Does anyone own or have knowlage about Savage rifles. I would like to step up from my 30.06 Winchester and get a more " weather friendly" rifle with a little extra umph. I was looking into the Weatherby Vanguard but found out it was made in Japan[]. I try to buy American as much as possible???!!!!!!
I am not a rich man and the Savage fits right in my range as I will still need to scope it.
Speaking of scopes.....Are Bushnells(3200 Elites) American made or are only Leupolds????

Thanks GLOB!!!!!!!

I have a Savage 116 stainless in 300 Win Mag. I have no complaints about it whatsoever. I have 2 model 110s as well. Again, no complaints. As far as cartridge choice, I can' t stand the short mags and will be glad when the fad is over but if that' s what you want then have at it. They seem to be ok, just not as good as all the hype they are getting. A little more umph than a 30-06 and less than a 300 Win Mag.

Savage rifles are very accurate, a little too utilitarian for some but accuracy is never a problem. I think you will be pleased with one. As for the cartridge, I really like my 300 WSM, 3/4" groups all day long and the recoil doesn' t bother me (but I am pretty tolerant of recoil anyway). frizzellr is right they aren' t as good as the hype, but then what is? For them to be as good as people made them out to be they would kick like a 243 and have the knockdown of a 375 H&H. But they are a nice round that lets me pack a lot of punch in a short action, they aren' t quite as powerful as a 300 Win. mag can be, but in the real world there isn' t enough of a difference to talk about (unless you want to use 200 gr. or larger bullets then you need to stick to the original version and ignore the WSM). For my money the 300 WSM is the best of the shorties, I think you' ll be happy with it.

Gordon

You won' t get any disagreement from me with anything said above. I have never owned the 116 Savage. I do own a 111 Savage chambered for .30-06. It shoots fine, so far has worked well, and I purchased it for a really great price. It is very utilitarian, (nothing wrong with that), but not very pretty. Makes a great working rifle.

A friend of mine in Alaska owned and used a Stainless Steel Savage, with the regular wood stock, chambered in .300 Winchester Magnum. (That was eight or nine years ago and there were no short magnums.) I loaded 180 grain Barnes " X" bullets for him and it was absolutely deadly on game. Through and through penetration with every shot with entrance about nickle to quarter sized and exits about ping-pong ball to tennis ball sized. You could not have pried that rifle from his hands!

I would imagine the .300 WSM would be pretty much the same with any bullet weights of 180 grains or less. If you like the cartridge...I don' t think you' ll have any qualms with the rifle. Inspite of their looks....they tend to work and shoot well.

Good luck and best wishes with your choice!

P.S. It' s amazing how a " homely" rifle can grow on you if it shoots well!

Thanks for the input fella' s !!! It is EXACTLY !!!! What I was hoping I would get

I am exactly looking for a good working utility rifle that has a bit more power than my 30.06 but not so much that I can' t or don' want to shoot it.Also I am always trying to be careful not to ding up my Model 70 wood stock.
The synthetic stock may not be pretty....But I don' t think the Elk are giving fashion awards[8D]

Thanks
Bill

Only burris scopes are totally american made.Leupold scopes are assembled in america but use asian lenses.The ziess conquest line is also assembled in america but uses european components.

Funny you should bring that up..... Stubblejumper
The Burris factory is about 30 min away from home.... and I did decide to purchase the Burris Signature 3x9 from the local optics guy. He couldn' t recommend one over the other. Looks like an excellent scope and a " FOREVER" warranty.
I have absolutly no reservations about the gun and scope I have chosen!!!!!!!

Thanks to all !!!!!
Bill