Savage model 12 BVSS sell or keep?

[eaglemike]

Several years ago (pre cancer) I bought a Savage BVSS in .308. Never fired it. Nice laminated stock, button rifled, 26 inch, target trigger, box magazine, large shank action.
The new hotness is Tikka, even though some models are often out of stock.
Keep it and scope it for local mid-range (300 yard) matches, or sell and set up a Tikka CTR?
What would you do?

[Preston-CLB]

I'd keep it and put a nice scope on it.

I have a Savage M10 Hunter in .223. I slapped a Leupold 4.5-14x40 VX3 scope on it. It will shoot 1 MOA at 100 yards all day long.

I would expect your Model 12 would perform similarly.
-P

[sigstroker]

Yeah, I think that Savage is a lot more target oriented than a CTR. The Tikka is called a "tactical" rifle. The bolt runs smoother on the Tikka, but the Savage trigger is probably a little better, and everything target related is going to be easier on the Savage. Ask the gunsmith guy what he charges to change a barrel on a Tikka. You can change the barrel yourself on a Savage with a vise and a couple tools.

[ar15barrels]

Several years ago (pre cancer) I bought a Savage BVSS in .308. Never fired it. Nice laminated stock, button rifled, 26 inch, target trigger, box magazine, large shank action.
The new hotness is Tikka, even though some models are often out of stock.
Keep it and scope it for local mid-range (300 yard) matches, or sell and set up a Tikka CTR?
What would you do?

The savage action (as much as I dislike the rube goldberg trigger) is a better action to put a heavy barrel on than the tikka,
The Tikka action is not a great target gun action because it's so small/lightweight.
Tikka T3's were made to be hunting/sporting rifles.
It's tiny compared to a typical 700 or Savage 10/110 sized action.
The tikka action is rigid from the closed top with the tiny ejection port but you can't put a real heavy barrel on it without it looking wonky.
The Tikka action is 1.2" across the flats if you cut the front ring back to get rid of the external chamfer.
Otherwise, you are limited to breech diameter of about 1.15" if you keep the action as Tikka built it.
Savage 12 can go up to 1.35" breech diameter if you get rid of the nut and shoulder the barrel in like a real rifle.

The tikka is machined nicer and is smoother as it comes out of the box but I know that you know how to smooth out stuff and you could spend an hour on that savage you already have and have it equal or better than the Tikka.

[eaglemike]

Thanks very much for your input!
I think I'll play around with making a base for it and go from there.

If you have a favorite factory load or reload that might be useful I'd sure appreciate it. If you aren't comfortable sharing the actual powder amount I understand. I bought some FGMM a few years ago before things went crazy and I'll likely start with that. I got about 600 155 grain BTHP bullets from an estate and need to figure out which manufacturer they are from and what to load them with. I have been surfing the reloading area and other forums too.

[sigstroker]

Are these matches you want to shoot in restricted for cartridge? If not, you're going to be at a big disadvantage with your .308. Before you dump a lot of money into components, etc, you may want to explore a 6mm something. All the cool kids are doing it.

[eaglemike]

Are these matches you want to shoot in restricted for cartridge? If not, you're going to be at a big disadvantage with your .308. Before you dump a lot of money into components, etc, you may want to explore a 6mm something. All the cool kids are doing it.

Yep, I have a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle and a 6.5X55, but there is a class that's just for .308 and .223/5.56. It's a local low key match, good guys, kind of a bucket list thing. Cancer has changed my life, so I'm going to try to find a few things to enjoy. Right now I'm just weak compared to before. If it comes back, that would be a real problem.
I have some components, just need to get back up to speed on rifle stuff. It's been quite a while for that.
Thanks for your reply!

[bigbossman]

If you have a favorite factory load or reload that might be useful I'd sure appreciate it. If you aren't comfortable sharing the actual powder amount I understand. I bought some FGMM a few years ago before things went crazy and I'll likely start with that. I got about 600 155 grain BTHP bullets from an estate and need to figure out which manufacturer they are from and what to load them with. I have been surfing the reloading area and other forums too.

I have good loads for the Sierra 168 and 175 MatchKing. I can let you know those if interested.

[bigbossman]

Are these matches you want to shoot in restricted for cartridge? If not, you're going to be at a big disadvantage with your .308. Before you dump a lot of money into components, etc, you may want to explore a 6mm something. All the cool kids are doing it.

On a 300 yard course of fire, .308 will not be a handicap against other calibers.

[eaglemike]

I have good loads for the Sierra 168 and 175 MatchKing. I can let you know those if interested.

I'd sure appreciate that!
I have a bunch of Sierra 168's in my stash, and an unopened jug of RE15. The local Sportsman's has a Tac at a very good price. I know that the easy button seems to be Varget, but of course it's not easy to get these days.

[SVT-40]

I got one of these with a nice scope at auction a number of years ago for real cheap..

It's a tank way to heavy to carry for hunting. But very accurate. Fun to shoot being so heavy there is almost no recoil.

[bigbossman]

I'd sure appreciate that!
I have a bunch of Sierra 168's in my stash, and an unopened jug of RE15. The local Sportsman's has a Tac at a very good price. I know that the easy button seems to be Varget, but of course it's not easy to get these days.

I use 41.5 and 40.5 grains of H4895, respectively, for the 168's and the 175's. LC cases and Winchester primers.

For 15gr Sierra GameKing's, I use 45.5gr of H4895, Winchester primers and Federal cases.

As always - no warranty expressed or implied. Use at your own risk, not responsible for articles left behind, your mileage may vary.

[bigbossman]

As an aside - I have the same rifle, only in a synthetic black stock, chambered for .223. 5 rounds into one big ragged hole at 100 yards. If yours shoots as well as mine, I'd keep it.

[VonRyan209]

Honestly I'd keep it. Tikka doesn't offer anything with a 26" barrel, and RE15 will do well with that barrel length. I use 42.6 grains of RE15 (2.880" OAL, Peterson brass and Gm205M primer) with 175 Sierra's in my 24" Tac a1 and that gets around 2650 fps Avg. with single digit deviations. 168's would probably be slightly higher charges, but not much.

The only benefit Tikka has over Savage is the bolt movement. I agree with everything Ar15barrels talks about regarding the Savage vs. Tikka. Now don't get me wrong the bolt manipulation is amazing (I have 2 rifles from Tikka), but everything I've researched over the years the Savage is easier to work with, cheaper, and more accurate of a base than Tikka.

[eaglemike]

As an aside - I have the same rifle, only in a synthetic black stock, chambered for .223. 5 rounds into one big ragged hole at 100 yards. If yours shoots as well as mine, I'd keep it.

I have one of these large thread actions in a factory black composite stock, no barrel, also. Seems like maybe I should shop for a barrel!
Where would you start? Do you have a favorite?
Look for a factory take off?

ETA: I'd pretty much given up on the Savage stuff since so many say they aren't any good. That's why I was thinking of selling these for Tikka. I'm happy to hear that so many are having a great experience with them.