Savage 111 or Remington 700 SPS Quality

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deermaster

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Ive been out of the rifle game for quite a while now. I want to pick up a new rifle for deer hunting, and am looking at the Savage 111 and the 700 SPS both in 300 win mag ( Ive always wanted a 300, I know its not necessary for deer). Both are right around 490$. The included scope on the Savage is not a huge advantage by any means. As far as current quality, whos making a better rifle these days?
 
.300 Win Mag for Whitetails?
Ever been behind a lightweight .300 WM? Not an easy rifle for most to shoot accurately because of the heavy recoil.

I prefer Savage for out-of-the-box accuracy, but the 700 would be my choice for future upgrades (if wanted) as well as resale.
 
Given the recent design, quality control and poor customer service from Remington I would go with another brand. The Savage is the way I would go but for whitetail I would use a 270 to 30-06 caliber.
 
I have the Savage 111 in 7mm Rem Mag. Full power loads with 160gr and up bullets can smart after a while. Would definitely recommend a better recoil pad.

I don't know what kind of "upgrades" would be better on a Remington and not a Savage.
While not as asthetically pleasing, the barrel nut on the Savage makes removal and install of the barrel a breeze.

Both are push round feed.
Both do well with bedding and stiffening of the forearm.
 
Do yourself a favor and go look at them and decide for yourself which one you want. Having other people suggest the gun for you is about like letting someone else select your under wear! The look and handling of a gun is a pretty personal thing, the longevity of the rifle and/or model say's tons for the quality. The Savage 110 was one sorry looking gun and I shot a few, the trigger left a lot to be desired but. You can learn to shoot even a bad trigger and I suspect a good refinish job on the stock would make a world of difference. An of course if you get either with a plastic stock, they will be equally ugly! I've had several Rem 788 with that ugly brown stock they came with. Refinish job, add sling studs and suddenly it's a good looking rifle.

You want to ask about something, try cartridge's. I worked on a few 300 mags in the past, they were as bad as my 7mm mag and my 338 mag. Ya want all that power there is a price to pay, recoil. Want it in a lighter rifle to carry and the price goes up, more recoil. of curse you can start adding stuff to handle the recoil and there goes more money. Go back to start and get the gun you like best, looks and feel, and then consider what cartridge you really want it in. Still think 300 mag, go for it! For whitetail deer I'd be looking at either the 260 Rem, 6.5 Creedmore, 7mm-08 or 308. I'm not crazy about recoil anymore and the older I get, the less I like it!
 
Neither. And I'd pass on 300 WM. Been there, done that. I could tolerate a Savage in a short action, but their long actions just don't do anything for me and I'm through with Remington.

A 300 magnum can be a useful hunting tool, but the trend today is moving away from them. Most people are finding that with modern bullets, loads and optics much less powerful rounds accomplish the same thing with 1/3 to 1/2 the recoil. And about 1/2 the cost.

A 300 will hit you with about 30-32 ft lbs of recoil, but if you're good enough it is potent enough for elk at 600-700 yards. Most people can't shoot well enough to take advantage of the round. A 308 will have 15-16 ft lbs of recoil, a 6.5 Creedmoor about 12 ft lbs recoil and either will work on elk size game at 300-400 yards. Add at least 100 yards to that for deer. How good are you at long range? If you can hit a deer at 1/2 mile, then the 300 is what you need. If you can't shoot farther than 300-400 yards no game animal will notice the difference between 300 WM, 308 or even 6.5 Creedmoor. But your shoulder and wallet will.

For $350ish a Ruger American is a better rifle than the Remington and at least as good as the Savage. And I don't dislike the short action Savages, I just think the Ruger is the better value. With a $500 budget you could also look at Tikka. If you don't mind a heavier rifle the Weatherby Vanguard or Howa 1500 are excellent choices.
 
It's really a coin toss. The Savage is an excellent rifle and so is the Remington. The 700 SPS line offers a lot of value. But the factory stock is not that great and most folks, or at least seasoned shooters end up replacing them at some point.

My 700 SPS has been heavily modified, but for some strange reason I have kept the original stock on it. Although now it's camouflaged.

Regards,

Rob
 

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Thanks for the replies! As stated, I know the 300 win mag is unnecessary. Ive killed a boatload of deer with a 243 and 95 gr bullets. A 300 has always been one Ive wanted and now is my chance. I have no desire to shoot a deer at 600 yds, I just want a 300 win mag. The recoil is not a problem. Ive hunted deer with pump 12 gauges and slugs for years, as well as waterfowl with a pump 12 guage.
Thanks for input on te 700 vs 111. I have handled both. The action on the 700 is slicker than the 111, but both felt similarly decent in all other reguards. Stocks on both leave much to be desired, and would be replaced eventually. I guess my main question is which will be a better quality rifle in the long run. Thanks again for all the input.
 
The deal breaker for me on the 700 is the two position safety. It will not lock the bolt. Savage does not have that problem.
 
I would go with the Savage.

I don't get or buy the 700 has more accessories.

And you can easy replace the barrel on the Savage when you wear it out, and you will, the 300 WM is a barrel eater.

The good news is you can get an even better barrel.

Get the Acu trigger, not the very best but the best offered in a non custom rifle or aftermarket trigger.

I have handled the Remington, I did not care for its feel.

I thought the Savage had the better feeling bolt and better overall.
 
The Remington 700 and it's clones still have more aftermarket support/accessories for stocks, triggers, precision replacement parts (triggers, bolts, dbm's, etc) than are available for Savage. A few minutes on Google should convince anyone of this, I have neither the time nor the inclination to try to "prove" it.

Based on the OP's application, this likely would not be much (if at all) of a consideration.
 
I can accept that.

On the other hand, does 6 trigger choices over 2 get you anything?

Practicality wise Savage has plenty of stock choices (probably the number 1 change) and you can get a heck of a lot better trigger WITH it, that requires you go after market trigger so that explains why you have more trigger, the OEM trigger is so bad (yes I have shot it)

If you really get into it, Savage does not require the blue print Remington does because of its bolt head design (flexes and aligns )

Changing barrel on a Savage is easy (Remington can be but have to get that first barrel out and convert it to a Remage)

Huge number of barrel mfgs make pre fit Savage barrels in any length, contour and caliber.

I have one on a 7.5 Swiss. Try that with a Remington! (hint, at worst I lost a bolt head, not a whole bolt by opening up the bolt face of a 308 type to match the 7.5 rim size which is unique - smaller than a magnum, bigger than a 308)
 
I bought a Savage 111 Lrh 300 Win mag a few months ago.
I love it! It shoots 5/8in groups at 100 yards(5 rounds) 212gr hornady eld-x 60.5 gr imr 4831.

Its pretty heavy, so keep that in mind, when prone the recoil is pretty good, it has a big pad on it. It will rock you if you stand up though.

I would buy a it again in an heart beat.

If you go 300wm I would recommend getting into reloading.
 
Everyone has their own preferences, but I like the older Remington 700 BDL's with wood stocks. You may find just what you want used in .300 WM. Keep in mind that a used gun may be for sale because it is shot out or may be someone just got tired of flinching.

JIMHO...
 
Something that is worth an investment is the Lyman Boroscope. Something around $180. Its also very good tool to see how your

Buy a used gun (Gunbroker etc) or in person, purchase or keeping is contingent on passing a throat check.

I got a used Savage 30-06 with a beautiful Thumbhole stock via the Cabella gun library. Laminated (and as impervious to weather as a plastic/composite stock) but its very nicely done lamination, I get a lot of compliments on that gun - sharp looking with the Shilen bull barrel on it.

As noted, 300 WM will use up a barrel fairly fast (under 1500 rounds), if you go that route, keep in mind. 7mm can do that as well so its good to research the gun before you buy. Good pad is needed.

I shot my fairly heavy 7mm before I sold it (to be sure it functioned ok, had sat for 8 years). Mother of Mary! - that thing kicked my butt. I never target shot it, that is one wicked shooter with a sharp smack as opposed to the push of a 388 and a 375 (at least HH)

One of the major pluses of the 30-06 is that it can do (with reloads) what a factory 300 WM can do (and close to even reloaded) and it has a barrel life of 8,000 rounds (again a bit subjective as bench rest accuracy vs hunting and how good you shoot all weights 98in)_

I will note, the first thing my brother did was change the Trigger on his 700. The OEM was pretty bad.

Overall the feel was some and some but I preferred the Savage and though the action felt better. That's subjective of course.
 
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There is a reason you see lots of 300 magnums for sale used.
They just are not fun to shoot. The most recoil I would
suggest for a dear gun would be a 308 Win, if you just
have to have a 30 caliber. A 243 or 6.5 Creedmore
or even a 7mm/08 is going to be a lot easier on your
body and ears shooting it. Actually the 6.5 has enough
power for most big game, W D M Bell used a 6.5X54
for shooting hundreds of African game, including lion,
buffalo, zebra etc. He kept a 150 man Safari fed for
over a year shooting that 6.5, and it is less power
than a 6.5 Creedmore. Also he killed nearly 300
elephants with it. Yet you want a 300 magnum to
beat your shoulder to death and go dear hunting?
Here is a link to some background on Bell and hunting
very large game with smaller caliber rifles.
https://huntforever.org/2013/05/06/the-red-man/

Now for the gun. The Ruger American is nice, I am
shooing one at present, and you can get them in
some nice calibers. I also just bought a Remington
783 and I am really impressed with it. It does not
give you the choice of calibers, but if you want a
243, or 308 they would make a nice choice,
in my opinion. Savage has lots of things people like
also, in some good calibers. I have two Savages at
present, both are in some 6.5 caliber.

Take a look at Ruger American, Remington 783, or
some Savage in something like 243, 270, 7mm08, 308,
6.5 Creedmore, and you are going to be a lot more
happy shooting it.
 
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If the quality of either on was that bad, you wouldn't be looking at either one; wouldn't be there to look at. So go through the post's and you can maybe figure out who's a Savage fan, who's a Remington and who buy's more expensive rifles. I figure they are all equal quality! Ruger is to ugly for me to look at to long. Never owned but one Savage, a mod 23 and for what ever reason have had mostly Remington's always liked out they looked! Have no use for a Remington with a plastic stock. Had one and it was the worst shooting rifle I ever owned. Have no use for the ultra light rifle's. Had a mod 7 when they first came out, tied for the worst shooting rifle I ever owned but, at least I could get the other to shoot, not the mod 7!
 
I've got Savage and Remington. I wouldn't want either in 300, but the Rem does have a 26" barrel in Magnums. One of my Remingtons is a a CDF sf in 7mmRM. Recoil is like a 30-06 and you can't beat the trajectory of 140-160s. I put Boyd's stocks on my other 3 Rems and my Savage. Excellent fit and recoil control.
 
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First I have a life long fondness for Remington. I had one of their 1100s for many years (sold to someone who would use it). I have an 870 still.

And agreed for the most part.

But unequivocally on a comparison between a Savage and a Remington 700, the Rem trigger just plain is awful.

Savage regular trigger is decent, the Acu Trigger is good. Not quite match grade but close enough for me that I am doing fine with it.

If I can get the lighter pull sear its going to be my forever trigger.

As it is I am still good with the 1.5 lbs I have (spring change to get there on the non Varmint versions)
 
I have two Savage 10/110 series rifles and a Remington SPS. Buy the one that feels best to you. They are both pretty dang good rifles for the money.
 
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