Savage

[gramps73]

Looking at the
Savage 110 apex hunter XP in a 308..

Any one have one and can give some feed back.

Thanks

[brewster29]

You can do a lot better…
Google some reviews.

The rifle is your basic rust prone Savage and the scope is junk.

[Dean2]

Being left handed I am generally a big fan of Savage, however I am not a fan of the Apex line. Brewster is correct, the scopes in the package tend to be REALLY low quality. Sort of like the the Ruger American line, nowhere near as good a gun as the Ruger 77. Buy a used Tikka, Howa, Vanguard or even the higher end Savage stainless line for the same money and put a decent used Leupold on it.

[catnthehat]

Davagecrofles generally shoot well, but I don't know of many people at all that don't try to upgrage them by changing the younger, stock, bolt buffer and striker, add a 20 MOA rail, and evetlntially the barrel.
By this time , after adding all the aftermarket replacement stuff, a person could have spent money on a decent rifle that actually did not need any of the upgrades!
Then therecus the scope issue which has previously been mentioned .
Their match rifles are decent , but the Apex line is not their match rifle line.......
Cat

[fishnguy]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Being left handed I am generally a big fan of Savage, however I am not a fan of the Apex line. Brewster is correct, the scopes in the package tend to be REALLY low quality. Sort of like the the Ruger American line, nowhere near as good a gun as the Ruger 77. Buy a used Tikka, Howa, Vanguard or even the higher end Savage stainless line for the same money and put a decent used Leupold on it.

While I am no gun expert and not even close (no disrespect intended at all, Dean), if one handles a Ruger American and a Savage Apex, the choice would be clear among the two and it would be the Ruger. Granted, I used the American and harvested a couple (or more?) of deer with it. Savage I only handled.

I have never bought a scoped rifle package type of deal before either. It usually doesn’t calculate.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by fishnguy

While I am no gun expert and not even close (no disrespect intended at all, Dean), if one handles a Ruger American and a Savage Apex, the choice would be clear among the two and it would be the Ruger. Granted, I used the American and harvested a couple (or more?) of deer with it. Savage I only handled.

I have never bought a scoped rifle package type of deal before either. It usually doesn’t calculate.

It is a very fair point. Lots of animals have been taken, and lots of targets shot with Apex and American rifles. I have owned two Apex because I got them very cheap, around $300 each if I recall, and wanted to try them as a base to build on. I have never owned an American, which new go for over $800, so kind of the reverse of your experience. I do agree the American seems to be a nicer gun to use as is, at least from feel and appearance. After using the Apex I resold them, and used something else for the builds.

My perspective is that I like the feel, appearance and function of the higher end models and that resale of the higher models is also very much easier. I have also found that I can buy a near new higher model for about what a brand new lower model goes for, so to me, at the same money, I prefer used higher quality to new lower line rifles. Now if you can find a used Apex or American for cheap, that might change stuff a bit, but even then, personally I would get the higher end versions.

[Smokinyotes]

While most Savage rifles shoot very well hunters generally have a lower success rate with them. This is mainly do to having to wear a bag over their head and not being able to see the game.

[brewster29]

[QUOTE=Buy a used Tikka, Howa, Vanguard or even the higher end Savage stainless line for the same money and put a decent used Leupold on it.[/QUOTE]

I came off pretty harsh in my first response, but I believe Dean is correct. The Apex line, like most budget package rifles, is part of a race to the bottom, poor stocks, cheap metal finish, lousy low end scopes. For about the same price, with a bit of careful searching I think you could find a used higher end rifle. I am also a lefty who shops diligently on line and I have recently bought a couple very nice stainless rifles (Ruger 77 and T3X) for about $700. Add a used Leupold to the mix and for about a grand you have a quality rig that will last a lifetime.

[ScottFitter]

I have an Apex Storm. It now shoots well after a factory defective barrel that Savage swapped out.
As it was stated above, the stock isn't great as its not the Accustock. Other than that, nothing wrong with it. However, I have since purchased a couple Bergara's and I am MUCH happier with those over even the Tikka's or Weatherby Vangaurds that I have or have had.

[Dean2]

To be honest, for anyone with a small gun budget I have always wondered why they don't buy a Voere, Husky, Mauser or the like. There are a ton of those from 300 to 600 bucks. Beautifully built guns that are far superior to any of the budget guns on the market now.

[PartTimeHunter]

I built a 20 Extreme about ten years ago on a budget Savage youth model and in the end it shot very well - once I got there.
This was purpose built for my late wife as a coyote gun that had only to be accurate to 100 yards and it was very. She was sick and had lost strength so had trouble with my full size guns but wanted to be able to shoot coyotes coming around the yard at foaling time. It had the lightweight plastic stock, a small fixed power scope and an 18” fluted Benchmark barrel. A while after she passed I looked at it and decided I should see what it’ll do. It was good to maybe 125 or so and at 200 it was more like shotgun patterning. I noticed the flex in the cheap stock so ordered up a Boyd’s thumbhole varmint laminate, upgraded the glass and a Rifle Basix lighter trigger spring - that made all the difference in the world. It will shoot accurately now to 400 yards. I took it to my buddies ranch to shoot gophers - he liked it so much he bought it off me. I hadn’t planned on selling it but he wanted it.
It was explained to me once that shooting a Savage is kinda like “dating” the fat girl down the block - it’s alright as long as none of your buddies find out

[A207X2]

Hi Gramps,

My first rifle was a LH Savage Weather Warrior with the AccuTrigger and floating stock. What a great gun that was. Wish I never sold it. Model 116FLCSS

I'm not familiar with the Apex, but I would say that buying a "package" deal that includes a scope is not the way to go. Especially when something like glass is involved, you want to get the best that you can afford. "Pay once, cry once" was a hard lesson for me to learn.

Here's a good write-up on the Axis by Randy Wakeman.

https://chuckhawks.com/savage_edge_detail.htm

[gramps73]

Thank you for all the replies