I have shot rem 700s in 30-06 for some time. I wanted a heavy barreled rifle in 7mm for longer range shots at the end of the Sendero I hunt, but the rem folks quit making the sendero model in 7 mag unless you wanted the stainless fluted barrel. I just prefer the matt finish thats all. Several gunsmiths swore that the Savage was a great shooting gun, so I held my nose and bought one. It has an ugly cheapo stock that looks like it came off of an air rifle, the fit on the action is pretty good, but not as good as the 700 in my opinion. The finish is truly unremarkable. The accutrigger took some getting used to, but is quite functional.Some guys at the range kind of look at you in disdain while they crank rounds out of their accurized, floated barreled custom triggered rifles.. That being said, it is the best out of the box shooting rifle I have owned, bar none. With the money I saved on it I was able to buy a Zeiss Conquest target scope. The scope cost more than the rifle. Loaded with 140 grainWinchester Ballistic tipsit shoots groups thatrival most custom made guns. Not bragging, its just that good, and yes it's that ugly.