I'm no collector. Mainly hunter and shooter and honestly haven't hunted in years. But the opportunity could present itself for varmint hunting and I had been wanting a 243. A 110 was for sale locally, so I went to check it out.

- this is the long action 243. Not the medium J action, or the short action.
- The stock was 95% or better. It looks real nice, with raised comb, etc.
- The pad was worn on the edges
- the barrel had some areas of surface rust, which concerned me. 0000 wool would take some of it off, but there would be pits in areas for sure. Barrel is free-floating.
- Bushnell 3-9 Sportview (I valued that at $0).
- Bore looked good. I have to say, I prefer checking guns indoors, in good light, rather than outdoors.

Anyway, I ended up paying $275 for it. I wasn't thrilled, but the stock was so darn nice and I wanted a Savage without the accutrigger. My guess was that the action alone would be worth at least $225.

I took the gun apart and found some interesting things:

1 - the stock bolts were flathead, the trigger guard was Phillips. Are these bolts normally ALL Phillips? The one bolt looks to have been cut on an angle, so I'm wondering if someone lost the bolts and replaced them.

2 - I did end up with a few spots of pitting. The rest of the barrel looks really good. Bore looks excellent and was very clean.

3 - I did find surface rust in spots around the action (very faint). and also inside the magazine follower on the flat spring. Are Savages known for rusting easily? I have never, NEVER, had a gun rust on me. All I ever do is wipe them down before putting them away and never had an issue.

4 - The trigger does have the 3, actually 4, screws for adjustment. But it doesn't feel bad, so it's not a priority for me.

I haven't fired it. In fact, it's the only gun I own that isn't in a safe right now, because I have no ammo in the house for it!!! I gave all of my 243 ammo to my brother last year, when he decided to take my deceased dad's Interarms 243. Really nice gun, but too heavy for my liking.

So, hopefully it's accurate and fun to shoot. It's weird, because I've never been so undecided about a gun I actually bought FTF. I've bought some online and had concerns, until they arrived, but never been so unsure of a gun that I actually handed. Very strange.... I have been wanting to go 6.5x55 and if I decide I can't live with the barrel on this Savage, I still have the long action and might consider ordering a 6.5x55 barrel for it.

Anyway, I've joined the Savage family and look forward to being a member here. Thanks for a really nice forum.