I'll have to agree with your friends. A few months ago I bought a Savage 17, heavy barrel. The damned barrel was misaligned so badly that It wouldn't zero. I tried 2 different scopes and mounts and the closest I got the groups to zero was 3 inches from center. It grouped well though.Finally I took the scope off, looked at the rifle and could see right off that the barrel was misaligned.
I knew Savage made garbage when I bought it so I got what I asked for.