Keep Savage 111 or Switch to Ruger American or Remington 783?

M

Martowski

New member
Here's the scenario:

I have a Savage 111 stainless (standard trigger, no accutrigger) in .30-06. I'm considering making a caliber change to .308. While I don't want to debate the caliber change, if I do change I am debating whether I would change to the Remington 793 action or the Ruger American.

Any thoughts from those of you that have experience with all three? Looking mainly from an average "out of the box" accuracy perspective as well as smoothness of action/quality of construction.
 
For your criteria, switch to a Savage 11 with accutrigger...
Unless you are just wanting to try something new then, toss a coin between the 2 you have listed, then go buy a Tikka T3, either the lite or hunter version...:D
 
+1 to what precision shooter said

There are value rifles in every price range, the Ruger American/Rem 783 are great values in the $300-350 range. The T3 is an even better value for the $550-600 range.

Nothing wrong with the Savage 11 either
 
What is a .308 going to do that a .30-06 won't? I could see going to a .308 if you were looking for a heavy barreled target rifle. However, since none of the rifles you're interested in are a target rifle, I'd just stay 06 and pick up a Sharpshooter Supply Competition Trigger or tune your old three screw.
 
The 308 will give him about 97% of a 30-06's velocity with about 75% of its recoil and probably better accuracy. Savage long actions are LOOOOOOONG. I find it impossible to mount my prefered scopes and mounts on a long action Savage. I can make them fit on a short action.

My prefered option of those discussed would be the Tikka. Even though it only comes in 1 action length it will be almost exactly the same as a short action Savage and far shorter than a long action Savage. It would probably be a toss-up between a Savage 11 or the Ruger. I'd be wary of the Remington although it may prove to be a good gun in the long run. I don't want to be a product tester with Remingtons past reputation with budget guns.

A SS Savage should be a 114/14 though. The 111/11 are matte blue.
 
If I had a .30-06 Savage and I wanted a .308, I'd use the Savage action as the base for my own customized rifle.

Order a barrel that's exactly what you want, order a stock that's exactly what you want, order a new trigger. Viola. New gun, exactly what you want, not what Savage or Ruger or Remington or Tikka thinks you should want.
 
jmr40 said:
The 308 will give him about 97% of a 30-06's velocity with about 75% of its recoil and probably better accuracy.
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Well the question was about keeping the current rifle or switching to one of the other two choices. IMO the OP is better off sticking to his current rifle than switching to one of the other two choices. So I wanted him to ask himself what he expects the .308 to do that the .30-06 won't.

The 06 handles heavier bullets better, recoil can be mitigated, and difference in accuracy in a hunting rifle will be negligible. The trigger can be improved or replaced the Accutrigger isn't the end all of triggers. Maybe not your favorite mounts but there are plenty of ways to mount a scope that will enable pretty much any scope to work with his action. Plus with the Savage there will be options to replace the stock if needed that aren't there yet with the Ruger and Remington rifles.

He has the option as well as Brian pointed out of changing the barrel. The OP can sink $200-300 in a custom barrel and tools and have a .308 Win. Since Tikka was put on the table why can't the OP have a short action cartridge on a Savage long action?
 
Thanks all.

To answer a couple questions, what a .308 will do that a .30-06 won't is allow me to use the same brass between a bolt gun and my M1a for reloading. :) However, I'm not totally out with the .30-06 as I have a Garand as well, but I'm thinking the M1a may see more trigger time in the future.

I'm not really looking to invest a lot of money and, frankly, won't change anything at all if I can't do it in a break even situation. If I were to sell the .30-06, I could get probably around $350 for it which is in the price range of the Rem and Ruger. Again, not looking for a huge investment but mainly just thinking of "swapping" calibers, and if I do that wondering what the best use of $350 would be.

I don't live in a state where you can hunt really anything with a .30-06 or .308 (I'm in IL, so unless you plan on totally overgunning for varmints neither is practical for anything in this state); these are mainly fun toys (just for some context).
 
Looking mainly from an average "out of the box" accuracy perspective as well as smoothness of action/quality of construction.
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Just change out the barrel on your Savage, you can do that yourself. Bolt remains the same for both the 30-06 & 308. Barrel swap would run you about $150 if that much.

The 308 can be used in the long action rifle as well as a short action rifle.

Jim
 
jmr40 said:
The 308 will give him about 97% of a 30-06's velocity with about 75% of its recoil and probably better accuracy.
Click to expand...

:confused: Isaac Newton, white courtesy phone.

Martowski said:
To answer a couple questions, what a .308 will do that a .30-06 won't is allow me to use the same brass between a bolt gun and my M1a for reloading.
Click to expand...

Why would you want to do that? Neck size for the bolt gun, full length for the gas guns. Brass will last longer, and you will have better accuracy in the bolt rifle.
 
If you really want to switch to .308, I would let no one dissuade you. The idea about using the same brass for the M1A and the bolt gun, however, may not pan out like you think. You would probably end up segregating the brass fired from the M1A because it will expand much differently than the brass fired in the bolt gun. If you are interested in accuracy with the bolt gun then you won't mix the brass between the two.

You could just use the opportunity to upgrade to a match-grade barrel from one of the finer barrel makers. That's the great thing about having a Savage.
 
I had the same savage as you have....exact. The .30-06 was painful to shoot out of that rifle, so I sold it. I now have a Ruger American in .308. I will give you my pros and cons on both, but if I were you I wouldnt trade if you can handle the recoil, but it really depends on what you use it for.

The reason I have/want a bolt action center fire are as follows:

1. Target shooting/long range plinking
2. Off chance of a Elk/Mule Deer/Goat/Antelope hunt out west.
3. Finding a hunting spot in Michigan where the shot may exceed 200 yards.

Here in Michigan a shot on a deer is usually less than 100 yards. I prefer my Marlin lever actions to a bolt action for hunting deer.

Savage Pros

1. Accurate
2. Bolt action was nicer

Savage Cons

1. Stock was ugly as sin (preference thing)
2. Recoil
3. Trigger (not accu-trigger)

Ruger Pros

1. Also accurate, but not quite as accurate
2. Most people think the stock is ugly, I think it is rather nice
3. Trigger
4. .308

Ruger Cons

1. Magazine, hard to load and incredibly cheap feeling. Also expensive
2. Bolt action isnt as nice

For me it boils down to what I use it for. The Ruger fits me a little better, and I like the .308 cartridge better as I have 2 other .308's and I can share ammo. The .308 does recoil less also. The savage on average would shoot better. Hope this helps!
 
Thanks Dirty Harry! I appreciate your detailed hand-on assessment of both options.

Yeah, the light Savage .30-06 is a kicker off the bench... much more than the heavier, gas operated Garand.

Your write up has given me some more things to think about; thanks again for taking the time!
 
No problem. Also, my ruger has a Nikon prostaff on it and it is really nice for the money.

This doesnt make a huge difference to me either, but Ruger sent me a fairly nice cheek rest/cartridge holder when I registered it online for free. I havent shot with it yet, but it feels nice.
 
Why not drop in a Timney and install a really good recoil pad? In my opinion your Savage is a nicer rifle than the Ruger or Remington.
 
Looking mainly from an average "out of the box" accuracy perspective as well as smoothness of action/quality of construction.
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You need to expand your horizons a bit and consider a Weatherby Vanguard Series 2. Match grade two stage trigger and guaranteed to shoot sub-MOA right out of the box. It's easily the best $500 rifle value out there. Last time I took my .308 out, it shot a 1 1/8" five shot group at 200 yards.
 
.30-06 is really the .300 Winchester Magnum of 40 years ago.

Suggest keeping the .30-06 and hand loading.

Or just use Remington Factory loads, they are sort of weak.

Hot .30-06 loads are Federal and Hornady.
 
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