Savage Quality Question?

[JW74]

I wanted to state first off that I have a Savage 12 LRP in 6.5 Creedmoor and it is an awesome rifle! With handloads it's a 1/4 moa rifle and I have stretched it out well over 1200 yards. I have a buddy that has the same rifle and he is happy with his as well.

Recently I have been researching the Savage 110 fcp .338 Lapua, mostly out of curiosity. The thing that has surprised me are some of the negative reviews I have been seeing. In the link to one of the reviews below one of the posters claims to be a former design engineer for savage and says to avoid savage's 338 altogether!?

What are others thoughts on the savage rifle's quality and in particular the 338's? I honestly have zero negatives to say with my experience of the rifle so far. Here is a link to the thread I mentioned.

http://www.sniperforums.com/forum/rifles/42380-remington-savage-338-lapua.html

[sharpshooter]

I would have to agree with Kevin Collins. If you can afford to shoot a .338 Lapua, get one that is built to take it.

[Twinsen]

Mine didn't eject from the factory and I am now reading that once the barrel is shot out I mught as well just throw it away because I can't get a barrel.

[pepper savage 111]

Mcgowen makes .338 Lapua barrels for Savage.

[wbm]

Guess you have to take the advice and listen to a former Savage design engineer...not sure whether he is saying to avoid Savage rifles in general or just the 338 Lapua. Another review on Sniper Forums.

http://www.sniperforums.com/forum/rifles/31140-savage-110-ba-338-lm-opinions.html

[LoneWolf]

Always remember that the Savage brand is built to fill a void of the lower cost end of the market. Therefore there are corners cut in order for them to still make a profit and sell their product at the price level they're sold at. There is a large amount of difference between a factory Savage rifle and a custom built rifle. Maybe not much in accuracy, but a lot in reliability and overall performance.

My experience with the Savage actions was something always needed tuned, adjusted, or just was not capable of what I wanted in terms of reliable operation.

I'm not a Savage hater by any means, but I will honestly state that the Savage actions I've used were not capable of keeping up with me.

If I build a large caliber rifle. I will not use a piece of gear designed to provide the minimum specs required to complete the intended task.

[J.Baker]

Anyone who's been around here since Savage started offering the .338 LM knows that we haven't been to keen on it's use in a Savage action. Savage knew they really needed to upsize the action to properly handle the LM, but the bean counters opposed that because doing so would have meant having to manufacture a whole slew of dedicated components (bolt parts, stocks, etc) to fit that larger action which would have driven the price well above what they wanted it to be. So instead they just made the lugs on the bolt head thicker (front to back) which does nothing to increase the surface area of the lugs to disperse the energy over a wider area. Doing so they only needed to make a different bolt head, front baffle and firing pin which minimized the additional costs.

If you want a rifle in .338 Lapua you really, truly, honestly need to buy a rifle that has an action that was specifically designed for that cartridge. A standard Remington 700 or Savage 110 action just isn't going to cut the mustard. There are plenty of aftermarket action makers out there offering beefed up actions specifically for the .338 LM such as a Stiller TAC-338, a Sturgeon XL or a GA Precision Templar.

[JW74]

Thanks for all the feedback. It seems like it's unanimous that the Savage action is a no go for the .338.

[Stonewall_Jackson]

Just for the record, while I think these people know what they're saying about a .338 LM I don't believe that there are serious issues with less powerful rounds and a Savage design. The 12 LRPV I have seems to be overkill for a .223 rifle based on what else I've seen around in the AR world. It shoots very well and has been very reliable through quite a few rounds up until now. I probably wouldn't go cheap on a true high power rifle but the .223 wasn't dubbed a poodle shooter early on for no reason. And the price for the rifle really isn't all that cheap compared to other brands in the same field. It wouldn't really be considered a budget model IMO. This is a budget model:

http://www.rossiusa.com/product-details.cfm?id=10&category=9&toggle=&breadcrumbseries=

[FW Conch]

It is a huge leap from a 223 to a 338 LM :-)

[Stonewall_Jackson]

Yes it is a huge leap. I make no claims about the ability of the Savage parts to hold up under that sort of pressure. I was just saying they generally do hold up with a lower powered cartridge. At least they hold up way better than some other stuff I've seen. I've got a Stevens rimfire rifle from the early 50's that will likely last 500 years. But that's really a long way from a .338.