Quote Originally Posted by foxx View Post
My .02:

Savage factory "smiths" and "engineers" are not necessarily experienced shooters who strive for perfection. They themselves may not understand or appreciate the kind of knowledge Boots presented. They are not in the business of building and shooting target rifles. They design and build affordable rifles that will SELL. There's nothing wrong with that. It is up to us to recognize what works and does not work for our intended purposes.
Foxx hit the primer on the head.. I am an experienced rifle builder, just got into the savage world last year, but I have learned a bunch just following the forums here. Some of my pre-conceived notions were put away rather quickly. I've found that each build is its own set of challenges. They will all shoot good as a hunting rifle, but I strive for a rifle more capable than I am. I was always taught that the tang should have complete contact with the stock to share the recoil impulse, and a loose or floating tang could result in a broken or cracked stock. Bedding the action from my perspective has always included the tang. I'd like to further my knowledge about floating the tang, and see what I have been missing in my builds.

P.S. Savages are the first rifles I have built with plastic stocks, and that may well be the difference..