Six years ago you couldn' t have given me a Ruger 77. I had one 10 years ago and it was crap. However I had a chance to shoot some of the later models and yes they have changed for the better. I now own one and it is a quality firearm. Had to tweak it a little but that' s half the fun. As far as Savage goes I have never had any problems with them. You can keep your Winchesters.