Which Savage .243?

[no.5enfield]

Hi all,
I'm in the market for a budget coyote/deer/hog rifle. I've decided on .243 for a multitude of reasons, the main being that I like it, lol. I'm pretty much sold on the Savage Model 11, but their packages are a little confusing. I've found synthetic stock/ no accutrigger, synthetic stock/ with accutrigger and wood stock/ with accutrigger. These rifles are are within $75 dollars of each other, so I'm not sure which to get.
I've heard that the synthetic stock is flimsy, looks cheap, but doesn't affect accuracy.
The wood stock looks nicer, but will probably need to be bedded, free floated and refinished to remove the pressed checkering.
The accutrigger is decent, but a friend of mine has had his pre-accutrigger reworked and it is a very crisp 3lb job.

What do yall think the best combo is?

 

[helotaxi]

I personally like the Accutrigger. My choice would be the synthetic stock model with the Accutrigger and the Nikon scope. It's the Trophy Hunter XP. I bought one just a few weeks ago in .270 WSM and I'm pleased with it. It is surprisingly lightweight and the stock design is good enough that the recoil even with the magnum isn't bad at all. The stock is pretty flexible though and I will be replacing it with a fairly high end stock but until it comes in (18 week lead time on the order) I'll keep shooting it and doing some load work-up.

Great choice of the .243. I have 2.

 

[aubie515]

Accutrigger is better than factory, but not that great.

Synthetic stocks from Savage can be flimsy, but they do offer HS and McMillan stocks. The McMillan stocks are very good.

Can't beat the 243...great caliber choice.

 

[slowr1der]

I'm a big fan of the accu trigger. It's the best factory trigger I've used, so unless you plan to replace the trigger with an aftermarket one, it's what I'd go with.

That said, it all depends on how you will use the rifle as to which stock I like better. The synthetic stocks are flimsy, but they work and I have no real complaints about them on a hunting rifle.

 

[3twelves]

Buddy has the regular wood stock hunting savage in .243 he has taken many deer with it.

 

[AABEN]

Accutrigger is better than factory, but not that great.

Synthetic stocks from Savage can be flimsy, but they do offer HS and McMillan stocks. The McMillan stocks are very good.

Can't beat the 243...great caliber choice.

I have 6 Savages and 3 are senthetic and a very good stock. I have never had any trouble with them or the one on my 700 Ren 30.06. The accutrigger is a factory trigger from Savage.

 

[matt 7mm]

I have a model 11 223 and a 116 300winmag that are pre accu-trigger.the 11 was pretty good out of the box the 116 was a little heavy and creepy so i took it apart and filed on the sear a little and adjusted the screws a little and it is pretty good now with just a little work that didnt cost a dime.I like the feel of the non accu-triger better than my 16 7mm-08 with the accu-trigger but the rest of the world seems to love the accu-triger.

 

[CarlJ]

I have the model 11 with the regular trigger. I adjusted it lighter with a simple turning of the spring screw. It's there for that reason. I like the drop out mag. The synthetic stock is "flimsy" at the forend, but doesn't seem to affect accuracy.
It is a deer hunting rifle I walked out the door with at a pawn shop for $270 used. Great condition, almost looked brand new. It has the Bushnell package scope which is as good as a Nikon Buckmaster I was gonna replace it with, but no need.
Buy a Savage and go shoot!

 

[Kachok]

Savages have held more slots in my safe then any other rifle. I am a big fan of the accutrigger it is easily one of the best on the market, I rank it second only to Tikka and only because the Tikka is every bit as light and crisp without the inner trigger.
I like some of the Savage wood stocks but most of mine have been synthetic due to the price difference, but that difference has shrunk alot. I bought my 110 30-06 as a scoped combo for $384 but that basic combo has gone up to around $450 since I bought my last one.
The Savages are already free floated so a bedding job might be the only thing you need and I question even that, all of mine have been left bone stock and they are all shooters. I am about to upgrade my Model 11 270 WSM to a hardwood but not for accuracy reasons, I just like the feel of hardwood alot more.
243 is a great all around cartrage, light kicking and fast enough for varmint and carries enough punch for even large deer/hog if you are picky about your shots.
Basspro carries a laminate 243 scoped combo toped with a Nikon Prostaff BDC for around $550, it has a nice feel, accutrigger, and a detachable mag, I am thinking really hard about one of those in 243 myself.

 

[helotaxi]

It has the Bushnell package scope which is as good as a Nikon Buckmaster I was gonna replace it with, but no need.

Ummm, no. Not even close. Good enough to throw on a .22 plinker, but not a scope that I would trust on a rifle that I planned to shoot a decent bit or take hunting.

 

[Kachok]

It has the Bushnell package scope which is as good as a Nikon Buckmaster I was gonna replace it with, but no need.
Buy a Savage and go shoot!

As someone who ownes three Nikons and three Bushnell scopes I have to call BS. My Nikons sit atop my favorite big game hunting rifles and two of my Bushnells are in a box waiting for my next rimfire. No contest unless your Bushnell is a 3200 elite or better, which I doubt on a package gun.

 

[helotaxi]

It's a Bushnell Sportsman, at best. I have two of them sitting around from Savage package guns that I bought for the action. I don't consider the Nikon Buckmaster a great scope, I have one and it's merely good, but it is a far cry better than the crap Bushnell on the package rifles. The Nikon BDC that comes on the Trophy Hunter packages is a better scope than the Bushnells that they use, but it's not great either. The scopes on the package guns will get you shooting, but that's about it. Certainly not something that I would take to the woods unless I was just out for some supplemental protein for the freezer. If I were a subsistence hunter I'd pony up for a Nikon ProStaff or similar. If I were hunting on a draw tag hunt where I only had one opportunity (like hunting out west)I'd certainly not trust the package Bushnell. I'm not bagging on Bushnells by any means, I have 9 mounted on hunting and target rifles at last count, but they're all Elite 4200 or 6500 models. The package scopes are OEM'd to meet a price point to put something on the rifle and that's about it.