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Building a lefty tactical rifle : Remington or Savage?

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09 October 2002, 01:36
Pyrotek
Building a lefty tactical rifle : Remington or Savage?
Greetings,

Couple days ago I found a lefty Rem 700 BDL 270win. in used/as new condition for 500$CDN, what a steal! So I thought this is my chance of having a lefty precision .308win rifle built, but 2 days later I got an email notice-- Long time ago I placed my name on a wholesaler's backorder list for Savage rifles, now they have Savage rifles in stock. A lefty .308win 10FP costs about 630$CDN.

Now I have to choose between the two--

The Remington need work so 308win will fit the long BDL action, the Savage came with everything correct except the stock that doesn't look very stable. But the Remington is so cheap, and the 270win barrel and stock can be resold. The Remington is easier to find accessories, the Savage only with narrow choices.

Can you gents give me your thoughts?
09 October 2002, 02:03
<Rawhider>
Protek-Why do you consider the Remington cheap all you are getting is the action and the wrong length one.The Savage will shoot right out of the box they are rougher than a cob ,but they shoot.Is this just kind of a for grins pursuit or serious If really a serious endeavor for serious reasons then neither-Rawhider
09 October 2002, 02:14
<John Lewis>
Of course go with the Remington. If you build a rifle and have the chamber done with a throat set up properly for the 168 grain match bullet, then you will be glad you have a long action. You can set the bullet out so that the base is even with the bottom of the neck and have minimal loss of powder capacity.
09 October 2002, 02:29
<Big Stick>
I'd choose the action you yearn for most and from the sound of your Post that is the Remington hands down.

When building a Pet Rifle,cutting corners initially,is always gonna taint the end result. If the Savage is your favorite flavor,by all means do it. But if the Remington sings to you,stick to your gut feeling,as you'll never regret it down the road.

Make a plan and do not deviate,in the form of cutting corners. That's my best advice.............
09 October 2002, 05:32
redial
Take the Rem! My across-the-course match rig is a long action 700 in .308, unaltered. Works just fine and I can load any bullet I want out as long as I care to.

Besides, there are TONS of replacement parts, aftermarket parts, etc for the lefty Rem but not a lefty Savage. I own and love both, but take the Rem.

Redial
09 October 2002, 06:05
GeorgeS
Don't be foolish. Get both! It's tough enough finding left-hand rifles here in the States, where they are producesd, let alone in a primitive country like Canada. [Wink] Here, you have two fall into your lap!

I have a 10FLP .223 and LH Rem. 700 VS rifles in .223 and .22-250. The Savage shoots best (all I had to replace was the trigger). There is little need for all the 'add-on' parts if your rifle shoots great out of the box.

You can then build a proper hunting rifle on the .270; something like a .338-06 sounds right.

George
(a fellow lefty)
09 October 2002, 08:48
Dave James
Pyro,both of our snipers are built on the Remington actions after much modification,if this is going to be a varmit type shooter go with the savage the bbl's out shoot remington all day long
Just got back a while ago from snipers refresher and there were a couple of guys from podunc pd that had two savages and they out shot alot of the high dollar guns
09 October 2002, 10:29
Pyrotek
Thanks for your replies,

Looks like the action length of the BDL is not a disadvantage after all. The Remington is really my heart's true desire, if the seller can guarantee the rifle being free of defects, it will be the one that I go after. The Remington is a one time steal, the Savage can wait for my next compulsive rifle purchase, say, this Christmas?

Adjusting headspace without a lathe, rotation-proof recoil lug, and that magical accuracy. Some aspects of Savage sure beats Remington.

Thanks again for clearing things up for me.

quote:
It's tough enough finding left-hand rifles here in the States, where they are producesd, let alone in a primitive country like Canada
If you havn't lived in a solar-powered igloo [Eek!] with a color-TV [Eek!] , you don't know what's hightech!