Savage has left a sour taste in my mouth...

[charlie b]

If you go to the Savage FAQ they explain that sporter barrels are good to within 1 1/2in and target barrels 1 in. They also have a list of the ammo they use for testing. For the .308 it is 155 or 168 Federal Gold Medal Match.

My Axis in .223 started out as a 1 1/2in shooter and then got much better. Maybe if I had followed the Savage break in prcedure (also in their FAQ) it would have been better sooner (I did NO break in). At around 200rnd the groups went fro 1.5 to 1in. At around 500rnd they are down to 0.5 most of the time (if I am doing well that day). I wish I had broken it in properly.

I did break in my BVSS properly and it is still just underr 1in but not even 200rnd through it so far.

FWIW, the Axis (.223) still does not shoot well with anything other than match grade bullets. Bulk Federal bullets are 2" groups.

IMHO Savage finishing is a bit on the rough side so takes a bit to get everything smoothed up. The stainless barrel on the BVSS I also figure is a bit 'tougher' so will take a bit more work to get smoother.

Would other brands be better? Maybe, maybe not.

FYI, there was a video online (sorry I did not bookmark it) that a guy with a Savage used a borescope to determine when he had smoothed it enough. IIRC it took quite a bit of work with JB's to get it smooth enough for long range work.

[Bigeclipse]

If you go to the Savage FAQ they explain that sporter barrels are good to within 1 1/2in and target barrels 1 in. They also have a list of the ammo they use for testing. For the .308 it is 155 or 168 Federal Gold Medal Match.

My Axis in .223 started out as a 1 1/2in shooter and then got much better. Maybe if I had followed the Savage break in prcedure (also in their FAQ) it would have been better sooner (I did NO break in). At around 200rnd the groups went fro 1.5 to 1in. At around 500rnd they are down to 0.5 most of the time (if I am doing well that day). I wish I had broken it in properly.

I did break in my BVSS properly and it is still just underr 1in but not even 200rnd through it so far.

FWIW, the Axis (.223) still does not shoot well with anything other than match grade bullets. Bulk Federal bullets are 2" groups.

IMHO Savage finishing is a bit on the rough side so takes a bit to get everything smoothed up. The stainless barrel on the BVSS I also figure is a bit 'tougher' so will take a bit more work to get smoother.

Would other brands be better? Maybe, maybe not.

FYI, there was a video online (sorry I did not bookmark it) that a guy with a Savage used a borescope to determine when he had smoothed it enough. IIRC it took quite a bit of work with JB's to get it smooth enough for long range work.

I did follow their break-in procedure. The rifle has currently ~200 rounds down the tube so not a small amount. And yes, I did know about their 1.5inch rule on their sporter type barrels. That being said, we tried premium ammo, budget ammo, and even some reloads (I routinely work loads up for my competition rifles so this is not knew to me.). I would have not been happy with 1.5inch groups BUT I would have dealt with it . Like I stated above, the best group we got was 1.75 inches and I think it was a fluke as most groups were in the 3 inch range. This is a 7mm08. It actually makes me sick to think how much money I spent on ammo and time to try and find a load that worked. This is my 4th Savage so I am not at all against them up to this point as my other 3 were good shooters. My issue is...they sent the rifle back stating it hit their so called 1.5inch limit which we could never reproduce, and seemed very convenient that it was exactly 1.5inch group they were able to get. I think it is just stupid to think that you need to send 200+ rounds down a tube to make it accurate. Think of the money spent on just ammo and then your time at the range. Other companies now offer 1MOA guarantees and stand behind them (namely Tikka). If it wasn't for Savage's barrel nut design, which is why I like them so much, Id be buying Tikka's from now on. For me, I will never buy a new savage again. You can find used ones with Tupperware stocks in the 300$ range, slap a boyds stock on for under $200, and then purchase a nice custom barrel in the 300-400$ range and have a guaranteed Sub 1 MOA if not Sub .5 MOA gun for the same price of one of their higher end models like the one I purchased and still get a lemon. Again, just my two cents. If I ever went factory new, it would likely be a Sako or Tikka and they do honor their accuracy guarantees.