mrbb

you can buy a USED short action rem and HAVE the GUN built to your liking too

but if you shot a 1,000 rounds thru your savage and still having issue's with trigger control
I think you need to spend a little more time getting gun basic's down
as the most accurate rifle in the world is ONLY as good as the shooter behind it

that blade in the middle of the savage is ONLY a safety device , it shouldn't alter good fundamentals of shooting, as in trigger control and shooting form!

a 1000 rounds of 7mm08 is about 500+ in ammo, in that much bench time, you should be better than you are, as thats a LOT more ammo than MOST guys run down a hunting rifle
and if you ran it thru that rifle without a LOT of cooling time on that factory thin rifle barrel, you could have eaten away a lot of the rifles accuracy potential!
hot barrels and many shots thru one, can be a BAD combo!

a cheaper way to learn good shooting basic's is bench time with a 22 rifle, get good with that at things and the larger rifle will be easier to master and NOT cost you as much in Ammo!

Ridge Runner

howa, about as good as it gets in a factory stick
RR

Sheridan

You have gotten a lot of good advise, some a little harsh maybe even.

You should expect to put 3-5 rounds within one inch of one another at 100 yards.

2 inches at 200 yards, 3 inches at 300 yards, ETC....................can you do that with your current rifle ?


OK, so buy a rifle you will shoot a lot and practice good shooting form.

Frankenstein_tk

The constructive criticism doesn't bother me. I've been shooting for about 4 years, I'm most definetly a novice. I believe the best shooting I've done with the Axis is 1 3/8" At 200. Thats with the 160 sierra spritzer bullets. Another thing I don't really like about it is that I always somehow smack my middle finger off the trigger guard from the recoil, I am holding it tight. I have shot bigger guns and lighter guns that this didn't happen to me with.

Im headed to L.L cotes next week or so to look at some new and used rifles, in hopes to find a new one. The savage is good but in regards to my 788 in 22-250 it will never keep up with the accuracy of a Remington at 100 yards.

I also tend not to shoot fast and let the barrel get hot, the next rifle I will be lapping the mounts, fiberglass bedding, aluminium pillar bedding to ensure it doesn't move a bit. The fella I hunt with has a R.E.M. BDL that hasn't moved since he got it in 88, he did the same thing and it's in 300 win mag.

Thoughts about the TC encore in 7mm-08 vs a cdl in 7mm-08?

mrbb

if you got 1-3/8 group at 200 yrds, the gun you have NOW is a sub 1" MOA rifle based on that group
your NOT going to do a LOT better , but doesn't mean you cannot try with it

as for experience with either an Encore and or 700's
I have owned both, and I say HAVE Owned both, as I sold my encore off
bought it more for use an an inline for some states I hunted when I got it
then stopped hunting them states

Nothing wrong with an Encore rifle, minus there a single shot rifle, to change calibers you will be buying a second barrel(good one's ain't cheap) scope and mounts, and every time you SWAP things back and forth you will be re checking to make sure things are ZERO again, there break down pin on the receiver can be OUT of round and can cause SOME folks minor zero changes from that
there will be more slop say, in the fitting of parts over time
as to say a bedded rifle stock of a bolt action gun just due to design

so if you prefer the concept of a fully bedded rifle stock, your NOT going to get that on a Encore rifle

you will save some weight MAYBE on a single shot, and ,again NOTHING wrong with this model rifle

but I would MUCH rather have a bolt action while hunting, for a faster IF needed back up shot!

I have factory 700's and custom built rifles off 700 actions
they are my GO to hunting rifles

I have sold a few hundred 700's and other brand rifles back when I had a gun shop
I have seen ALL brand of rifles OUT OF BOX< be tac drivers SUB MOA rifles and have seem some that didn't
MOST all were able to do well with right loads, but again, MY experience , Savage wins the most ON average SUB MOA rifle out of box game, Rem has been a second, and the rest third place

but a GOOD rifle is a combo of many things, built well, a load it likes, a stock fitted right to gun and YOU, a good trigger, a good scope base and and GOOD scope

and then the GUY behind it all
a combo, and honestly unless your shooting in matches, MOST can get carried away with trying to get SMALL groups when all they do is HUNT with there rifle

I like little groups, don't get me wrong, but over kill in trying for super small groups can be a waste of time and money, and burn your barrel out faster and then your starting all over again LOL

want a challenge on paper targets, IMO< get a good 22 and start trying to make small groups at 200 yards with one
cheaper to shoot, NO recoil and will learn a LOT of shooting skills!

stalkingbear

If you want a rifle that is not only accurate out of the box, but you'll also fall in love with, and advanced design, I can totally recommend the Browning A-Bolt 2 or X-Bolt model lines. I personally have A-Bolt and A-Bolt 2, and have built several full custom rifles, including my own, on A-Bolt 2 actions. 3 locking lug, tang safety where it lies naturally under your thumb to flick off while raising rifle instead of having to release grip to manipulate right side safety, A-Bolt has concealed detachable mag that you won't lose, load mag or swap mags, the mags have X spring instead of usual W spring so more reliable, BIG extractor that grabs about 1/4 of the case instead of a tiny stamped steel extractor, accuracy of any of my (or others) rifles that still have factory barrels is easily under 1" for 5 shots, and with a pet load may get under 1/2". My usual for both 30-06 and 284 is about 5/8" for 5 shots at 200 yards. I could keep going but would bore everybody. Budsgunshop did have the A-Bolt 2 Composite Stalkers for 503$.

270sniper

I just won a Kimber 7mm-08 at a QDMA event and everything I read people say that is a great production gun

stalkingbear

There is a lot of sense in choosing a Encore. That way he'll already be intimately familiar with the action, trigger, operation, and the fact that when shooting a single shot makes people tend to make their absolute best shot as they KNOW they don't have any more and I've noticed it really does seem to make people better shots as opposed to simply spraying bullets when using a semi auto. I learned that way (single shot), taught my kids, and have taught scores upon scores that way-to treat each shot as if it's the only shot they're ever going to shoot.

younggun308

I share your skepticism of the single-shot crowd, hookeye. I see salesmen at the gun stores always tell dads trying to get a rifle for their kids to hunt with: "Oh yes, this .243/7mm-08/.308 single-shot is a perfect first gun."
Notice why they say first...they know in just 4 years or less, they'll have another sale. And at that point they'll probably recommend a "youth" model bolt gun. If you're so hell-bent on shooting a single shot, buy a bolt gun you'll want to keep forever, and just put one cartridge in it. Who's forcing you to fill the magazine?

uncle matt

I deer hunt here in IL with a single-shot H&R Ultra Slug Hunter as I am a very strong advocate of one shot-one kill. My sons also use the USHs, as does my oldest nephew.

Here in IL we also have a rule mandating shotguns that only capable of firing 3 consecutive slugs. However, I regularly hear people firing many more than 3. I hate to think how many deer escape these hunters - injured or to lay down somewhere unfound to become food for coyotes. Those hunters are slobs.

What doesn't make any sense to me is that hunters using revolvers have no limit as to how many rounds their firearms can consecutively fire......