OK,I can't take it anymore! I'm going to break down & get a 7mm-08, and I've been looking at the Savages for so long that I'm fairly determined to go in that direction.

My question, however, is which model to go with. I amawfully enamored of slim stocks with tight grips and skinny fore ends (Like my 700 CDL, or a 700 Mountain Rifle), and I'm not sure which Savage model would best fit that description: 10, 11, 14, 16? I've held a 14 American Classic, & that stock felt far thicker than I'd like. Is the 14 Classic any slimmer?

I guess the other option would be to buy the cheapest one, dump the stock, & get a McMillan, Boyds, etc., etc.Can anyone make a recommendation on an aftermarket stock with a good performance/price ratio?

Ideas? Suggestions? Sympathy? Pity? Disdain? Disgust? Lemme Know!

Many Thanks,

FC

The Savages are reliable rifles and most are very accurate. At present I have a 93 in 17HMR and a Mk II .22LR both with wood stocks. I also have an 11FL in .223 a 116FLSS in .30-06 and a 11 FYCAK in 7-08. These three have synthetic stocks. I'm very surprised at how well the 11FYCAK fits me. This is a youth model I got for my grandson for when he gets older. I've been shooting different loads through it to see what it likes the best. I'm 5'9" and the stock seems to fit me better than the 'adult' stock dimensions. All these rifles shoot very well with the properload and good with just about any other ammo. The Accutrigger is superb. The only minor 'problem' I have found with the synthetic stocks is that they are a bit flimsy near the tip of the forend. And when shooting off the bench and having the forend too far out on the sandbags, it tends to flex against the barrel if too much downward pressure is applied. This causes a pressure point on the barrel and affects groups. I usually set the rifle on the bags so the center of the checkering is reating on them.
By the way - if the Am Classic was available in left hand, I'd probably have a couple of them.

No the Classic and Euro Classic are not significantly slimmer in the forearm.You may want to look at theModel 10FMC SierraUltralight. I bought my wife one about 4 years ago in .308 and it is a shooter for sure. It is light, short, slimmer in the forearm and pistol grip than other Savage models.

http://www.savagearms.com/10fm.htm

Or you can spend way less $$$ on a Stevens 200 and get a Boydslaminate with, the Ultra light option, stock for it.

http://www.savagearms.com/st_200short.htm

I would select the savage model that says-"browning a-bolt" on the side.

Well - the Browning A-bolts are pretty rifles. I have 2 myself. Both are good shooters. At least now. One needed a bedding job and the other a trigger job. The Savages I have on the other hand did not need any work and will shoot every bit as good or better than my Brownings. And the difference in $ can be put toward a higher end scope.

Well, now I'm even more confused. I went to the local branch of a chain store to talk to their poorly staffed & generally distinterested gun dept. They had five 111FCXP3's, in various calibers. 4 of them had clunky, boxlike stocks with a horrible seam down the underside. The fifth was much more svelte, with a far slimmer and more rounded fore end, scarecly noticeable seam on the bottom, and with the box sleekly tucked into the stock, rather than looking like it was jammed-in as an afterthought. Also, that specimen had a wonderfully smooth cycling bolt, whereas the others seemed as if they had sand, or glue, in the action. As expected, the guy couldn't explain the difference for the life of him. I would guess "new stock" vs. old stock. What do you guys think?

Naturally, there wasn't a single wood-stocked specimen to examine, much less anything in a short action. At $369 for the package, however, I might have bitten on the good-looking one, had it been in 7mm-08.
FC

I bought a savage 116ffss in a .300 win mag ,changed the stock to a laminate.Now I can shoot it like the rest of my rifles.That fiber stock just didnt trip my trigger,but I was working at a walmart in my local town ,putting up some new lights for them and one of the guys that worked there showed me that rifle for $300.00 so I got it and never looked back.Here is a pic of it.

IMO all Savage stocks have a terrible feel and look to them but the rifles themselves shoot great. If you want a nice stock on your new Savage we'll need to go the after market route. Whatever model you get just be sure that it has the Accu-trigger, which I think all the new ones do.

Today, I made the best of a lovely day & took a 2 hour drive South through thoroughbred country to visit the Savage Mecca for these parts. There were 10's, 11's, 14's, 16's... tons of everything!

I tried the 14 Classic & American Classic, & both stocks were too thick for my liking. It's kind of like Savage was imitating the Remmy 700 BDL, & I'm a CDL kind of guy. I ended up taking more time than I thought because they had several CDL's there, too, & I took the opportunity to fondle them gratuitously. I very nearly ended up with one of them in .35 whelen!

The Savage 11's stock certainly feltthinner in my hand than their wood stocks.TheySavage also felt"rounder" than the RemingtonSPS stock, though the SPS was definitely stiffer.In the end, I decided to go with the Savage 11HFNSbecause it came up a little quicker than the 2" longer SPS, and because I thought I should force myself to have some variety, instead of buying another Remington CDL!

Thanks for the input. I'll let you know how she shoots, & whether I feel compelled to replace the stock.

FC

How do you like the way it shoots?