Need some advice on this rifle brand/model

Binary Encryption · 10-27-2008, 09:36 PM

I'm thinking very much of getting the Savage 116FHSAK in 300 Winmag

I've never had any dealings or a chance to deal with a Savage firearms. I was wondering if anyone has any views or thoughts on the company and/or specifically the model of rifle? Thank you for any posts in advance.

Jaxx · 10-27-2008, 11:06 PM

IMHO Savage makes a good firearm for the money. I have owned a few but not in the 300 Winmag caliber.

Customer service has been good the one time I needed it. I really like the Accu-Trigger that is used. I have a Mark II in 22lr. that is adjusted to a 1.5lb break. The absolute most accurate 22lr I have layed hands on.

So, I do not think you would be spending money on a bad product. Hope this helps.

Jaxx

JeepHammer · 10-27-2008, 11:30 PM

Think LONG & HARD about a .300 Win Mag!

APPLICATION, APPLICATION, APPLICATION!

Unless you are VERY used to shooting hard kicking rifles, and you know how to take/tame the recoil, you will just be wasting money!
Lightweight 'Mountain' rifles are much easier to pack when hunting, but they KICK like mules!

I have .300 Winchester, Weatherby and H&H mags, and I can tell you right now, they are NO FUN TO SHOOT!

If you aren't going to be hunting moose, elk, western grizzly or other very large and potentially dangerous game, it's not worth the money!...
And for dangerous game, I'd be more comfortable with something like a .338 Mag, but then again, that's even MORE recoil, but for hunting someplace like Alaska, you won't ever have to worry if you brought enough gun or not!
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As for the rifle it's self,
If it's got the Savage 'Accu-Trigger', it's worth anything you pay for it!
That trigger alone is worth $150 or $200!
This particular all weather rifle is running about $550 retail right now.

DON'T BUY IT IF IT DOESN'T HAVE THE ACCU-TRIGGER!
No Accu-Trigger, it's old stock and you should deduct at least $200 from the price before you even start talking about buying it!

I find Savage rifles well made, durable, accurate, safe and VERY reasonably priced!
Since the plant's 14 million dollar retool a few years ago, their fit and finish is comparable to any of the 'Production' company rifles.

One thing Savage CAN DO the others can't...
Make barrel changes in a flash!
You get this one, and you can get barrels to shoot about any of the same length cartridges!

Loosen the barrel nut, remove the barrel,
Put a cartridge on the bolt and use it to head space the new barrel, and tighten the nut and you are DONE!

Takes more time to type it than it does to do it!
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Just FYI,
That 'Muzzle Brake' on the picture you show might cause you problems.
There are a BUNCH of places that won't guide you hunting if you have one, and there are more and more gun ranges that won't allow muzzle breaks on the range if there is anyone else around.

They direct too much overpressure back at other people on the sides of you, and that is causing detached retinas in the eyes, hearing problems, and in some cases, even bursting blood vessels in the eyes and brain...
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ALSO,
Don't rule out the Weatherby Vanguard series rifles also come in stainless with synthetic stocks, are VERY well made and accurate,
And they come in .300 Weatherby Mag, just as powerful as the .300 Win mag (Win mag is actually a copy of the belted Weatherby mag).

Side by side compairson.
http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=87785
http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=86836

The Weatherby Vanguard also comes in .300 Winchester Mag,
http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=87783

One thing I would stress, Stainless Weatherby rifles come with Kreiger built barrels... Not the top of the line Kreiger, but the 'Champion' or what ever they call their house barrel.
WAY more accurate of a barrel than most 'Production' rifles come with!

Binary Encryption · 10-28-2008, 12:29 AM

It is true the 300winmag is not for small people/novice shooter. It hurts to shoot repeatedly. And yes I'm going hunting in Alaska lol, I really needed something smaller to take. My AR-50A1 is way to much over kill and to heavy to carry on the trek. I just didn't know if Savage was junk. Thanks a ton to both of you!

JeepHammer · 10-28-2008, 01:10 AM

My last trip to Alaska I carried a 12 Ga. but the trip before that with a bear tag I took my .300 Weatherby mag, and the guide wouldn't take me out until I got a .338 Mag...
After a lot of talking and a little bribery, he agreed to cover my butt with his .338.

I didn't have any problems filling the bear tag with the .300 mag (one shot drop), but they still get upset if you show up with one.
I think it might have something to do with so may 'Tourists' showing up thinking they are going to hunt dangerous animals with a pop gun and getting themselves and the guides into trouble!

Anyway, the best thing I can tell you is to cut the stock short,
Attach the largest 'Limb Saver' gel filled recoil pad you can find to it, and then wear a 'Bitch Pad' when you are sighting in and practicing!
(you will have a coat and other insulation on up there, so the stock still won't be too short!)

I'm not above attaching the rifle to the bench with a hook when I'm sighting in or practicing with the 'Boomers'!

The main rule in rifle shooting is, If you can't shoot it without flinching, you can't hit the target!
SO,
Anything you can do to reduce the felt recoil is perfectly OK! (and anyone that tells you different is a block head!)

I NEVER feel the recoil in the field when I'm shooting at game,
But I've sure went home with some badly bruised shoulders and some serious flinching to work out from practicing with 'Boomers'!

JeepHammer · 10-28-2008, 01:38 AM

One other tidbit of information...

You can buy a rifle down here in the lower 48, hunt with it up there, and then sell it up there before you come back for the same price you bought it for down here if you pick the right caliber and type of rifle.

.300 or .338 Mag, stainless with synthetic stock is the right kind of rifle...
By the time they pay transport costs in the outlaying areas, they will have an extra $100 to $150 in the rifles, so a very slightly use one for $150 off what they can buy it for new is a great deal for them!

On my second hunting trip (wolves) I sold my .300 mag before I left and made $7 dollars in the deal, and didn't have to pack a rifle I wasn't going to use again in the lower 48 again unless I went Moose, Elk or Grisly hunting, which I'm not likely to do anytime soon...

My optics fit nicely in my carry on bag, and I was happy as a clam with the deal!
The guy even bought the case and extra ammo I took along!

Frank · 10-28-2008, 03:09 AM

All of the currently produced savages are fine weapons for the price .
As mentioned the application is the key to selecting the caliber the manufacturer is somewhat irrelevant

JeepHammer · 10-28-2008, 04:04 AM

I don't know about that...
If I wanted it to hold value, I'd get one of the 'Big Five'...
Winchester,
Remington,
Weatherby,
Savage,
Ruger.

You can also throw in Sako and a couple of others, but the 'Big 5' is what will sell the best.
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Optics on a .300 Mag light weight should be considered VERY carefully!

Life time warranty on something like 'Night Force' means very little with price tags well over $1,000 and 4 or 5 month turn around times if you have a warranty...

And with a .300 Mag, You ARE going to have warranties!
A .300 Mag will beat the guts out of all but a few of the older, better names in the business...

I personally wouldn't consider anything in 'Meters', so that lets out the Asian and European optics.

I wouldn't consider anything but PROVEN optic companies that have a track record keeping their optics together when mounted on Magnum rifles,
That brings you around to Leupold, Burris,.... and that's about it!
........................

The optics that retain their value the best is Leupold, no question about it.
Ziess, Schmidt & Bender, ect. are all fine optics, but in America, it's Leupold that will retain the most value and give the best service...

That USA made and lifetime warranty doesn't hurt anything either!
And the fact that anything I've ever sent in for 'Life Time' warranty service has been back in my hands in less than three weeks!...
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In my opinion, and I buy/mount/shoot a LOT of optics...

About the best deal on the market for a true hunting rifle optics is Burris right now, with Leupold lesser grades bringing up the next ten places in the pack...

Burris is making very good optic sets right now that will live on big 'Boomers'...
I don't know how there warranty service is, I've only been using Burris for about 5 years now, and I haven't had to get one serviced yet...
(I'd say that's a GOOD sign!)

My returns to Leupold for warranty work have mostly been just plain old wear & tear!
Some of my optics are older than me, and I'm an OLD FART!
Every once in a while a seal will let go and let moisture condense in the optics, or a friction knob will not keep zero, and they have NEVER charged me anything for any of it!
So I can sing Leupold's praises...

Now, I have a Schmidt & Bender that has been gone for 5 months and I just got a card back from them saying that it would be at least another 6 weeks before they could fix their optics.... Anyone want to buy a S&B optic when it gets back?

I had a Night Force that was mounted on a Winchester .300 short mag, it was in the 'shop' 3 times for a total of 13 months of the first 18 months I owned it!
Finally found one of those goofy military hardware nuts to buy it for WAY more than it was worth...

Hung a 3rd rate Leupold (VX3) on that same rifle, 3 years, no problems... Still dead zeroed at 200 yards with no problems...

Anyway, just my opinion...

Frank · 10-28-2008, 04:45 AM

Like I said,"All of the currently produced savages are fine weapons for the price ". You said."I don't know about that...
If I wanted it to hold value, I'd get one of the 'Big Five'...
Winchester,
Remington,
Weatherby,
Savage,
Ruger.

Savage is in one of your big five! I think that 's what I was saying

But we were not talking about holding value.
Jeephammer, address the issue/ original post.

The poster wants to know about the company and more specifically about that particular weapon.
I know nothing about that specific weapon but savage is currently a big 5 producer and my experience with savage in there latest models is good.
You ranted off into scopes post your own thread about scopes and whatever. focus on the subject at hand.

I know a few to many brews make's it hard but give it a try.

coinguy · 10-28-2008, 06:41 AM

Savage rifles are pretty well built, for the money. I've had several friends turn them into real tack drivers.

Since you mention 'smaller' and 'Alaska' you might want to look at a different type of rifle. Take a look at the Marlin guide gun in .45-70 I think the 45-70 is a better cartridge for big game, and has proven itself well for over 100 years. Something to be said about that big slug moving downrange. With the 'leverevolution' ammo it is a real hot cartridge. Excellent penatration and energy. Not as 'sexy' as one of the bottle necked cartridges, but it will work very well.

You could make an excellent two gun combo with this rifle and the Magnum Research BFR in 45-70 I really enjoy shooting mine!

Anyway, the Savage rifles you asked about are good, the company has been around for many years and would also serve you well.