Poor boy needs advice on Savage choices

Here the thread goes on, and Terbuck has yet to reply back describing what his total intent on the rifle is. I know you guys mean well, but maybe he is only looking to get into club matchs where the club has a factory class. He may also be limited in scope power depending on the club rules. It may even be that his club doen't have a class for full out benchrest rifles. He also states, that he "On a short budget (retiring) and don't even remotely want to compete with the big boys. No desire to strive for trophies at this stage of life. Just want to have fun and some small friendly success locally (100 - 300 yards). " So maybe a full out custom 6 PPC with a 262 neck dosn't fit his needs. He is mearly asking what the diferences are in Savage rifles. With that said He dont have to buy the high end savage rifle, or have it rebarreld, re stock or any modification. With that said, yes it is possible to have a competitive factory gun on his budget. There are many Savage rifles doing fine all over the country in club matchs.
 
Boyd Allen said:
Any of the high end Savages plus a mount and decent scope will not fit his budget of a thousand dollars. (I assumed that he was talking about the whole rifle package for a grand or less.) What I think, is that he will learn a lot by starting out as I suggested, perhaps change his mind about what he wants, and wants to spend, and then get something else. In any case, I think that experience is the best teacher. If he buys a new rifle, he will stand a bigger chance of taking a hit if he resells it. To tell someone that he can buy a sleeved Remington, that has a barrel with significant life left in it, and put a suitable scope on it, on a thousand dollar budget, seems to me to not be realistic at current prices, and if he has a good barrel put on it after he gets it, he will be over his budget on the rifle alone. I read his post. What I suggested was a learning experience that would not waste his money, and take not him out of position for a future move, if that is what he decides to do. Perhaps we need a little more arithmetic, and less pie in the sky. In any case, I hope that our little discussion, disagreement and all, will be useful to him, and wish him well with his project.
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Boyd,
I will agree that he is mayby unclear about just what his budget will be, but here is what he said "Can't afford a custom build, so I'm looking at a stock gun (combined with a scope that adds under a thousand). Total cost about two grand."

I guess what we need, if we are to make reasonable suggestions, is some clarification on the OP's part. However, just for discussion's sake, within the last two months, I bought a customized Remington 700 with a reworked 2oz trigger that would shoot in the .3's. I could have easily put a used 36X Weaver and still been well under $1000. I also bought another about a year ago that would do about the same and would barely fit that budget with the Weaver. I wouldn't have said it if it couldn't be done.

Rick
 
Yea, I goofed... better to fess up. Sometimes, when I skim over posts too quickly, this can happen. If he has a two thousand dollar budget for a rifle and scope, there are a huge number of possibilities that are better than buying a Savage. You are right, I was wrong. As a matter of fact, I have a couple of rifles that fit that description, one a 6PPC on a DGA in a Six thumbhole, and another that is a tuned up 722 sporting a tight necked .222 barrel (Hart). The action was professionally glued into a prototype EDGE stock. It has shot in the .1s and the DGA in the low .2s with little load work.
 
Boyd Allen said:
Yea, I goofed... better to fess up. Sometimes, when I skim over posts too quickly, this can happen. If he has a two thousand dollar budget for a rifle and scope, there are a huge number of possibilities that are better than buying a Savage. You are right, I was wrong. As a matter of fact, I have a couple of rifles that fit that description, one a 6PPC on a DGA in a Six thumbhole, and another that is a tuned up 722 sporting a tight necked .222 barrel (Hart). The action was professionally glued into a prototype EDGE stock. It has shot in the .1s and the DGA in the low .2s with little load work.
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Sorry Boyd
I did not mean to call you wrong or call anybody out. I just feel the "Total cost about two grand." is reasonably specific.

The "(combined with a scope that adds under a thousand)" statement I find a little sketchy but I felt he meant adding a scope to the rifle that costs less than $1000 for instance a competition Leupold.

Dick
 
There is a big difference between calling out and pointing out an error. I did not feel "called out" at all.

Getting back to the topic, I think that going heavier on the rifle, and lighter on the scope is the best approach. A new (to have warranty coverage) Weaver 36X with the balance to the rifle, a used bench rifle that has the right stock and trigger, would be an excellent start.
 
No big deal Boyd. We're all just giving him what he asked for....opinions. He should at least have some things to think about now.

Rick
 
Start with a really good scope

I started bench rest shooting with a Savge 12FCV .223. I liked the .223 because after firing 20 rounds I didn't feel like I had been kicked by a mule. I have since had the barel replaced by a Pac-Nor custom. I recently up graded to a Sightron 10-50X 60mm scope. What a difference !! I had been using a Leupold 8.5-25X. It was OK, but the guys that were scoring were in the +40X scope group. I was at the range last week, sighting in the Sightron, at 200 yards I could see the bullet holes !
The model scope I have is the 10-50X60 LDTD. It has fine cross hairs and a 1/8th " MOA dot The dot makes it easy to center on a bullseye. The glass is clear and sharp, even at 50X its just a little hazy. At 200 yards I was getting 5 shot groups of less than .500 inches.
Depending on where you buy it it will cost you about $1,000 dollars. A lot less than a Night Force 42X. If you ever move on to another platform, other than .223, You have a GREAT scope to move along with you.
Hope this helps

Gina1
 
Wow folks! I sure did get a lot of great answers here! I've learned something from each post, and have a lot of great information to go with! It's going to be a while before I buy, and I have many choices to consider. Sorry about any vagueness - to explain better, I'll probably just be having fun with local club(s) and not competing, but I do want to shoot the best for the budget (under two grand, with scope). I'll be looking for competing events close by, just to watch, ask and learn. Thanks to everyone who took the time out to help me here. I've got much to explore, and good directions to take to learn, and time to make my decision. Couldn't have asked for more!
 
Are you set up to reload already? If not, you might want to consider where it fits in your budget. I hadn't reloaded since high school when I caught the bug.

Overall, I think reloading has been the most expensive, optics a close second with shooting rests/flags/etc and the actual rifle tied for least expensive.

You might also check into the "fun matches" that are at your club. They'd be a logical progression from shooting paper on your own. It's hard not to want to see how you stack up for real when you get to a certain point. The format might lead you to pick a certain flavor of rifle vs another.
 
SG - Yes, I'm reloading for 38/357, and I've been doing that for about a year, so I know what to expect - thanks
 
Okay, this may be appearing too late, and all the good guys who responded may not get this post, as I don't know how to get this to everyone who answered. But - I've ended up with this: I logged onto gunbroker.com and saw this rifle and made my move. It's a Savage BVSS single shot, with a new McGowan barrel (26" stainless) and a Rifle Basix trigger. Laminate stock, with the stock double pillar mounts. Got it for way under a grand. Also got a Weaver 36x T series scope. Taking it to a reputable smith for tweaking, and I'm going to just have fun with it. I may enter this contest or that, and I really won't care if I win or not. If it's not fun, forget it. I don't want to get into the competing thing, as I stated as well as I could. I might end up going nuts with this, but I really really doubt it. Just want to have fun and meet some goodfellows in the process, without the stresses of having to Win Something. Don't wish me luck, wish me a good time with learning and growing as mere side effects. And, again, I thank you all!
 
Before you take this gun to a smith for tweeking, check the rules and see what is aloud. If your shooting a factory class, you may not be aloud to do anything to the rifle. The aftermarket barrel and trigger may disqulify you.
 
Thanks again

Well, I won't really be entering much - just having higher-end fun with my friends. But thanks again - to everyone. Now, all I have to do is wait for the paranoiacs to finish their panic buying so I can get more reloading supplies.
 
OK, I know I am bringing up an older thread but here is my question since I am in the same place as the OP!

A lot of you suggested buying a used Custom Gun but no one made any suggestions to the Newbie on what to look for and how to evaluate what is presented to him as a used gun? So if any of you would care to expand on that I think it would be a great service to many as I was looking at buying a new Savage myself to get my feet wet in the sport!

Thanks Joe
 
If you can let people know where you are at maybe somebody can help/guide you or might know somebody in your area who has equipment for sale or be willing to meet you at a match and let you shoot their equipment
 
What MRL suggested is best, probably.

Other options for used equipment:

The Shooters Corner has a long & well deserved reputation. Bob White can probably help, even at such a distance.

http://www.benchrest.com/shooterscorner/

Benchrest gunsmiths in your area may have or know of used rifles that fit your budget & needs.

But first you have to figure out what you're going to shoot -- Short range group? Short range score? Long range? And that will in part be determined by where you live & how far you'd be willing to travel.
 
Charles E speaketh Truth re 'The List' ........ you gotta' trust someone :) because not only does a beginner not know which questions to ask, nor how to evaluate, but the actual DOING of the evaluation, the 'nuts-N-bolts' as it were is a little problematical.

Bob White is Old School like yer grampa old school. He will present his products openly and treat you fairly.

al
 
Thanks for your 3 quick replies! I'm 95% in the Southwest (AZ and So Cal) the other 5% I'm either in Texas or Nevada it just depends where business takes me!

I honestly don't know which discipline I would prefer but my guess would be for score! I do want to go to some matches but trying to find them online hasn't been the easiest (so new I don't know where to look). As for calibers, I "think" I'd want to stick to either 223 or 308 for my first one as I've been told the barrels last longer and for a first rifle I would rather learn the skill without much change for at least the first year. After that, I can probably sort out exactly what I would want to build for MY first rifle.

Thanks,

Joe
 
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