Hi folks,

I'm working on a new precision rifle. Accuracy will be the most important factor, so I'll sacrifice versatility to get it if I need to, but if possible I'd also like to be able to hunt with it. I'm going for either a 6.5x47 Lapua or a 260 Rem with a 3 groove 8.5" twist custom barrel. I'll probably go with about a 24-25" barrel, and I'll probably build it on a tactical style stock similar to a Macmillan A5.

What are the differences between a standard Savage short action and a Savage target action (other than the obvious things like a magazine port on repeaters and feed/ejection port options on the target actions)? Are the Savage target actions manufactured to tighter tolerances than the standard (repeater) actions?

In other words, what can I expect to gain by sacrificing a repeater action for a single-shot target action?

To give this some perspective, I'd like to achieve 1/4-1/2 MOA accuracy. Top competitive benchrest accuracy is not needed, but the more accurate, the better. However I'm not willing to build a 15 pound rifle just to get below 1/4 MOA. Ideally I'd like an 7-9 pound rifle.

Thanks!