the wife wants to try f class and I'm thinking of putting one together for her using only savage parts and I've also been kicking around the idea of when I have to replace my shilen barrel doing the same thing at worse I would have bought a barrel that I will end up selling here for a lower price to someone else. As for the who cares what other people say when I do get around to doing this it will sweet go let them know that they got beat by a stock savage.and will also speak for the shooting skills.

[efm77]

Don't a lot of the other competitors have custom barrels on their rigs too? If so I don't see how it's any different.

[LabRat2k3]

They will always find something about your Savage to knock. Some people just can't break out of the herd mentality, so they feel if you are different than them you are wrong. I say shoot what you want. Savage factory barrels can be very accurate, and have won matches around the world. The reason I like most custom barrels is I have found they do not foul as quickly and that can make a huge difference in a match. As a added bonus most custom barrels seem easier to clean once they do get fouled enough to effect accuracy.

[efm77]

Well put Labrat. That's what I was thinking. Some of the Remington guys can't stand to be outshot with a Savage action. All the old conventional wisdom still sticks with a lot of people that nothing will outshoot a Remington and they don't want to accept that a Savage is just as accurate and many times more so.

[tobnpr]

Funny ya ask that question...

I bought a used 7-08 FM Sierra mountain rifle (lightweight stock and 20" sporter contour barrel) expecting to re-barrel for our long-range target shooting.
I built the stock, bedded the action into it, and bought a box of 150 MK's and took it on our next range trip.

To my surprise, that skinny little 20" barrel printed five shot groups with all holes touching at 100 yards- I have no problem at 600 yards on a 10" gong with it.

I think that because it's so short, it doesn't even string shots as it heats up at the bench like a longer, sporter contour would.

I'm probably going to order a Shilen or CBI anyway as I want to take it to 1000 and need a faster twist barrel and more velocity...but yeah, the Savage factory barrels CAN shoot...at least, mine does....

[skypilot]

Most of the ones I've seen averages 3/4" or better out of the box. The target models are better than that. Here's a pic from today after disassembly of scope and base, modifying the base and reassembly. I called the shot outside the bull.

A Factory 10 FCP-K .223 sans muzzle brake, completely stock(except for muzzle thread protector).
EDIT: just for clarity, this was shot from a Harris 6-9 bipod with no rear bag.

http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t368/u4icst8/8_7_12Horn75HPBTVar_015_165yd.jpg

[tinkerer]

The Savage FTR rigs are great out of the box and I see them available all the time. Spend your money on scope and Burris Signature Rings with inserts for long distance.

Good luck hunting and post results.

Larry
Tinkerer

[Billch]

I just replaced the factory barrel on my F/TR, 308. After about 3000 round the groups started opening up.

B


http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy192/Billerator/Savage/th_100ydtop.jpg (http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy192/Billerator/Savage/100ydtop.jpg)

[Delaware_Ken]

Good Morning,

I shot a 2.58" 5 shot group at a 600 yard BR shoot with my stock 223 F/TR last spring. And, she shot well enough to win both group and score (181/200) in the factory division. I don't think I'll be changing out my barrel anytime soon.

Ken

[JCalhoun]

lal;

Most Savage rifle will shoot better than the people behind them.

If your wife wants to try F-Class then the .223 for the F-T/R sub class would a good option.

[catfish]

been told alot when i shoot f t/r that my savage is not a savage since i shoot a shilen ssm barrel and its got me thinking just how good are the barrels that are put on the savage f t/r rifles?. i'm thinking when i shoot out this shilen barrel rechambering it with a 30" stock bull barrel in 308 win .i know that every barrel will shoot differently some better than others but the statements/comments got me thinking about shooting bone stock (other than the barrel its like it came from the factory trigger and all) then see what they have to say.

The main thing about the Savage Target Barrel i had was savage made the throat so long you would have to use the heaviest bullets (142gr+)and even then you probably could not seat into the neck 1/8" and still touch the lands. So chasing the lands is not even possible.Id guess if i shot midweight bullets id probably have to jump them .200". The neck on the 6.5mm target chamber was .2991 as measured with a bore mic, and loaded rounds ran around .294 so the neck clearance was on the loose side at .005 but better than some factory cartridges. I have chambers on factory guns that run .010" and i hate that. I never shot the barrel so i cant speak on accuracy.
I hope this gives you some info to compare apples to apples. It is a big impressive piece of stainless steel, and would probably cost in the neighborhood of 450 to replace with a shillen which is about the cheapest.
And one item i have noticed is one my custom barrel (not f class barrel) I have less POI shift if i throw in just any load.