Originally Posted by
jpdown
I ordered the exact same rifle last week for pickup at Bud's Gun Shop. But it has not come in yet. I wanted to upgrade my current blued Savage SA staggerfeed 6mmBR to a matte finished centerfeed with side bolt release. I am not a big fan of the newer trigger guard bolt release and wanted to get an inexpensive Savage SA centerfeed with side bolt release before Savage more changes.
Based on your pictures, it looks like it is a Savage SA Centerfeed with a Black Matte tactical finish instead of the smoother Blued finish. It also appears (?) to have the composite trigger guard and DMB/frame assembly used on the Savage LW Hunter. If so, you won't be able to use the standard Savage DBM and aftermarket magazines (ex. Fred Sled Single Shot Magazine) unless you replace it with a metal frame that has the magazine release in the front frame. This should not be a problem, since the stock cutout dimensions are the same. At least they were the same on my Savage LWH. Upgrading to a metal trigger guard and the aftermarket triggers mentioned above should be no problem. I am going to use the use the SSS competition trigger I already have. Any aftermarket Savage stock with centerfeed hole spacing; blind magazine or DBM cutout should work with the parts you already have.
Not sure what level of accuracy you're looking for or what you have in your budget to spend? But as you already said, get some match 165 grain ammo and give it a try out of the box. There is a lot of information on this site about what to do next for improving accuracy potential. I usually start with making sure the barrel and tang are free floated. Then bed the atction and recoil lug. I don't have much faith in entry level package scopes, so I sell them as new take off's for what I can get online. I have waisted a lot of time and ammo trying to get and keep these scopes zeroed. And even the more expensive one's can and will sometimes go bad. But a least they usually have a warranty. Once you start, it becomes addictive and you'll almost certainly belive you need a better scope, rings, bases, stock, barrel and trigger. You've made the right choice to begin building the rifle of your dreams. So enjoy your new gun tinkering project!